Real Capitol Romance: Megan & Mike

Wolftrap is an awesome place in the DC Metro Area for more than just weddings. It’s a performing arts venue in Northern Virginia, and a fantastic alternative wedding reception location in the DC Metro Area.

Thanks to Laurie Bracewell photography, I have a real wedding from Wolftrap (and it is a gorrrgeous one) to share with you all today!

First things first – I just HAVE to share Mike & Megan’s engagement story with you all:

Megan flew in to visit Mike at the Naval Justice School in Rhode Island. He told her they were to have lunch with the General, and all day long his friends mentioned the occasion in passing. But, there was no lunch with the General.

Megan dressed up and they hit the road in the afternoon. Mike kept checking the time because he was worried that traffic would put them behind schedule. His friends were already busy at the 40 Steps of Newport’s Cliff Walk, preparing for them to arrive. They cleared the touristy steps of people, even shooing away old ladies enjoying their leisurely afternoon.

Mike told Megan they were waiting for his friends, and led her down the steps to take in the ocean view. But rather than feeling romantic, Megan was cranky. She had skipped dinner the night before because she was busy packing, and that morning they didn’t have time for breakfast. Now late afternoon and nearly 24 hours since her last meal, she was famished, and not in the mood to wait much longer. But her frown was washed away as they reached the bottom of the 40 Steps and she turned to see a Carl Sandburg poem penned across the steps’ faces.

At that moment she realized what was happening, and her face lit up in understanding. As Mike proposed, his friends rose from their hiding places amongst the cliffs and cheered them on. Even the old ladies had stayed to watch, clapping and smiling at the sight of young love.

Seriously people. Eternally “aww”-inducing proposal right there.

Isn’t Megan’s dress gorgeous? I love how different it is! She actually got it from OnceWed (never worn) originally from David’s Bridal (who would have guess THAT?)

Love this next one – their giddy smiles & happiness is just contagious.

In memorial of her father, who lost a battle to Cancer 6 years ago, Megan added his picture to her bouquet. Inspiring & touching.

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DIY Inspiration: Save the Date Photo Postcards

Save the Dates are something I swore I wouldn’t waste my money on … and then ended up doing them anyway. I was against the magnet or any other sort of novelty item and wanted to keep things cheap - so we decided to do a short photo shoot with our photographer and DIY it into a postcard to send our guests!

(postcard front)

(postcard back)

Postcards are a fantastic money saver when it comes to Save the Dates AND RSVP cards in your invitations! They are easy to make online (we used Vistaprint!) and use significantly less postage to send!

Here’s some more Save the Date photo & postcard inspiration to kick off this week’s DIY Wednesday!

A simple STD postcard via Wedding Paper Divas

Love the paint on the brick via Bridal Buds

Omg I LOVE this postcard design! You could have fun with a DC version! (via Bride Power)

OMG this one is infinitely awesome

 Architette Studios ~ fun city skylines for your Save the Date postcard! Check out their DC one (they have Baltimore & a ton more cities in their Etsy shop too!)

This one is hilarious (and they have more here)

Plan on doing a Photo STD or Postcard STD? Let us know!

Real Capitol Romance: Ginny & Jeff

I am EXTRA thrilled to be blogging today’s engagement shoot from our fav, Abby of Abby Grace Photography.  The extra comes from the following:

1. 1. Abby is a DIY goddess if you recall
2. 2. She also happens to be a damn good photographer
3. 3. The beautiful gal in this e-shoot’s name is Ginny and I just cannot help but think of Harry Potter every time I hear that name (or it could still be the leftover cauldron cakes and butterbeer that’s still in my system) & it, of course, sends me into a fit of happiness

Anyway … a bit about the lovely Ginny and her man, Jeff from Abby:

Ginny and Jeff have one of those “high school sweetheart” stories that every girl secretly wants. They started dating when they were juniors at James Madison High School and remained together through the rest of their time at JMHS and Radford University. I went to school with Ginny and Jeff at both JMHS and Radford, and I have to say that they’re one of the most fun couples I’ve had the pleasure of working with. I got to know them through Theta Chi fraternity, and I was thrilled when Ginny contacted me this past fall to ask about engagement photos! Ginny and I discussed locations and finally decided on Nottoway Park in Vienna, VA, which also happened to be the place where Jeff proposed (on their seventh anniversary- phew!). Hilarious side note: Ginny admitted to suspecting Jeff’s intent to propose when her took her on a walk that night last September, and even gave him a subtle pat-down to check if he had a ring box on him.

More from Abby:

Ginny had mentioned wanting to use one of the photos for a Save The Date, so I came up with the idea of using balloons. They just happened to perfectly match Ginny’s carefully coordinated outfits- what a dream!

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Wedding Music That Doesn’t Suck: Hall & Oates

What I’ve got’s full stock of thoughts

and dreams that scatter

You pull them all together

And how, I can’t explain

But You make my dreams come true

(first: a sneak peak from our ‘Rock the Frock’/Not-so-day-after shoot with Live It Out Photo!)

Second: I am a day behind on blogging – so I forgive you for cheating a bit on today’s “Wedding Music That Doesn’t Suck“. How am I cheating you, you ask? Well, because we used this song to walk down the aisle to. My husband & his parents, our wedding party, and my parents & I shimmied on down the aisle to this awesome, catchy, and wedding-appropriate tune. I highly suggest you do the same.