Hawkily Ever After: Becoming a Bride

After primping with my ladies, it was time to officially become a bride. C pinned in my veil.

Then it was time for the best part: putting on the dress. Momma Hawk and I took it down from its pretty hanger so I could step into it.

Photo courtesy of BM T

Just a quick word of advice for future brides. Don't worry about modesty when putting on the dress. Instead of flashing the girls my bum, I decided that I would step into the dress, denim shorts on. (How ridiculously silly, no?) Getting those suckers off was a task under a mountain of dress. Sorry, Momma Hawk! (Thank goodness there are no pictures of that part!)

 

MOH A snapped the lace embellishment at my waist into place.

 

The only thing left was to put on my accessories.

I slipped off the watch Mr. Hawk gifted me...

and into my shoes.

My bridal look was complete!

Momma Hawk asked me how I was feeling.

I'm pretty sure I responded with, "I can't believe it's really happening!"

I took a quick moment to breath,

 gave myself a spritz of perfume,

and walked out the door to go meet my groom!

All photos by Valerie Demo Photography unless otherwise noted.

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

Hawkily Ever After: Getting Pretty

The morning of the wedding I woke up around six in the morning after getting only four hours of sleep. My best intentions of leaving the cocktail party early the night before were foiled by my inability to sleep. Luckily we had an errand to run first thing to keep me busy. MOH A and I made a delivery to Legacy Hall to drop off the seating chart, cigars, and table numbers. Unfortunately we ran into a snag when the door was not unlocked at the time we requested. We ended up getting stuck there for a little longer than planned, and by the time we got back, I had to quickly jump in the shower before the makeup artist arrived. I was scheduled last, so I had enough time to blowdry before sitting in the chair.

Theresa Little started with my makeup, giving me the perfect natural smokey eye with individual lashes.


Photo courtesy of Momma Hawk

Then she airbrushed the rest of my makeup and made me a touch-up kit, which was a savior considering I chowed down on a Cheese Shop sandwich right after my makeup was complete. (Oops! Eat first, ladies!!)


Photo courtesy of Momma Hawk

As soon as I finished eating lunch, C began working her magic on my hair.

Photo courtesy of BM T



Before she could finish, Groomsmen R popped over to drop off my wedding gift from Mr. Hawk. I had completely forgotten about delivering mine, so I was relieved that Mr. H remembered!

You might notice that the two boxes look eerily similar exactly the same. Mr. H and I bought each other watches and had them engraved with our married monogram and wedding date. (I'll admit a little cheeseball, but I love it.) Even though receiving it wasn't a surprise, I was still giddy about opening it up and checking out the inscription while C got back to work.

In betweens curls and bobby pins, MOH A broke out the champagne.

Photo courtesy of BM T

Photo courtesy of BM T

We had a little toast, and it was back to beautifying.

Proof we used the champagne flutes! Photo courtesy of BM T

Photo courtesy of BM T

Photo courtesy of BM T

One last spray of hairspray and my primping was complete!

Will you be using a professional makeup artist or hair stylist?

*All photos by Valerie Demo Photography unless otherwise noted*

Miss a recap? Don't fret! Catch up here...

We rehearse and welcome our guests
We review our planning journey

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!

Hawkily Ever After: The Day Before

The few days leading up to my wedding were a blur. Momma, Daddy, and Sissy Hawk all flew in the Wednesday before our Saturday wedding, and I have a really hard time recalling exactly how we spent that time. I know we ran some errands, I completed some last minute projects, and we even squeezed in a Richmond Squirrels game Thursday night to "de-stress," but the only thing that really sticks out in my memory was the emotion I was feeling: anxiety, stress, and panic were surging through me. The multitude of tasks to be completed kept me spinning. It really came to head the day before the wedding.

Daddy Hawk and Mr. H had planned a round of golf for Friday morning, while Momma H, Sissy H, MOH A, and I were to make the drive to Williamsburg together. The morning came and I was feeling frustrated that Mr. Hawk was taking it easy on the golf course, while I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off. Don't get me wrong, I was happy to have my favorite men bonding, but at that moment it felt like the world was on my shoulders alone. I'm pretty sure I was cursing Mr. H as I hurriedly cleaned out his car last minute.

Because we had so many items to transport, Mr. H and I switched vehicles for the drive. We packed up my larger SUV with all the wedding items, while I drove his smaller sedan. It didn't seem like an issue until the vehicle was packed with bags and we ran the last errand: picking up the wedding dress.

Poor MOH A and Sissy Hawk had to withstand a one hour drive under the puffy pink heat of my dress bag. There was not an inch of extra room.

Once we arrived in Williamsburg, it was another whirlwind. We checked into the hotel, only to turn around and grab lunch before heading to the nail salon. I received two hours reprieve with my bridesmaids while we enjoyed manicures and pedicures, but at that point I was in a haze. I remember slowly sipping on some crappy coffee, trying to perk up, while my insides were swirling. At that point I could have crashed, but we still had so much left to do.

Did anyone else experience a quiet, internal panic the day before the wedding?

Miss a recap? Don't fret! Catch up here...

We review our planning journey

Hawkily Ever After: A recap before the recaps

I recently received this lovely little package from my photographer.


Gifts!

 It also, of course, contained the flash drive with all of my wedding day images!

Horray!

But before I jump straight into wedding day recaps, I figured I'd do a short review of our planning journey for those of you who might not have been around. Here is the Hawk engagement: Cliffs Notes version.

Mr. Hawk and I met through mutual friends. A few years later we became an official couple. We moved in together, went ring shopping, and I got a little impatient before Mr. H asked me to marry him in March of 2011.


 We decided to have our wedding ceremony at my alma mater in picturesque Williamsburg, Virginia, but faced some sticker shock when picking our reception venue. We settled on Legacy Hall, which was both beautiful and affordable. Since we saved on our venue,  I found myself drooling over upgrades like chiavari chairs and professional lighting.


The Wren Building. Photo by Holland Photo Arts

We found a fantastic DJ, and I was thrilled when we decided to rent a photobooth, which would also serve as our guestbook. Mr. H was pretty laid back when it came to planning, but let me know that pulled pork HAD to be a part of the reception menu. Not being big fans of cake, we also decided to serve cupcakes as dessert.

When it came to color scheme, I originally thought I wanted to incorporate gray, but eventually decided on a more spring-y palette. Yellow bridesmaids dresses and bow ties definitely fit the bill.


Top row, from left to right: Bouquet via Kelly’s Wedding Flowers Gallery; Love Birds Topper via Vintage Green Modern on Etsy; Cupcakes via Wedding Magazine / Cupcakes by Cakes by Robin; Monogram via Charming Little Nest / Monogram by Southern Proper Monogram; Shoes via Hayden Olivia / Photo by Critsey Rowe; Sign via Family Attic on Etsy; 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 / Photo via 1313 Photography; Lemonade stand via Brenda’s Wedding Blog / Photo by Bello Photography / Styling by Desiree Spinner Events

For our paper elements we incorporated our engagement photos in our save-the-dates. Our invitations featured a hand drawn image of our ceremony spot. I obsessed over monograms, and it became a theme featured on hand-painted glassware, matchbook covers, tote bags, seating chart, OOT bags, and OOT information packets.

My lovely ladies threw me a fun bridal shower and bachelorette weekend in DC to celebrate my last single days. Our impending marriage started to feel more real when we bought our wedding rings and finally obtained our marriage license.


When our wedding day arrived, we followed the timeline to a "t", but it was still over in the blink of an eye.


Photo by Valerie Demo Photography


I can't wait to relive every moment of our special day with y'all. Now, on to the recaps!

First up: The day before we wed!

The Secret Life of Bees: All About Mrs. Hawk

It's been quite a while since the last post in this series, but I've always enjoyed reading more about my fellow bee bloggers. Y'all already know so much about the planning that went into my wedding, and soon you'll know all about the big day when I begin my recaps. Even though I've shared a few little secrets with the hive, I think that I still may surprise you...

I have a serious obsession with music. So much so that my iTunes library has over 5,000 songs. That's enough to play music for over 15 days straight. (And that was after a major clean up of music I hadn't listened to in years!) I honestly believe that this obsession has lead to music lyrics taking up more than half my memory. I mean, who the heck still remembers all the words to Raffi songs at my age?!


Image via Amazon

Baby Beluga? Down by the Bay? All still stuck in my brain. And I'm childless. From my first concert (Amy Grant!) to my most recent (Avett Brothers!), music has always just stuck with me.

Since I've announced my music obsession, I'm sure it will come as no surprise that I was a dancer most of my life. I've pretty much done it all: jazz, tap, modern, ballet, pointe, lyrical... You name it, I've probably danced it. (Well, except ballroom. I'm pretty sure Mr. H would rather break his foot than have to ballroom dance with me.) One of my favorite dance memories was being a part of my high school's dance team, The Emerald Belles. During football season we would perform high kick routines (most often in cowboy boots and sparkly hats).


BM T and I



A full-length shot (although we typically wore plain green skirts) with a baby Sissy Hawk! Isn't she precious?

During the winter, we would compete in more traditional forms of dance like modern or lyrical, but high kick was still our specialty.

High kick during a pep rally. (I'm in the middle!)

My time in Texas certainly left a significant impact on my life. So when my family decided to move back to Virginia, I was considerably upset. Even though I was in Nashville for college, I was still pretty devestated  about leaving. Being a rebellious 19 year old, I decided to get a tattoo (about the size of a quarter) to show my Texas love.

Other random facts about Mrs. Hawk?

I'm Hispanic (from my mother's side). I can speak Spanish, but I'm far from being fluent. In fact the last time I spoke on a regular basis was when I Momma Hawk and I traveled through Spain.


Photo by Valerie Demo Photography, cropped by me

I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I have a serious love for tea, especially Tazo brand. I keep enough in my house that I could give Starbucks a run for their money.

A peak into my pantry

I have a not-so-secret obsession with shopping. I thought about sharing a photo of my closet, but I'm actually a bit embarassed about it's current state. At any given time, I have at least one window and an app open on my phone for browsing different things. Mr. Hawk is apalled at the amount of shopping-related emails I receive.

Just the ones I've received within the last couple hours...Mr. H may be onto something here...

So tell me, can anyone relate to one of my secrets?

*All photos personal unless noted otherwise*