Wedding Archives - Page 3 of 5 - Ashley Hackshaw / Lil Blue Boo

The Wedding…..

April 29, 2011 by Ashley Hackshaw

Did you watch the royal wedding today? I was up early…..it’s the first thing I thought about when I woke up this morning. I think I might have had more anxiety than the bride and groom….I wanted everything to just be perfect for them!

I thought her dress was just perfect…..you know I am a huge Alexander McQueen fan. (Remember Boo’s inspired outfit? her headpiece looks just like some of those hats worn today)

Some cool facts about the dress via Daily Mail:
:: The lacework for the dress was carried out at the studios at the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace. The embroiderers were not told which bride would be receiving their painstaking work.
:: The lace applique, which featured the four floral emblems of the UK – rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock – was made using the Carrickmacross lace-making technique, which originated in Ireland in the 1820s.
:: The process is so time-consuming that it takes even experienced stitchers about an hour to sew an inch.
:: Each motif, some as small as a five-pence piece, was then crafted with minute stitches every two to three millimetres.
:: The workforce, estimated to be at least 12 strong, included students from Britain, Japan, China, the U.S., Thailand and Germany — aged between 19 and 70.
:: All were required to wash their hands every 30 minutes to keep the lace and threads pristine, and to renew needles every three hours to maintain optimum sharpness.
:: The dress was stitched in separate sections and put together only at the last possible moment, within the confines of Buckingham Palace where a special workroom was set up.

My family (and many others) think my younger brother Swen looks JUST like Prince William….can you see a resemblance? I have to do a double take when I see a photo of Prince William on a magazine stand.

Wedding Part VI: The Final Post

February 27, 2010 by Ashley Hackshaw

Remember all those posts leading up to my sister’s wedding?

Wedding Part I: Making the ring pillow, starting the flower girl dress
Wedding Part II: My grandfather’s book, my wedding, heirlooms, THE phone call
Wedding Part III: Sewing the rehearsal dresses, engagement photo shoot preview
Wedding Part IV: Finishing the flower girl dress, more engagement photos
Wedding Part V: Handmade jewelry, gift and favor bags, flip-flops and golf tees, fast food

Well, I finally have the photos from my sister’s wedding! Ash Little did an amazing job (check out his commentary on his blog here). The ceremony and reception took place at Carmel Country Club in Charlotte, NC where we grew up playing golf, swimming and celebrating every holiday and birthday. My favorite photo from the wedding……Perry swinging Boo around on the dance floor:

Before the Ceremony

Boo getting her hair done at Carmen Carmen. See the ballet dancers from the Nutcracker in the background? They entertained her the whole time!

She won’t even let me brush her hair….but she sat perfectly still to get her “flower girl” look!

Perry’s dress was SO beautiful…..and tiny……I probably could have fit ONE leg in it:

Attaching the veil:

Justin’s sister Jenny clasping the bracelet she made Perry:

Putting on Sienna’s jewelry that Jenny made:

Hide and seek:

Watching all the guests arrive:

Almost time to walk down the aisle!

Meanwhile the guys were getting ready:

Here is Justin’s dad entertaining the groomsmen with one of his card tricks:

Justin and the guys playing pool before the wedding:

The Ceremony

Sienna walked with me down the aisle….carrying pretzels in her basket:

One of my favorite photos:

Instead of walking up the aisle…..my dad brought Perry from the front and over the putting green (where my sister started golfing at the age of 3). Here he is reaching into his pocket for a golf ball which he rolled across the green…..it almost went in:

My dad is a member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews…..and one day wants his ashes walked over the Swilcan Bridge and thrown into the Road Hole Bunker…..bagpipes were required:

The vows:

The Reception

Mr. Lil Blue Boo and Boo sharing a father/daughter dance:

Boo danced the entire night as the center of attention:

Perry and Justin sharing a moment:

If you’ve never met us all….then you might not know that everyone in our family is a ham:

My sister and I are the loudest and craziest:

….and we like to drag everyone into our fun:

My dad started the train:

Perry and my dad surprised everyone by singing Rocky Top:

My brother doing the robot to Rocky Top….he’s quite the comedian:

The Details

Perry, Justin, my mother and Tim Bagwell (the family interior designer) did an amazing job putting everything together. They did everything themselves…..from putting together the centerpieces and flowers, to printing all the paper goods etc.

All the tall centerpieces were made using branches spray painted gold. Tea lights and flowers were added.

The “sweet” table: Perry spray painted different hat boxes she picked up at discount stores a robin’s egg blue and collected jars and bowls of different heights and styles.

Favor bags for the cookies and candy….decorated with the wedding logo (Emily Ley Paper designed the wedding monogram and my sister used it to print up all her labels, programs, etc):

The End of the Night

Telling my sister what to expect on her wedding night….LOL!!!

And they live happily ever after!

Wedding Part V: Preview

November 10, 2009 by Ashley Hackshaw

We are back from my sister and Justin’s wedding in Charlotte, NC. Every detail was perfect: the bagpipes, my dad rolling a golf ball as he walked my sister across the putting green, my dad and sister singing Rocky Top as a duet, Sienna dancing for 4 hours straight! I am not going to even post photos from the ceremony or reception until Ash Little’s are ready….mine won’t even do it justice. But I thought I’d post some photos from the days before right up to zipping the dress!

Here are all the gift bags and welcome baskets my sister and Justin made:

A stack of flip-flops for the bridesmaids so we wouldn’t have to wear our heels at the reception:

Justin’s sister Jenny made all of the jewelry for the bridesmaids….

…..and this Swarovski Crystal and pearl bracelet for Perry on her wedding day. Isn’t it amazing?

Thousands of golf tees for everyone…..

Perry’s shoes and part of her veil:

Sienna playing “pool” with her soon-to-be Uncle Justin:

Perry with the guys bowling at Strike City. We had the VIP room with 4 lanes and our own bar which made it SO much fun! My dad and Justin’s dad are on the bottom right.

I finally got a chance to meet my 4-month-old nephew Cameron (my brother’s son):

The rehearsal was COLD. Here are the ring bearers Ethan and Brady (Justin’s nephews) and Sienna practicing:

Sienna and my matching dresses worked out great! Here we are with Brett and Perry at the rehearsal dinner at Duke Mansion. My sister made the most amazing video for us all to watch with video clips and photos from the years.

Perry and my brother Swen. Sienna kept trying to sneak up the stairs.

Judy, Justin’s mother, used flowers from her friend’s farm for the rehearsal dinner arrangements.

My mom and dad at the rehearsal. Justin was telling how he had to track my dad down at a golf tournament to ask for Perry’s hand in marriage…..and finally found him in China…..but my dad corrected him that it was actually Australia. Whatever….it was STILL far!!!

Sienna getting her hair curled on the day of the wedding:

I took a photo of the photographers Ash and Harrison. I’m sure they’ll cringe at the quality of the photo. Aren’t they handsome?! They did the most amazing job…..everywhere I turned the whole day they were right there.

A gift from my Aunt Sharon to the couple. The photo is of our great-grandmother Mabel (Marjorie’s mother) and the carving set is over a 100 years old and belonged to an woman named Marie Ammon that lived on Hermitage Court for years who had no children. My grandfather’s aunt used to own a large white mansion on Hermitage Court long ago….it is now a nursing home.

Sienna gave Aunt Perry a little gift before she walked down the aisle. A necklace from Hip Mom Jewelry with Perry’s new initials on it. The tag had a little diamond inset. Thanks Ann! She loved it! I added the ring charm that I had bought for my wedding years ago.