Wedding Photography Discount for Capitol Romance Readers!

*this discount offer is has now ended. for all current discounts/giveaways please see our sidebar on the right-hand side of this page!*

25% Off Wedding Photography with ZADesignz

I am SO excited to share our first major vendor discount on the blog ~ a discount deal exclusive to Capitol Romance readers. Starting today, readers that mention this post [and subsequent ad on the right hand side of our blog] will receive a 25% discount on wedding photography packages with ZADesignz.

We are going to have some more from Zareth with ZADesignz this afternoon and a bigger surprise coming from her next week … but for now, be sure to check out ZADesignz website, and blog for more information!

DIY How to: DIY Wedding Dress ~ Tips, Hints, & Advice

I got an email from a reader last week asking me for tips, hints, and resources on making a “DIY Wedding Dress“. I LOVED this idea for a post ~ sharing my own experiences with making a hand-made wedding dress .. and sharing some other tips & tricks I learned along the way! Thanks for the idea Megan!

The Capitol Romance Guide to a DIY Wedding Dress

Step 1. – Find someone that is able to make the dress!

     Initially I went right to Etsy. If you haven’t heard of Etsy’s Alchemy section of their website … it’s a wedding resource must.  For those that don’t know, Alchemy is a place where you can post what you are looking for and how much you are willing to spend, and then the artists can place bids on your need. I met some amazing dress makers, instantly. One fashion student responded to my post, and even drew up a sketch for me:

Right? I was smitten! I had mentioned that I was going this route to my mom and future-mother-in-law, who is a seamstress. She kindly offered, well “I could make it for you”… At first I was a bit apprehensive, as I didn’t want it to put a strain on our relationship … but then I thought how much easier it would be for her to make it – so I could try it on and make alterations, every step of the way. This turned out to be perfect for me ~ as the pattern I ended up choosing was a bit like a patch-work quilt AND in the end, the dress was perfectly fit to my body/shape/size. A perfect fit.

Step 2. – Find & narrow down inspiration pictures

Because I went the vintage route with my dress, I think my experience was probably a bit easier. Huge wedding gowns might be harder to DIY, with all their fabric and intricacies … but regardless of the type of dress you want – you will certainly need pictures to highlight EXACTLY what you like and don’t like about all parts of the dress. I would recommend narrowing your inspiration pictures down to 3 or so … too many pictures and your seamstress might get confused or the idea might be too generic and she might not end up with what you want. Here were my 3 final inspiration pictures for my DIY vintage wedding dress:

I loved the neckline, flow & length of the first, the lace sleeves and chest line on the second, and the third showcased the cummerbund that I 100% NEEDED to have in my dress. I wanted a dash of hot pink in my wedding dress ~ and to me, the cummerbund was really flattering!

Step 3. – Find a pattern

Again, this is probably easier for vintage inspired handmade [DIY] wedding dresses, as old patterns are readily available on tons of websites and Ebay of course!

Some websites to use:
http://www.momspatterns.com/ [broken down by genre & decades!]

http://www.rustyzipper.com/womens/patterns

http://www.sovintagepatterns.com/vintagepatterns.html [also broken down by decades]

http://www.mccall.com/ [for more modern dresses & patterns! you cannot beat mccall]

Warning – this could take you a pretty long time to scour through to find the perfect pattern for your DIY wedding dress ~ it took me at least a couple weeks to find one that really captured the dress I wanted. Once I found the name of the pattern [company & number] I went to Ebay to buy it for a bargain $10.00 ! This was my pattern, Vintage Simplicity Sewing Pattern 1950′s Dress #1726:

Step 4. – Get your fabric

Because my future MIL was up in NJ, and I was in DC, we decided we would go find fabric one weekend I was home. We talked about maybe heading to NYC’s Garment District ~ which has more fabric stores than I would probably know what to do with … but instead, we took a trip to our local fabric store [Joann's Fabrics] to see what they had there first. Not only did Mama Ryback have some fabulous coupons, but Joann‘s actually had an entire bridal fabric section – whites, ivories, champagnes, in cottons, polyesters, silks, and more!

We ended up scoring the perfect fabric – a beautiful off-white/pearl shade of silk, hot pink satin taffeta fabric for the cummerbund [that matched my bridesmaids' shoes to a "T", and lace for the sleeves/top of the dress!

[Home Decor Solid Fabric-Signature Series Duppioni Silk Pearl - # 10406023]

Total price of fabric from Joann‘s [including two zippers] …. $50. Yes, my handmade, vintage wedding dress cost me $50. Yes, I am bragging :-p

Readmore to see the rest of our steps to The Capitol Romance Guide to a DIY Wedding Dress and some additional advice!

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Capitol Wedding: Jenn & Greg

“It was a day that was perfectly us & looking back I can’t think of one single thing I would’ve changed!“

Happy Tuesday ~ with the end of the MLB World Series last Friday, I figured an “All American“, offbeat military wedding at a semi-pro baseball stadium in Maryland, was a nice way to get things going this week! Thanks to Gronde Photography [submitted via Two Bright Lights] for sharing this awesome Maryland wedding with us! ….. CHARGE!

How Jenn & Greg met:

Greg & I met the way it seems a lot of people meet nowadays…online!

I am from Mass & Greg was stationed on a Coast Guard Cutter in Boston.  He IM’d me one night & we really hit it off, so we decided to meet up that evening.  We met up & wound up hanging out & talking all night long. The next morning he was leaving on a train to NYC to meet up with his boat, as it was on a port call & he had just come back from training.  I was actually driving to CT that day to go to a U2 concert that night.  We parted ways know we might not see each other for some time, as once he met up with the Ship they would be getting underway for 2 weeks & then he would be flying home to Missouri to visit his family for the Holidays.

We talked & texted the whole day & the next…we were smitten & miserable that we wouldn’t get to see each other for some time…so I decided to take a train to NYC & spend the next day with him before this ship got underway.  It was amazing…the city was decorated for the holidays & we had a wonderful time talking & taking in the sites.  The next day I got on a train & he got on the ship, but before we parted we swore that this wonderful thing that was happening between us was meant to be….corny maybe, but the proof is in the pudding, as here we are almost 6 years later, numerous underway separations & a move to Maryland under our belts, married & happy as ever!

Jenn opted to wear two dresses for her wedding day ~ the first was a beautiful lace number you see here … the second was handmade by her mom!

I wore two dresses the day of the wedding…the dress I wore for the reception was sewn by my mother, and I have to say, it was my favorite dress out the two worn that day!

Jenn & her mom DIYed the flowers …. twice !! :

My mom & I made the bouquet for my matron of honor & myself….funny story though…we had the flowers in the hotel fridge overnight & they froze, so the day of the wedding my Aunt went out & whipped up new bouquets for us!

A sweet military proposal story:

The Coast Guard had a play in our meeting (as we probably would have never met if he hadn’t been stationed in Mass), so it is only fitting that it had a play in our engagement.  It was a warm night in June & we were both dressed up to attend a Coast Guard Foundation Dinner at the National Building Museum.  After the dinner was over, Greg said he wanted to go take some pictures in his dress uniform at the Grant Memorial.  As we are standing there looking over the National Mall on a wonderfully warm June evening, he asked me to grab the camera out of his pocket… “Hmm, odd” I thought to myself……never did I expect to pull out a ring box!  Of course I said yes!

I always love the “men getting ready shots” … always so calm, casual, relaxed, while all the women have been up since sunrise getting hair/makeup/etc done.

Jenn on the venue selection:

With most of our guests traveling from out of state, we wanted to have the wedding close to our home in Southern Maryland.  We picked our wedding date based on our reception, but we still hadn’t figured out the location for the ceremony.  Luckily someone I work with mentioned the Historic Port Tobacco Courthouse.

We stopped by one day while they were holding an open house & decided it was the perfect space to hold our ceremony.  They were wonderful to work with & the price was insanely reasonable for a historic space. Also, Greg & I love visiting historic sites, so it seemed fitting we get married in one!

Click inside for the rest of this adorable Baseball Stadium wedding in Maryland!

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Capitol Inspiration ~ Halloween Weddings

Personally, I am a fan of themed weddings. But, I think the best way to pull off a themed wedding is to FULLY commit to it. Don’t just throw one random element in there, use some creativity and keep your wedding design intact by really diving into the theme in all its glory.

Today, I wanted to showcase some weddings that took on a Halloween theme – and did it properly. Some went the literal sense [full-on Halloween Costume Party Wedding] and some used lots of awesome “spooky” elements to make their Halloween Wedding a really awesomely themed one.

Enjoy!

Jen & Jimmy’s Vintage Horror Themed Wedding [via the Loveliest Day]

[Photos by Mathieu Photography ~ more Vintage Horror Film Wedding Pictures here]

A Day of the Dead Engagement Shoot [via Whimsical Wonderland Weddings]

[photos by La Photographie ~ more images here]

Kathy & John’s Halloween Costume Party Wedding in Baltimore [seen here on Capitol Romance!]

[photos by Roman Grinev ~ more on our blog feature here]

Rebecca & Kreg’s Halloween Wedding from White Rabbit Studios

[more on White Rabbit Studios site]

 A Halloween Wedding in New Orleans! From Green Wedding Shoes

[more on GWS!]

…and finally … A Chic Halloween Wedding Styled Shoot from The Sweetest Occasion

[beautiful inspiration from The Sweetest Occasion]

Would you have a Halloween Wedding?? I would love to have one and go all out like Kathy & John and have guests come in costume for sure! Happy Halloween everyone!