Hawkily Ever After: Anniversary Dance

One of my favorite parts of the reception was the anniversary dance. Mr. Hawk and I took the dance floor and as the song progressed, Liz asked other couples to join us according to how long they had been married.

T and GM J were the first to join us, only being married three weeks. Needless to say T was quite excited.

Liz called out those married two years or less and then five years or less. Many of our married friends were on the dance floor.

Before we knew it, Liz was calling out couples married ten, twenty, thirty, and forty plus years.

I can't explain how it felt to be surrounded by so many inspirational couples. The love in the room during these moments was palpable.

Have you considered including an anniversary dance during your reception?

All photos by Valerie Demo Photography

Miss a recap? Don't fret! Catch up here:

We review our planning journey

We rehearse and welcome our guests
The girls get pretty
I share my bridal details
Mr. Hawk becomes a groom
Our first look 
We take photos at Crim Dell Bridge
We explore campus for more photography
The groomsmen ham it up
The bridal party channels their inner model
The entire wedding party regroups
My last moments as a Miss
Welcome to our wedding ceremony
The bridal party procession
Miss Hawk's walk down the aisle 
We're married!
We were surrounded by love during our impromptu receiving line

We take our family formals

All our reception details

I scarf bread ends while our guests enjoy cocktail hour
We make our grand entrances
Mr. Hawk and I have our first dance

Daddy Hawk and I dance

Mr. Hawk's mother-son moment
We eat! (Yes, we actually ate!)
Cheesin' it up in the photo booth
We dance and the boys break out cigars
We cut our cake
Time for toasts!

Hawkily Ever After: Cheers

Before we knew it, it was time for toasts...

...and Mr. Hawk's brother, Best Man J was up. Being a bit of a jokester, I'll admit I was slightly apprehensive to hear what kind of stories J was planning to tell in front of all our family in friends.

Instead, he kept it short and sweet, expressing how happy he was for the both of us

My best friend and MOH, A, took the mic next. 

In her always-completely-honest fashion, she started by saying that she was one of those people who didn't quite know if we were "meant to be" when we first started dating. 

But over the years she saw how grew and learned from each other. She noted that I was the only one who truly appreciated and laughed at all of Mr. Hawk's super-corny jokes...

...and that I was teaching Mr. Hawk to be a bit more sensitive.

 After a few laughs, she toasted to our marriage and happy future.

Our DOC/Master of Ceremonies, Liz, took center stage next to give Mr. H a quick lesson in having a happy marriage. 

After a couple rounds of practicing his best "yes, Dear"...

...Liz let him off the hook and Mr. Hawk received a warm round of applause from all our guests.

Daddy Hawk was our grand finale. Being one of those people who can befriend anyone and make them feel comfortable, he completely commanded the room's attention during his speech.

He spoke about how I had confessed to him that Mr. Hawk was my soul mate.

And he gave sage marriage advice about the importance of supporting each other.

It was filled with both laughs and tears.

In conclusion he invited my sister to join him as they both said a prayer for our family.

By the end there was not a dry eye in the house, and I heard about it from both female friends and grown men alike the rest of the night. It was the perfect, heartfelt touch to our reception.

All photos by Valerie Demo Photography

Miss a Hawk recap? Don't fret! Catch up here:

We review our planning journey

We rehearse and welcome our guests
The girls get pretty
I share my bridal details
Mr. Hawk becomes a groom
Our first look 
We take photos at Crim Dell Bridge
We explore campus for more photography
The groomsmen ham it up
The bridal party channels their inner model
The entire wedding party regroups
My last moments as a Miss
Welcome to our wedding ceremony
The bridal party procession
Miss Hawk's walk down the aisle 
We're married!
We were surrounded by love during our impromptu receiving line

We take our family formals

All our reception details

I scarf bread ends while our guests enjoy cocktail hour
We make our grand entrances
Mr. Hawk and I have our first dance

Daddy Hawk and I dance

Mr. Hawk's mother-son moment
We eat! (Yes, we actually ate!)
Cheesin' it up in the photo booth
We dance and the boys break out cigars
We cut our cake

Hawkily Ever After: How Sweet It Is

This may sound silly, but the part of the reception that gave me the most pause was the cutting of the cake. No, it had nothing to do with the fact that we had no idea what we were doing or that we hadn't practiced or even discussed how we would cut it. The concern I felt had everything to do with the dreaded cake smashing.

Mr. Hawk fancies himself quite the jokester. For the entire fourteen months of our engagement, he promised that he was going to smear cake and icing all over my face, and I promised that if he did, there would be hell to pay. Thankfully, Mr. Hawk got the message, but the uncertainty in my face says it all.

The "I don't know what I'm doing" face

The "I'm watching you" face

The "don't you even think about it" eyes 

The "get this icing off my finger" look

No smearing! Success!

I've never really understood the whole cake smashing tradition. After all, who wants to pay hundreds of dollars on hair and makeup to be covered in icing?

What's your take on cake smashing?

All photos by Valerie Demo Photography

Miss a Hawk recap? Don't fret! Catch up here:

We review our planning journey

We rehearse and welcome our guests
The girls get pretty
I share my bridal details
Mr. Hawk becomes a groom
Our first look 
We take photos at Crim Dell Bridge
We explore campus for more photography
The groomsmen ham it up
The bridal party channels their inner model
The entire wedding party regroups
My last moments as a Miss
Welcome to our wedding ceremony
The bridal party procession
Miss Hawk's walk down the aisle 
We're married!
We were surrounded by love during our impromptu receiving line

We take our family formals

All our reception details

I scarf bread ends while our guests enjoy cocktail hour
We make our grand entrances
Mr. Hawk and I have our first dance

Daddy Hawk and I dance

Mr. Hawk's mother-son moment
We eat! (Yes, we actually ate!)
Cheesin' it up in the photo booth
We dance and the boys break out cigars

Six Months.

A short six months ago around five pm, I walked down the aisle of William and Mary's Wren Chapel toward my groom.

I vowed to love, honor, keep, and comfort him. I think about those vows every day.

Yes, we're only six months in, but Mr. Hawk, somehow I love you more today than I did May 19. I didn't think I could possibly love you more, but you keep finding ways to chip away at my heart.

No, things aren't always perfect. I know I'm far from being the perfect wife. I can be cranky and short. I get hangry, and I'm downright grouchy when I haven't had enough sleep, but you love me anyway.

We've only just begun our lifelong journey together, but I'm incredibly excited about our future. As long as you're by my side, I'm pretty sure I can weather just about anything.

All photos by Valerie Demo Photography