Hawkily Ever After: Lovely Ladies

While the men were goofing off during their photography session, my lovely bridesmaids and I were working our best model poses.

Like Mr. H, I took individual photos with each of my ladies.

We also took a few accessory shots including the handmade vintage brooch jewelry, our metallic shoes, and handkerchiefs.

I'll let y'all in on a little secret. You may have noticed that this set of photos was missing a little something: our bouquets. At the time, our flowers were actually missing. Somehow when the florist delivered the men's boutonnieres, she forgot to unload the bouquets. Luckily our coordinator, Liz, immediately took care of the situation and made sure the flowers arrived pre-ceremony. These next few shots were actually taken after Mr. Hawk and I were married!

Even though they were late, I'm so in love with our flowers!

 The classic jumping shot. Horray for bouquets!

Do you have any specific poses or shots you plan to have photographed with your bridesmaids?

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
Miss Hawk becomes a bride
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

Hawkily Ever After: Rehearsal, Dinner, and Cocktails

The wedding rehearsal wasn't really what I expected. Perhaps I had overly-romantic notions of what it'd be like. Or maybe I just underestimated my clumsiness.

It all started with a missing groom. The wedding party agreed to meet in the hotel lobby prior to walking over to the chapel, but Mr. Hawk was nowhere to be found. Since the hotel restaurant/bar was open for business, we had a sneaking suspicion of where he might be hiding out. One by one groomsmen and bridesmaids "went to check" the restaurant and never came back out. Eventually I went in myself and found them all sharing beers at the bar. Apparently my uncle had found Mr. Hawk waiting alone and invited him to join the family for a drink. At the time I was annoyed. (Seriously Mr. H, how could you possibly be distracted by a tasty cold beer?!) Looking back at it just makes me laugh. They were ready for the festivities to begin!

Luckily for them, I think we must have had one of the shortest rehearsals on record. It went by so quickly I didn't even think to take any photos. We basically practiced our entrances and exits and called it a day. Did anyone have a more involved rehearsal? The brevity of it really blew my mind!

Post-rehearsal we walked our way over to the Green Leafe for dinner and drinks. While everyone was getting seated, I attempted to walk over to the manager to retreive our drink menus. I say attempted because about two steps in, the heel of one of my shoes got caught up in the bow of my other shoe. I landed in a heap on the floor. I swear the entire restaurant turned silent until I hopped up. My wedding party stroked my ego by telling me it was a very graceful fall, but I felt like an idiot. I think it was at that moment when I finally let a lot of the wedding stress go. I was so thankful to only have a couple bruises and also grateful that I got my embarassing moment out of the way before the wedding!

Still laughing about my fall

I'm happy to report that the rest of the evening went exactly as planned. We met up with family and friends for a post-rehearsal dinner cocktail hour at the groom's favorite haunt, the hotel bar. It was a really nice chance to catch up with family who traveled in for the wedding. It was also a great way to blow off some steam!

As always, it started off so innocently with a few cutesy photos.

BM T, MOH A, and I

BM R

  

But we definitely had our share of fun!

So excited with MOH A

All the beautiful bridesmaids

 Some of the bridesmaids even decided to have a little karaoke jam session!

I love the intensity!

Around 10:30, MOH A and I decided to call it a night and left the festivites, but the party continued without us. Mr. H and most of the wedding party closed down the bar around 1:30! Thankfully I left my camera with Mr. Hawk, so I didn't miss out on these gems.

M checking out BM R and T in the background. Hilarious!

Crazy face.

More karaoke and dancing!

Did y'all have any drama-filled moments before the wedding? Please tell me I'm not the only one who completely embarrassed myself during one of the wedding events!

Gifting the Bridesmaids: Monogrammed Handkerchiefs

Since I've been on a roll with monogram-themed gifts for my ladies, I couldn't resist the urge to throw in one more: a monogrammed handkerchief! There is just something about them that feels so sweetly southern to me.

Image via Southern Weddings, Photo by Divine Light Photography

So I went to my favorite website, Etsy, looking for floral handkerchiefs that could be embroidered. Like the photo above from Southern Weddings, I was really hoping that each of my 'maids would be able to have a unique pattern. Katie Moore of the MutantAngel shop, had so many options, and they're all hand-embroidered. With her shop you can choose the individual patterns you like or she can surprise you with one of her abundant designs. Being a little (or maybe a lot) type-A, y'all know I hand-picked every last one.

I loved the bright, cheerful patterns and I think the floral designs will be the perfect addition to our spring wedding as a bouquet wrap or simply to be held and catch tears of happiness.

Once I had placed an order for the ladies, I really couldn't resist getting in on the action myself. In the South, hankies are often passed down from generation to generation, and I really wanted a timeless, hierloom quality handkerchief should I one day have little girl to pass it on to. Once I saw the designs by SheriAngellCreations, my search was complete. Sheri, specializing in bridal hankies, also hand-embroiders.

The floral design appears on all four corners of the handkerchief, but my initials only appear on one side. This way, should I pass it on, it can be embroidered again with another monogram.

Are there any heirlooms making a special appearance on your wedding day? Did the ability to pass an item on to future generations influence any of your purchases?

Gifting the Bridesmaids: DIY Vintage Brooch Necklaces

I knew from pretty early on that I wanted to make my bridesmaids coordinating jewelry. Being that jewelry making used to be a hobby of mine, I knew I had the tools and enough experience that I could probably make it work. When searching for inspiration, I immediately fell in love with the DIY necklaces from Broke-Ass Bride and Martha Stewart.

Image via Martha Stewart          /            Image via The Broke-Ass Bride

Using their designs as inspiration, I created necklaces and bracelets that fit the style of dresses the ladies will be sporting. To get started, I first collected brooches from ebay. I had a saved search set up for "vintage flower brooches" that notified me of new listings. (I swear, my phone was going off once an hour!)

I'm a bad blogger and didn't take a picture of the entire collection

I also gathered the necessary tools: a kit of jewelry connections, jump rings, jewelry pliers, and super glue (not pictured).

I played around with the various brooches until I had combinations that I liked together.

Then I started to link them with the jump rings. There is no magic formula for this step. By trial and error I made links of the jump rings and connected them to the brooch backs until I achieved the spacing that I wanted. Sometimes one side had three jump rings and the other only had two. The size of the brooches played a big role in determining the correct spacing. On the end, I attached the end connectors.

Once I was satisfied with the spacing and placement, I superglued the brooches closed. I was a bit hesitant to do this step at first, thinking the girls might actually want to use the brooches after the wedding; however, when the backs kept popping open with movement, I knew it was necessary.

To finish them off I attached ivory ribbon. I was really glad that I went with this option rather than the rope or a chain. I think the ribbon adds a little daintiness and also allows the necklaces to be adjustable.

Because two of my lovely ladies will be wearing halter style dresses, I knew necklaces wouldn't be ideal. For them I made bracelets with matching earrings.

Sissy Hawk couldn't wait to model her bracelet.


I think I see a future career in hand modeling!

 Was having coordinating jewelry for your bridesmaids important to you? Anyone else DIY jewelry for yourself or your ladies?

Distinguishing my MOH

I know that accepting the role of maid of honor is a large undertaking. Not even including the hefty monetary commitment, the position often comes with long crafting hours, countless conversations about everything from little details to drama, and the consumption of many, many bottles of wine. On all these fronts and more, MOH A has be A-MA-ZING. She has been supportive, made more than a couple trips to craft stores, threw me an awesome shower, and has definitely helped consume more than a few bottles of wine. She's pretty much a MOH allstar. Besides carrying a different title, I really wanted to think of a way to distinguish her as MOH on the wedding day but I struggled a little as to how.

I already talked to my florist, and for the ceremony she will be carrying a larger bouquet like the MOH pictured below.


Image via Wedding Chicks, Photo by  Jen Rodriguez Photography

But carrying a larger bouquet didn't really seem like enough. By reception time, I somehow doubt that she'll still be carrying around her bouquet.
I know often times the MOH will wear a slightly different dress like this:


Image via Weddingbee Boards from Ms. Library's wedding

 However if you remember, all my 'maids will be sporting different dresses, so this option is out.

I also considered making sashes for all my bridesmaids and having the MOH sash be a different color or stand out in some way.


Image via Sparkle and Hay, Photo by Scobey Photography

 As my DIY list piled up, the sashes idea went out the window.

Then the perfect solution appeared. One day I received an email about new items being added to the J. Crew sale section online, and thankfully I am unable to resist at least taking a peek. (Thank you, shopping addiction! You finally came in handy.) That is when I found this little gem.

Image via J. Crew

 Not only was it on sale, but I also received an additional 30% off! As soon as it came in, I had MOH A come over to model it for me and I couldn't be more pleased.


MOH A with her sash and a fake bouquet (Personal Photo)

 It compliments the dress perfectly and definitely adds a little extra "something." I love it!

Are you going to distinguish your MOH on your wedding day? If so, how?

Gifting the Bridesmaids: DIY Monogram Totes

I knew I wanted to gift my ladies a reusable tote bag to hold all of their goodies, but I found a lot of monogramable bags online to be fairly expensive. When I found this tutorial, I had the perfect solution! I pretty much followed Ashley's instructions, but I will still share what I did here.

Supplies:
Canvas bags
Paper Doilies
Adhesive Spray
Craft Paint
Brushes

I began by using the spray adhesive on the bottom side of the paper doily and positioning it to the corner of the tote bag.  I made sure to smooth the doily completely and that there were no areas that had not bonded with the canvas.

Then I carefully painted over the doily with black paint. I found out quickly that it is much better to be conservative with the amount of paint on the brush and have to apply two layers. Having too much paint can cause seeping in between the doily stencil.

Once painted, I let the bags sit for two to three minutes before removing the doily.

 



To add the monogram, I attempted two methods. I initially printed and taped a letter to Martha Stewart Adhesive Stencil Film and used an exacto knife to make a stencil. Because of the intricacy of the letters I was using, the adhesive stencil was a total fail. (If I was using block letters I think it would have been a different story.) The second method yielded much better results. This time I printing letters, cut them out with scissors, and traced them with pencil the old fashioned way. To keep the stencil in place I used the Krylon Adhesive Spray again while I traced.

To finish them off, I painted the letters to match the ladies' monogram champagne flutes. After they were dry, I used a block eraser to eliminate any pencil lines that were still visible.

Tada! Affordable mongrammed tote bags!

Did you want your bridesmaid gifts to follow a theme?

Gifting the Bridesmaids: DIY Monogram Glassware

When I was thinking about gifts for my bridesmaids, I knew I wanted them to be something that would come in handy on the wedding day, something they could enjoy in the future, or possibly both!

One of the first things that came to mind was glassware. I don't know about y'all but I definitely plan on sipping on a celebratory glass of champagne or mimosa with my ladies while we get beautiful pre-ceremony. Enter personalized champagne flutes.

Materials used: Champagne flutes, glass paint, paint brushes, spouncers, rubbing alcohol, glass paint pen

 

I started by cleaning the glass with rubbing alcohol and taping the letter I printed to the inside of the glass.

Initially I tried painting with a very fine paint brush, but I found that it was super difficult to have perfectly smooth lines. Being the perfectionist I am, the squiggles weren't cutting it. (Mess ups are easily fixed with the rubbing alcohol and a paper towel!)

This is when I switched over to the paint pen marker. Let me just say, BEST.INVENTION.EVER. It was so easy to use and the lines came out clean. Here's a close up to prove it!

Tada! No squiggles

After completing all the initials, I let them dry for 30 minutes. Then I used the spouncer to add polka dots to the glasses in various colors. I also painted the bottoms of the glasses in yellow to match the ladies' dresses.

Once I was satisfied with the them, I let them air dry for 48 hours before baking them in the oven. (Put glassware in cool oven. Preheat to 350 degrees and let them bake for 30 minutes. Then turn the oven off and let the glass cool. [I opened the oven so it could vent and speed up the cooling process.])

And because we can't make mimosas without a pitcher or chill the champagne without an ice bucket, I found another way to incorporate our monogram! 

Hope you're not sick of it yet because this is not the last you've seen of our monogram!

 

The entire glassware collection

 

I'm really excited to use these during our get-ready girl time. Hopefully the ladies will love them as much as I do.
Are you DIYing personalized gifts for the bridesmaids?

All photos personal