Hawkily Ever After: The Ceremony

Our ceremony began with a welcoming of our guests and a moment of silence for those who were unable to attend.

Since we had not rehearsed the ceremony, Daddy Hawk tried to give me away prematurely. We all had a little chuckle.

Not yet, Daddy Hawk!

But soon the moment did come, and Daddy Hawk handed me off to Mr. Hawk.

We exchanged traditional vows...

...before the blessing of the rings.

I remember barely being able to maintain eye contact with Mr. Hawk at some points for fear of completely losing control of my emotions. 

Quite contrary to what I imagined, I made it through without spilling a single tear!

Our ceremony concluded with a prayer...

...and a blessing of our union.

We were officially Mr. and Mrs. Hawk!

But somehow, we had skipped over the "kiss the bride" portion of the ceremony, so I quietly whispered to Mr. H, "hey! Are we gonna kiss?"

Now it was really official.

Ever the traditionalist, I chose Mendelssohn's Wedding March to play as we recessed.

In my newlywed excitement I decided to shake my bouquet in victory, which caused a shower of petals to rain down upon the aisle, and resulted in quite a bit of laughter from our guests (and me!).

 It was the perfect end to our slightly imperfect ceremony.

Were there any accidents or slip-ups during your ceremony?

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