Aqua Blue to the Rescue!

Remember my initial color inspiration and how I eventually chucked it to start anew? Well y'all, I’m ready to share a very important update! I've finally found the inspiration I was looking for! I knew that I was all about yellow, but for some reason I was fighting my girly-girl nature. I must admit that it took a lot of long hours in front of the computer screen, but with my (non-DIY'd) blue mason jars in hand, I knew I was onto something. The combination was fresh and springy, perfect for our May wedding. Aqua blue and yellow, it was! (Phew, that was easy! Who would have known those little jars would have been so instrumental in my decision?) But just to prevent any future waffling and wavering on my part, I decided to throw in some green and rose pink accents. (See, I couldn’t fight the pink!)

Top Row: Bouquet via Kelly's Wedding Flowers Gallery, (upper: Love Birds Topper via Vintage Green Modern, Cupcakes via Wedding Magazine by Cakes by Robin , Monogram via Charming Little Nest by Southern Proper Monogram), (lower: via Hayden Olivia Photo by Critsey Rowe, Sign via Family Attic) Arrangement via White on Rice Couple
Bottom Row: Table setting via Green Wedding Shoes Photo by Edyta Szyszlo Photography, Bouquet and Bow ties via Southern Weddings Magazine Photo via 1313 Photography, Lemonade stand via Brenda's Wedding Blog photo by Bello Photography styled by Desiree Spinner Events

I don't want anything that looks too baby nursery, so I'm going to make sure to keep the yellow and aqua vibrant. (But I do love how the other colors add visual interest.) Best of all the color combination fits my vision of "southern vintage/shabby chic," which I must admit was partially inspired by our menu. 

How did you come to your final color decision? Were there other parts of the planning that helped you decide?

The Ampersand

If you’ve spend as much time as I trolling the internet for wedding inspiration, you’d be hard-pressed not to come across photos of engagement sessions and weddings using the illustrious ampersand. Whether the couple was holding one like in this photo from my A-MA-ZING photographer, Valerie Demo, or it was hanging between the bride and groom chair at the reception, I just knew this was one detail I couldn’t live without. 

Image via Heart Love Weddings, Photo by Valerie Demo Photography

After making a few trips out to the local craft stores, I noticed that this little symbol was hard to come by. None of the stores seemed to carry them and the ones I found on etsy were perfect, but kinda expensive. I figured there must be a way to make one DIY-style. After some extensive googling, I came across a tutorial from Chelsea at Two Twenty One.

Photo via Two Twenty One

Although I really didn’t want a mossy ampersand per se, I used Chelsea’s tutorial as my inspiration. I didn’t have access to a projector, so I knew that part would have to be amended. I tried printing the largest ampersand I could on 11” x 17” through Word. My first attempt was not large enough (around 10 inches). After some more googling, I quickly learned that “poster print” was not really an option for Word or Publisher 2010, but Excel would work just fine. The only problem there was that to import into Excel, the ampersand file now had to be an image. I read some instructions on converting my Word file to an image file, but I found them confusing and didn’t feel like wasting the time. (Hello impatience!) Back to google I went and I found an image of an ampersand in Georgia font that fit the look I wanted (See Web Designer Depot).

I opened Excel, went to “Insert” on my toolbar and selected “Picture”. From there it was a piece of cake. By trial and error I resized until I was ready to print. (Print preview was my friend.) Once printed at my ideal size, I cut out the template and taped it together.

Personal Photo

Since this was a last-minute DIY (ahem, the day before our e-session), I just decided to use some on-hand foam board instead of styrofoam. (Sidenote: I may go back later and tack on styrofoam to my foam board to add width and allow my ampersand to stand on his own). I traced in pencil and cut out with an xacto knife. (I recommend cutting the holes in the center prior to the outside to prevent bending and creasing of the board.) Since my cutting wasn’t exactly smooth, I then rubbed down the edges with medium-grade sandpaper.

Personal photos

I was very pleased with the results, and we were able to use them it in our shoot the next day. My ampersand project isn’t quite complete though. I plan on doctoring him up for the actual wedding. I’ll definitely let y'all know what I decide to do with him next.

Personal Photo

Have you fallen prey to the ampersand? Or is there another wedding detail that has captured your attention?

Wedding Dress Dread

Wedding dress shopping is kind of a big deal. (Hello, there are even television shows dedicated to the process!) And although I usually L.O.V.E. most shopping trips, the prospect of finding “the dress” totally turned me off. Besides watching other brides find their dresses on tv, there really wasn’t anything appealing about it. As various people found out I was getting married, many of them excitedly asked, “have you found your dress yet?!” I became accustomed to my go-to response of, “no, net yet. And I’m really not looking forward to it.” (This was typically returned with the you-have-three-heads look.) I guess dress shopping is a part of the wedding process that many brides look back fondly upon, but I thought it was going to be a disaster.

I’m a pretty averaged-sized girl who takes care of herself with exercise and healthy eating most of the time, and like most women, I wanted to look exceptionally beautiful on my wedding day. Through reading many magazines and articles, I had learned that wedding dress sizing did not correspond with street-clothes sizing. In fact, wedding dresses could be a whole one to two sizes smaller. Since it would be impractical for most dress shops to have a sample in every size, they only kept certain sizes on hand. To me this translated as a warning cry. “Prepare yourself! Nothing will fit!” I, like any bride, wanted to enjoy the shopping experience, but I had fun-house style images in my head. Although the label size never bother me, I pictured literally nothing fitting. Even though I really enjoyed them, I don’t think all of the dress shows really helped to ease my fears either. The episodes all captured so much drama!  (Tears, broken budgets, and family squabbles, oh my!) And even though more recently they have started featuring brides of all sizes, most part the shows I watched featured itty-bitty girls. (And model-thin, I was not.)

A not-so-happy Minnie pin via Okey Dokey Goodies

To make a difficult process worse, I thought back on my special-event dress experiences of the past. In high school searching for banquet and prom dresses was a total chore. I used to try on dress after dress after dress... even thinking back on it is exhausting really. (I’m sure Momma Hawk still has nightmares.) I knew indecision would be my worst enemy. (Prom was not NEARLY as important as a wedding! I figured that my indecision would grow exponentially along with the importance of the event. Dress.Shopping.HELL.)

These fears stayed with me for months until Momma and Sister Hawk came into town during the summer for a whirlwind week of all things wedding. I knew their arrival would be D-Day. (I had literally scheduled dress appointments their first full day in case it took all week for me to come to a decision!) I was fearful up until the moment I saw myself in the mirror in my first dress. I looked kinda good and the dress was kinda beautiful. I’m sure the ooh-ing and ahh-ing of my supportive mom and sister definitely helped my confidence as well, but what really changed my attitude was my bridal consultant. She, very sweetly, reminded me that: 1. I had a great figure and 2. It would be more difficult to find a dress I didn’t like than finding one I did like because they would all be beautiful on me. Now if I had verbalized my fears more clearly to my family, I know they would have said something similar, but having an outsider say it really snapped me out of my funk. From there on out I was really able to enjoy the process and wouldn’t you know it that I found my dress on the first day?

Did you share in my wedding dress shopping mentality or were you excited from the start? Did it end up being easier/harder than you had imagined?

Beating the Blues

I'm sure you can relate. There are just some days when I move a little slower and am feeling a little less "sunny." Well, today was one of those days. Mr. Hawk was leaving to go out of town for work and I was feeling down in the dumps. The air had somehow turned cold, it was overcast and breezy, and the only things I could think about were my workload at the office, bootcamp at the park in the freezing cold, and having three super pent-up dogs that I'd have to deal with after everything else. Top it off with following up on some wedding emails? I was feeling like I'd be lucky to fall into bed before PM turned to AM again.

I ran off to work, barely having a moment to kiss Mr. Hawk goodbye before heading out to complete my multitude of tasks. I went about my day just hoping to get through. When I popped home to throw on my workout gear, I was still in blinders mode, looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. That's when I happened across a sweet little note attached to my mirror. A huge smile immediately came across my face, but I didn't have time to call Mr. Hawk before running out again for bootcamp.

"I want to marry you"

When I made it back home for the second time, I was even more exhausted. I had my butt kicked in class and I was ready to make some dinner. I went to hang up my keys on our shelf and I came across another note. Heading to the kitchen to cook some dinner, I found still another note.

"I miss you"

"I love you!"

I was feeling pretty freakin' special at that point.  Looking forward to talking to Mr. Hawk ASAP, I hurriedly cooked some soup and started to eat my dinner. Before I could finish, he rang me up to check in. I went on gushing about the notes and how sweet they were. He asked me how many I had found. Three? Oh no, there was still another waiting to be discovered! Of course not to be the one to just wait and "happen upon" it, I went to the bedroom, the only room I hadn't been in since leaving for work. That's when I found this last little beauty waiting atop my pillow.

"I want to spend my life with you!"

At the risk of being a braggart, I've got to say that I have a great man. It was still a rough day filled with responsibility, but Mr. Hawk really lightened my load. He eased my stress by reminding me that he cares. Even though it was a simple gesture, I know he took the time just to put a smile on my face. I don't know about y'all, but little gestures to support the ones you love? I think that's key to a successful partnership.

How do you show your significant other you care? Has your man ever gone out of his way to brighten your day? (I sure hope so!)

All photos personal

Dinner Discussions & Decisions

Throughout the whole planning process, Mr. Hawk has been pretty darn laid back. (Thank God at least one of us is as cool as a cucumber!) Besides the occasional, “do you really need that?” or “um, I thought we were thinking of ways to save money?” he’s happily let me take the reins and be little miss type-A. But when it came to discussing the food, it was a bit of a different story. I am obviously madly in love Mr. Hawk, but sometimes his obsession with all things food (well mainly pork) kills me.

When we started discussing menu ideas, we knew we didn’t necessarily want to go the traditional reception route of a steak dish, a chicken dish, and veggies. We threw some ideas around and landed on serving southern-style comfort food. It fit our location and us as a couple. (Plus who doesn’t enjoy gourmet mac and cheese?!)  I was thinking Virginia Ham, biscuits and corn bread, and some southern-style veggies (all perhaps with a little elegant twist). Mr. Hawk heard southern and thought “PULLED PORK!” I think a lot of men have an obsession with all things pork that us women may never understand, but this was ridiculous. (We weren’t discussing what to eat for your average Saturday night dinner here!) I just didn’t see having pulled pork sandwiches as being as elegant as I wanted for our evening reception. Apparently it was all Mr. Hawk could see. [Sigh.]

Photo via Simply Recipes

I went about the process of requesting quotes and having consultations with several Williamsburg caterers all the while with the nagging pork issue in the back of my mind. (I mean, it was the ONE thing he actually cared about. It didn’t feel right to just ignore his request, but it also needed to fit with our reception style). When we finally agreed on our selection, Williamsburg Catering Company, there was one tiny issue. The menu they offered had all the things I was looking for, but lacked a little something Mr. Hawk was obsessing over. Luckily they were very accommodating and willing to work with special requests. Did they make pulled pork? Of course! Could they do it as a slider as one of the passed hors d’ourves? Yes, they sure could. (Victory!) So I got my classed-up southern comfort foods, and Mr. Hawk got his pulled pork. (Well only if those tasty sliders aren’t completely gone by the time we get to cocktail hour!)

Was there a time your groom was suddenly more vocal about a decision? Did he want to participate in the food selections?

Legacy Hall L-O-V-E

Finding the perfect reception space was definitely not a walk in the park. It wasn’t nearly as easy of a decision as securing the ceremony location. (And to be honest after being snapped back into reality with our budget constraints, I wasn’t feeling as confident about the ease of booking a reception space.) Since Williamsburg is such a small town, there wasn’t an adbundance of information about weddings online. I began a search by visiting a number of photography blogs to view pictures of real weddings in the area. It was a great way to gather ideas about new locations and have a more candid view of the spaces.

I initially found Wessex Hall at Williamsburg Winery. As a senior in college I had made a trip with fellow sorority sisters to the winery and had fond memories. A reception at a winery would be fitting as Mr. Hawk and I enjoyed attending the occasional wine tasting, and the rustic look of Wessex Hall with wood beams and metal chandeliers was perfect (and felt very Williamsburg). It was around $1000 less than the Alumni House which was a plus, but when I contacted them, our date was booked. (Ugh. Woulda been too easy, right?) They only had availability on Labor Day weekend and I wasn’t willing to change our date (and go back on the College's waiting list for Wren) so I moved on.

Photo via Williamsburg Winery

Next I considered several of the hotels in the area. There was the Hospitality House, where I was planning on reserving a room block, the Williamsburg Lodge, and Williamsburg Inn. The Lodge was booked, the Inn wanted something like a minimum of $20,000 in food and beverage, and the look of the Hospitality House's ballroom wasn't exactly the look I was going for. (NEXT!)

That's when I happened across this blog about budget weddings in the Hampton Roads area. Kate offered some great ideas including the Williamsburg Community Building, the Yorktown Freight Shed, and 2007 Legacy Hall. The Freight Shed was already booked, but both Legacy Hall and the Community Building were available as they did not allow reservations more than a year in advance. I made appointments to see the spaces in person and dragged my MOH down to the 'burg one day after work. We visited Legacy Hall first. It was perfect. Only three years old, the building is new, modern and fresh. It boasts floor-to-ceiling windows on the back wall, a retractable sky light, hardwood floors and houses its own kitchen! [AHHH!] Best of all the price is about a third of what we looked at initially and would really allow us some leeway in the budget.

All photos personal

I was pretty set on Legacy, but we went over to the Community Building anyway. (I swear, I tried to give it a fair shot, but I had Legacy L-O-V-E.) I did love the super-high angled ceiling and the location is closer to campus, but it was a bit older and I wasn't loving the carpeting after seeing the hardwood at Legacy. My mind was made up. I had to hold out a couple weeks until May, but the moment I could officially reserve it, I sent in my application and deposit. I had me a reception hall!


Are you having your ceremony and reception at the same location? If not, was finding one significantly easier than the other?

OH MY, DIY!

After ditching my initial wedding inspiration, I had a new-found determination to define a style that fit me and Mr. D. Not long after beginning my search, I fell in love again. Lightning had struck twice. This time though, it didn’t feel forced.  (I swear, it felt like the skies parted and the wedding gods smiled upon me.)

Image via The Zella Guide, Via Love Notes, Photo by Stephanie Williams Photography

I ADORED the simplicity and classic beauty of antique blue mason jar arrangements, and it wasn’t just because they were “pretty.” To top it off, they were the most amazing backdrop for yellow flowers. (See what I saying about the wedding gods?) The only thing holding me back from proclaiming full-on victory was cost. After some research, I found that those antiques were a bit pricey. That’s when I found a DIY tutorial from Bridal Buzz.



I must admit that when it comes to crafting, I am pretty confident about my abilities. I don’t claim to be “artsy,” but I’ve always counted myself as “crafty.” Besides, every sorority girl worth her weight should know her way around a Hobby Lobby. (Hello t-shirts, hand-painted frames, and personalized anything-that-will-stay-still-long-enough to be puffy painted/embroidered/sharpie-d... you get my point.) Anyways, Bridal Buzz's mason jars stained blue to appear like the antique blue ball jars seemed like a great way to save a couple bucks.



I got some gals together and after several stops, we had a case of mason jars, Vitrea 160 glass paint in turquoise, Vitrea thinner, and I was ready to go. When doing a search of using Vitrea glass paint, I had seen several different comments about the best application methods. Some said using brushes and others said wiping on gave the best results. 

Personal Photos

I put on some plastic gloves (blue jars? cute. blue fingers? notsomuch.) and mixed the paint (3 parts thinner to 1 part paint).


I began by applying my paint mix with a paper towel. (Too streaky!) I tried an old t-shirt. (The shirt absorbed too much paint and was still too streaky!) I tried cheesecloth. (You guessed it, too streaky.) I even tried a two-coat combination. I wiped on in small sections. I wiped the whole glass at once. Nothing worked. The only method that appeared to be streak-free was rolling the glass in the paint/thinner combination, but it resulted in completely opaque color, which was obviously not the look I was going for. Although I never tried with a fan brush, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been pleased with the results.

Personal Photo
(From left to right: authentic blue ball jar, double coat, paper towel application, cheesecloth application)

I broke down and ordered the real thing from ebay [sigh]. My first DIY = failure. Perhaps I had unreal expectations of what the end result would be or maybe my perfectionism reared its ugly head. Whatever the reason, I knew that I wasn’t going to be satisfied with the results of this project. To save myself some frustration, I threw in the towel (and cheesecloth).

Personal Photo of the ebay purchase along with some arrangement inspiration

Have you ever started a DIY that you had to abandon?