Weddingbee Blog

The story of our wedding rings actually began months ago when I received an e-mail from the Knot about a trunk show in the DC area. As luck would have it the jeweler was featuring my engagement setting designer, Verragio, AND offering 20% discount on purchases. (Sa-weeeet.) Since I already knew I was going to order my engagement setting’s matching band, making an appointment was really a no-brainer for me. As luck would have it, they were also featuring some men’s bands as well, and Mr. Hawk had the opportunity to try on some rings.

Before we arrived he was pretty insistent that he was going to get a ring with a little bling bling; however, once he started trying them on, he instantly gravitated away from diamonds and straight toward tungsten. The darker metal looked great on his skin and he was still able to get some detailing that he was looking for. (And it really didn’t hurt that the metal matched his prized watch that he wears daily.)
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Finding bow ties in the perfect shade of yellow to match the bridesmaids dresses was not an easy feat. I spent hours online browsing before I conceded that my old friend Etsy might be the best option. I stalked a number of shops before deciding on Tux & Tulle, which offered a vast array of yellow prints. The shop owner, Jane, was incredibly helpful. When I sent her several prints I was interested in, I also forwarded a picture of one of the dresses. Since she was so familiar with the fabric, she was able to steer me towards the best options.

I ordered just one to start to ensure that the color was close enough to the dresses. Recently the tie came in and I am super-pleased! So, without further ado…

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A few days ago the New York Times posted an article in their Weddings/Celebrations section  titled “Talking Points.” The article consisted of a short list of questions that the author suggested couples discuss prior to marriage.

Some questions like, “to what extent are you willing to go to have a family, medically?” and, “will we share our credit reports with each other?” seemed to be pretty straightforward and something one might naturally discuss with their partner over the course of their relationship. There were also other questions I would have never considered such as, “what will we do if we find out our child has severe disabilities?” that seemed very valid. I had never thought to discuss something like that with Mr. Hawk, but I think it would be a great conversation to have.

Finding it thought provoking, I was about to hit the forward button to Mr. H. Then I came to the end of the list. “Should we have an exit strategy for the marriage, and if so, what would it be?”
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Remember way back when I oohed and ahhed over event lighting? (And then pouted when Mr. Hawk put the kibosh on all my hopes and dreams?!) Well Hive, the mister has officially seen the light. (Har, har)

Over the past couple of months, I’ve stayed pretty silent about my quiet obsession, but I never lost hope. With our date rapidly approaching I knew the decision was a now-or-never one. I set up another appointment with Blue Steel Lighting and made sure Mr. H was going to be able to tag along this time. During the appointment, Mr. Hawk and I viewed a slide show of befores and afters along with various color scheme options. Then, like my previous solo appointment, we headed to the mock-up room to see the lights in action.

Seeing the demonstration in person was a game-changer.
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I know I have gone on about the trials and tribulations that my ’maids and I went through to get to this point, but I am so happy to report that all of the bridesmaids’ dresses have been purchased and I have the final dress lineup!

All images from J.Crew / Lineup by Miss Hawk’s cut and paste skills / From left to right: Juliette, Leona, Louisa, Sinclair, Arabelle

I am extremely excited about how the different styles look next to each other and can’t wait to see my ladies wear them! I think they selected a great mix!

For anyone else interested in the J.Crew line, I have nothing but good things to say. The dresses are definitely well made and come in a number of different styles. J.Crew even recently released some adorable new silk-chiffon styles:

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Please excuse me for a moment while I get mushy-gushy…

Dear Mr. Hawk,

Exactly 100 days from today, we will be married. We have been engaged for just shy of a year now, but it almost feels like forever ago that you proposed to me while we vacationed in NYC. Being engaged has been awesome. I’ve been busily planning under the notion that it was all in preparation for some distant, far away date. Sending out the save the dates was a big “this is getting real” moment, but for some reason seeing that countdown clock hit 100 changed things. It got me excited and giddy because I know it’s not some distant date down the road. It’s actually approaching, and rather quickly at that! We’ve got most of the major details locked down, but these next couple months will probably be a whirlwind. Most likely I’ll get caught up in silly details, and I can almost promise you that at some point you will find me on the floor crying surrounded by ribbons, paper, and/or fabric scraps. Thank you for your patience.
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When chatting yesterday with Momma Hawk, she asked if I had received the latest email from Target about the new bridesmaid dress collection. Eerrrr, WHAT?!

Being an aficionado of all things Tar-jay, I was astounded that I had missed the announcement. Of course I immediately clicked away to Target.com to check them out.

Screenshot from Target

There are currently nine dresses in the line, all affordable and priced at $69.99. The styles are fairly simple, but definitely cute! Here

are some of my favorites:
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It’s been a while since I’ve talked cupcakes, but over the weekend, the mister and I headed to our favorite local cupcake shop, Pearl’s, to have our tasting. (It’s actually quite surprising that there were flavors for us left to try! When one of the owners asked us how we heard about their shop, another lady working said, “oh, they’re regulars!” Embarrassing? Maybe a little. But I am powerless to resist their cupcakes. I’m not afraid to admit it.)

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Since I shared my invitation wording tips, I figured I should also share what Mr. H and I ended up with and how we came to our decision.

Here is the wording in its entirety (well minus those pesky blanks):

The honor of your presence is requested as

Lauren M____

daughter of C___ and R___ Mylastname

and

Aaron J____

son of C___ Hislastname and the late R____ Hislastname

are united in Holy Matrimony

on Saturday the ___ of May

two thousand and twelve

at five o’clock

The Chapel of the Sir Christopher Wren Building

Williamsburg, Virginia

Because some of y’all may find it helpful, I will break it down and share how we came up with the different elements.

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Mr. Hawk and I recently went through the arduous task of developing our invitation wording. Although I ordered the design of our invites months ago, I kept putting off sending the finalized wording. When we finally got down to business I think I found out why I was stalling. The process sounded simple enough, but I kept thinking about how our invitation was going to be one of those items that I intend to keep forever and hopefully will display in our home. I wanted it to be perfect. Here are some tips that may help you as you work on your invites. I jumped in head first, and in hindsight I wished I had been more methodical about it.

1. Learn the elements of invitation wording. Although invites aren’t always in this exact format or order, I found it helpful to know what I was looking at when reading samples. (This also helped me later to make sure I was hitting all the necessary marks.)

Chart via Basic Invite

2. Before writing anything, read examples and get a sense of what wording or feel you like best. Are your invites traditional or casual? Are you having a religious ceremony? I found the Invitations Consultants to be a great resource for samples. While I was reading examples, I made notes of varying request lines and introductions that I found might best fit our style.

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Or alternately, How I’m Getting My Behind in Gear

I am not one of those “naturally thin” people and have always had to be active to stay in shape. Growing up, I danced competitively year-round, which kept me healthy. I guess I took being active and having scheduled workouts for granted. Once college hit, the pounds packed on and I had to find a new way to stay in shape. My main downfall, however, always seems to be a lack of sustained commitment.

I certainly always start with gusto, but once I plateau and stop seeing results, my motivation wanes. Dancing was perfect for me because it was scheduled, and I was held accountable for being there. (Plus, I loved it, and it certainly didn’t feel boring and tiresome like a lot of other exercise feels to me.) I’ve done plenty of dance-type exercise, which I find keeps the boredom factor at bay, but I still struggle with accountability.

Over the summer I decided that I was going to train for my first race, a simple 5K. I had run for exercise for years, but never trained for a race. Once I signed up there was no going back, and it certainly held me accountable. I really enjoyed having a goal and being able to achieve it was incredibly rewarding. I vowed to sign up for a 10K, but it never happened. Soon it was dark and cold and I was back inside being lazy.

Now that time’s a-ticking and wedding bells are getting closer and closer, I knew I had to do something to get myself back on the healthy track. I finally bit the bullet and signed up for the Monument 10K, one of the biggest races in Richmond.
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While listening to an area morning show, I heard about an article featured in the New York Times opinion columns, titled “Alpha Wives: The Trend and the Truth.” From the radio conversation, it seemed like another discourse on men not being able to handle being with successful women. The DJ’s listed countless failed marriages: Courtney Cox and David Arquette, Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, Sandra Bullock and Jesse James, Britney Spears and Kevin Federline… And implied that the success of the woman was most likely part of the demise of the marriage. (Jesse James though? Really? I think we all know what his problem was…)

When I had a free minute, I looked up the article (and I’ll admit I was ready to dislike it from the start). I was surprised to find seven takes on the growing trend of women being the breadwinners in the family. All of the writers featured stats from the latest Pew Research Center Study and had positive things to say about growing equality in marriage and joint responsibility; however, the article was entitled “Alpha Wives.” Now I am all for a powerful, educated, and determined woman, but for some reason the “alpha” title irked me. Most of the contributors referred to joint responsibility in finances and taking care of the home as well as shared decision-making power. To me that says that no one is really “alpha” in the relationship.

The article got me thinking about my own relationship. Mr. Hawk currently makes a higher income than I do and also has the burden of being on the road most of the week.
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Since my last post about wedding shoes (what feels like forever ago), I let shoes slip right out of my mind. But lately Weddingbee has literally been abuzz with gorgeous shoe posts, bringing my lack of shoes back to the forefront of my mind. I couldn’t hide from it any longer. Like many others out there, I decided to turn to Pinterest to get my creative juices flowing. I pinned some great inspiration, like these adorable flats:

SUPER CUTE! Flats via J. Crew

(BUT if you’re paying attention, these J.Crew flats are actually Crewcuts…as in children’s shoes…sigh).
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Or How the J. Crew Warehouse Sales Rock My World. (But more on that in a minute…)

While vacationing in NorCal, one of the highlights of my trip was helping my little sister, Sissy Hawk, find the perfect bridesmaids dress. Even though she’s only eleven years old, she’s been one of my biggest cheerleaders. She jumped into the process wholeheartedly and has even dedicated hours to Say Yes to the Dress and David Tutera in support of my big day. So seeing her joy and letting her be the princess and the center of attention was incredibly fun.

You may remember a while back when I revealed that I had chosen to go with the J. Crew chiffon collection. Although they technically do not make junior bridesmaids dresses, they do offer petites in many of the styles, and they ended up looking great on Sissy Hawk.

Here were her top contenders:

#1 Juliet

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I know I told you just a few days ago that Momma Hawk purchased the gold Adrianna Papell Metallic Crepe Sheath Dress and Bolero from Nordstrom. (Here it is again in case y’all forgot how it looked.)

But then we made a stop off at Nordstrom Rack. (Real quick. Just to see their selection. Famous last words, right?) One swoop around the clearance section, and Momma Hawk and I both had an armful of dresses. (Sigh.) We are awfully glad we stopped, though, because after trying them all on, we had added two additional (very affordable) dresses to the mix.

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