Weddingbee Blog

Hi hive. I know I’ve been missing for a while…twenty days to be exact. I’m sorry about that. Really, truly, I will do better. But the holidays were a rough time. I can’t even remember the last time I uploaded the pictures from my camera into my computer. I’ve been keeping up with your activities, commenting here and there as I found a lone free minute at work.

I’ve been up to a lot. I finished the ring bearer pillows (finally). I finished purchasing the gifts for the bridesmaids, and picked out the gifts for the men. We started getting RSVPs back in (and only one family said no, yikes!!). There’s been a lot.

But this post isn’t about any of that. As the title says, it’s about favors. Our favors had to fulfill a number of purposes. 1) They had to fit our theme. 2) They had to fit our color scheme. 3) They had to do double duty because we weren’t having place cards on some table at the entrance to the dining hall. 4) They had to be pretty and/or shiny.

That being said, there was really only one option:
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I spent two weeks of my summer vacation visiting Lil Boa (my MOH), who lives in New York City and is an advertising student (she’s the artsy one in the family), to do some sisterly bonding. After a couple of days of staying home while she went out to work, I decided to be productive. My version of productiveness is bridal-gown shopping by myself. I hunted down the nearest bridal shop, which turned out to be Designer Loft. Luckily I could drop in without an appointment that day because they were having an open house. (Thank you, dress gods!)

After arriving, I quickly explained my bridal vision to the attendant, who in turn became very committed to help me achieve it and was so helpful throughout the afternoon. She picked out about eight dresses for me (all Jenny Packham), four of which I deemed decent enough to photograph.

Dress #1. This one was the attendant’s favorite…hence the reason there is a photo of it; I really didn’t like it. It made me feel matronly and old.

Dress #1 front

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OK, I promise you that we will talk about some actual wedding planning.

The morning after our celebratory dinner debacle, I awoke to find my father reviewing a spreadsheet on his laptop. This is actually pretty normal behavior and I’ve learned that one of the many things I have in common with my dad is our obsession with spreadsheets.

Image via Find Me a Gift

My coffee mug says so. It must be true.

I’ve also learned that spreadsheets are irreplaceable when it comes to wedding planning. Oh, and beer. I’ve pretty much decided that all of life’s problems can be solved with an impeccable spreadsheet and a tasty beer.

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So, one downside to planning from afar… I don’t really get to have “wedding adventures” with my family. I send them these awful emails like… “We went bridesmaid dress shopping!” or “I picked out my wedding dress!” or “Hey, I just had a great idea for my invitations!” They don’t get to participate due to distance, and so everybody has a sad.

Not so for tux fittings! Bossyboots set his man-attire look just before Christmas, so while I was down with my family, my dad and I thought it be funny if we made an event out of the Pops Snapdragon tux fitting. I had to be his wing-woman and tag along!

Now to remind you - there are 21 kids in my immediate family. Imagine what that means for Christmas… that’s right, stress and more stress. We have NO TIME to do anything but shop for hams and wrap presents. My dad’s tux fitting needed to happen in 15 minutes or less.

Game on.

First, load yourself up with Starbucks. Do not pass Go. And definitely do not pass your local Starbucks.

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rkckjhawk wore a stunning David’s Bridal lace vintage-style gown

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Oh, hi! Remember this little beauty?

This is my aunt’s gorgeous mantilla veil that she so kindly donated to me for the wedding. The only minor problem was that awesome hat it was attached to.

Well, we ended up finding someone to detach the hat at sew the lace onto the veil. Ready to see it?

One more thing…
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Hello Hive! I just arrived back home after a ten day vacation visiting my family in California. It was a much-needed break, but I can’t believe how much I missed the Weddingbee community! I’m back, fully refreshed, and I can’t wait to share what I’ve been up to! Of course my vacation had plenty of relaxation and good  ol’ family time, but it was also full of plenty of wedding-related activities. I even made some time to grab a burger with Miss Doe and Mrs. Lemon. (Thank you ladies for hanging out with me! It was such a treat.)

But more important than completing wedding tasks and what really stuck with me throughout the trip was the feeling of family, of comfort, and of love. Although Mr. Hawk has spent time with my family before and even came on a trip with us last year to Arizona, this was the first holiday vacation he spent with my family. It was by no means a “test,” but it was definitely an incredibly important time for us. Family is of the utmost importance to me, and I couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome.

My family welcomed him with open arms, and he participated in our annual ornament exchange. Momma Hawk even ordered him a stocking to display on our mantle and included him in the family Christmas card. I guess the best way I can describe it was that it felt completely “right.”
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On Saturday, Mr. Cardigan and I celebrated our one year anniversary. We both felt like it was a bit surreal as neither of us feel like there’s any way it’s been an entire year since we got married. It feels more like one month.

(Photo by She-N-He Photography)

It’s been an incredibly wonderful year full of all sorts of exciting events (like buying our first home, moving back to Austin, and both starting new jobs!) and we feel so blessed to be doing all of this together. I have to admit, though, I think we’re both hoping that year two has a little less excitement and a little more settling in and relaxing.
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I’ve read that the average engagement length is between 14 and 16 months. I completely understand the reasons why people wait over a year to get married. Some people have their hearts set on a specific date or season. Other people have a long list of DIY projects and tasks to complete. Some people live in locations where venues book up fast. Most people, including us, need some time to save up and budget.

Honestly, though, I don’t think we could ever wait that long. It already seems like Mr. Mole and I have been engaged for-ev-er, even though it’s only been about 8.5 months. And we still have three more weeks to go. Argh. Patience is clearly not one of my virtues.

We finished all of the major planning months and months ago. We found our venues, our photographer, our wedding day outfits, our centerpieces, etc., throughout the summer and early fall. The only things that are left are the small stuff that we would have had to wait on until now anyway: creating seating charts, making escort cards, finishing dress alterations, confirming times and appointments. All that the extra time allowed me to do was start to second-guess my original decisions!

If I could pick my ideal engagement length, I would pick 6 months.
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