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

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

A Floral Education

I recently shared how lack of enthusiasm from one vendor made choosing my florist an easy decision. Then I realized I failed to share my actual floral selections! (I'm sure y'all were on pins and needles! ;) )

When it came time to pick out flowers for my bouquets, I was lost. Besides my unhealthy obsession with yellow roses, I didn't know the difference between ranunculus and lisianthus. (Flower names seemed like a foreign language!) I tried looking up a floral dictionary website, but without any background information, I was completely overwhelmed. I turned to sites like Pinterest and the Knot, searching for inspiration. I saved anything that peaked my interest (and made sure to list the flower names when saving the pictures). I quickly discovered that big bloom flowers were my favorite:

Garden Roses

Image via Flowers by Shirley

Peonies

Image via Flowers by Shirley

Hydrangea (mixed with white roses)

Image by The French Bouquet

I wondered if they would gel together since they are all large blooms, but I found several pictures that eased my fears. Plus I knew I wanted a full, rounded bouquet.

I would love to carry this bouquet with softer, more muted colors. Image via Kelly's Wedding Flowers

After talking to my florist, I decided that in my bouquet, the peonies, hydrangea and garden roses will be in shades of white and cream.

Image via The Flower Lab

The bridesmaids bouquets will be similar but feature a mix of soft pinks and will be tied with a yellow ribbon to match the dresses.

For someone who knew nothing about flowers, I actually found making these decisions to be quite fun!

Will you be carrying a floral bouquet down the aisle or something different? If you are going with a bouquet, what flowers are you using?