Hawkily Ever After: Celebration and Cigars

After getting some food in my belly and enjoying a few snaps in the photo booth, two of my college friends lured me to the dance floor to get the party started.

It wasn't long before more guests followed suit.

Notably missing from the floor? My new husband, of course. Having a celebration of their own, the boys took to the cigar bar.

But it wasn't long before a slow song or two came on and I was able to sway back and forth with my new hubby. And those, hands down, were the best moments of the night.

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

Hawkily Ever After: The Reception Details

While we were taking our family formals, our guests made their way over to our reception venue: Legacy Hall.

Guests were invited to grab ice tea or lemonade in a mason jar...

 ...or find something stronger at the bar.

The cigars were out...

...along with my matches!

It was so neat to see so many of my projects and planning finally come to fruition.

Are you planning a lot of DIY projects for your reception or are you leaving it to the pros?

All photos by Valerie Demo Photography

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

DIY Matchbox Covers

My love for our monogram knows no end. (I told y'all it would keep popping up!) Since we're going to have a mini cigar bar, I figured custom matchboxes were in order.

Aren't they adorable?

Supplies:
Matchboxes (I ordered from Amazon)
Cardstock
Xacto Knife
Scissors/Paper Trimmer
Glue (I used regular ole Elmer's craft glue)


I started off by disassembling a matchbook cover and taking its measurements. Then I made a quick template in Publisher with the dimensions. I added our monogram and "the perfect match" to opposing sides of the design.

I printed the design to the Kraft card stock and cut to size with a paper trimmer. Then I scored the lines of the printed covers to make them easier to fold.

Now here's the part that is a pain. I disassembled all the matchbook covers in order to glue the new covers I created. With trial and error, I found the best way to disassemble the ones I purchased was a combination of lightly pulling them apart by hand and then using an xacto knife to cut through any areas that were particularly difficult.

Once all the pieces were ready, I began to reassemble. To make sure the glue had ample time to dry, I reassembled the boxes in two steps. I first glued all the designed covers to the flat matchbook covers. (Make sure not to cover the strike strip!)

Then I folded them back together and held them closed for several seconds to set the glue before letting them completely dry.

I think they turned out really well! I'm excited to have these on display at the bar and scattered around our outdoor bar tables. Hopefully the guests will take notice of them.

Anyone else DIY'ing matchbooks or matchboxes?