Real Capitol Romance: Lauren & Justin

Today’s Capitol Romance feature has Washington, DC flavor smothered all over it (ok that sentence just made me hungry…) This adorable couple, shot by the lovely Alison Hathaway of Red Shoes Photography, had their cute and quirky e-shoot at a bookstore on Capitol Hill.

I love book store shoots – so much potential for unique and offbeat shots, angles, and the ability to use the books as props.

Alison shares:

Lauren and Justin are getting married this summer and I am so excited for them! They are such a fun couple and we went to some really sweet places for their [engagement] session. We started off at Riverby Books on East Capitol street and then meandered down Eastern Market (how awesome is that *love* painting?!) and ended up at Peregrine Espresso, the site of their first date (and site of my favorite cappuccino in DC). I am so looking forward to shooting their wedding this summer!

Lauren let us in on the inside scoop!!:

Justin and Lauren have had a quick romance, but one that is most certainly true love. The two met at a “housecooling” party (it was so warm that a housewarming party would just be too hot) last summer hosted by a mutual friend, where Lauren caught Justin’s eye.

Over the next month, the two Facebook stalked each other, and found themselves at more parties together, where Lauren’s friend worked to convince Justin to try out a new iPhone app called Bump, which exchanges contact info by bumping your phones together. Justin caught the hint and “Bumped” with Lauren. He texted the next day, and they’ve been talking every day since. Technology has clearly played a pivotal role in the spark of their relationship!

It’s no wonder- Justin works for an internet startup and Lauren writes a blog called Stamp 48 and has started a financial consulting company targeted toward indie designers and handmade artists.

The two will be married Memorial Day weekend and will settle in Washington DC.

Best of luck to you both and thank you again to Alison of Red Shoes Photography for sharing with us!!!

DIY Hot Chocolate Bar with Abby Grace Photography

This is the fourth post of a recurring series by Abby Grace Photo. Abby did a TON of DIY projects for her stunning wedding this past winter and will be sharing them with you over the next few weeks!

Welcome back, Romancers! Today’s post is the final installment in my DIY series from my own personal wedding. It’s been a ton of fun blogging for Capitol Romance, and I’m hoping it won’t be my last time (nudge nudge, Bree)! As always feel free to email me with any questions, especially if I’ve forgotten to give the name of a vendor I used. The photos we’re using today were taken at my wedding by the amazing lovely and incredible Terra of Terra Dawn Photography (she’s AMAZING).

After stalking wedding blogs and attending several weddings last summer, I REALLY wanted to do some sort of “sweet bar” feature. One of my college roommates had a candy bar at her July wedding and it was executed perfectly, but I didn’t want to copy hers, and the idea of a candy bar seemed really summery to me. I finally came up with the idea of doing a hot chocolate bar, which was completely appropriate for our [frigid] January wedding.

We talked with our caterer and she was really excited to execute the idea. We came up with a list of toppings and ingredients for our guests to pick from while fixing their drinks.

The bar ended up consisting of:

• a large carafe of hot chocolate
• several different flavor shots (caramel, white chocolate and hazelnut)
• whipped cream
• chocolate shavings
• marshmallows
• candy canes

I bought three or four cute, clear glass jars from Michael’s to be used as toppings containers. I created the labels for all of the toppings using textured paper from Paper Source (of course) and silver letters and ribbon from Michaels. Because “marshmallow” wouldn’t fit on the business card-sized paper, I ended up coming up with creative names for each topping; “mini clouds” for marshmallows, “swizzle sticks” for candy canes, and so on.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tales of a DIY DC Duo: Chapter 10 “DIY Wands & Streamers”

This is Chapter 10 of an ongoing series following the journey of a couple throwing an intimate, DIY wedding in Washington, DC. Be sure to check out the earlier chapters from this series for some great DIY tips & inspiration!

Have you heard “rice will kill the birds” and “you aren’t allowed to throw confetti“? Plus, who wants to attract a million seagulls with bird seed?  And, you can’t afford releasing doves or butterflies.  But, I of course still want a celebratory burst of exciting movement in my photos!  So, what else is there?

AHHH-HAAA!!

Wedding streamers or wands.  What a great way to add excitement to your day without the mess and waste of those microscopic particles of useless stuff.

It is also a very uncomplicated DIY project.

Step 1: Grab some dowels at a hardware store (I found mine at Lowes for  >50 cents each).

Step 2: Then I cut them in half cause they were too long (essentially making them 25 cents each).

Step 3: I painted them with brown paint (*tip*: Don’t use spray paint. It will waste a ton of paint because the dowels are too small & round).

Step 4: Buy some of those tiny eyelet screws at the same hardware store and hand screw them into the top of the dowel.  (*tip*If they are too difficult to screw in at first, stick a thumbtack in the top of the dowel to start a small pilot hole.)  Be careful not to split the dowel.

Step 5: Then take a small piece of ribbon and tie it around the eyelet making a bit bigger loop.

Step 6: Finally, tie any remaining ribbon anywhere between 2-6 pieces in your colors in the length you want to the loop.  I bought all of my ribbon on sale at Micheals for 50 cents per spool.

I think the total cost of each dowel was less than $1!!

I also took an extra step and printed at-home name tags in the shape of a cherry blossom and laminated them.

I punched 2 holes at the top of each name tag and stuck a safety pin through the top.  Then I attached the name tag to the eyelet.  Claude an I intend to push the entire dowel into the ground so that it tells people where their place to stand is at the ceremony (since we won’t have chairs).  It is like a place card, but for standing! Then, once they find their spot, they can remove the name tag and attach it to their clothes so it is really double duty!

I think the guests will have a lot of fun with these!!

Be sure to send us any of YOUR DIY wands or streamers!

Capitol Inspiration: Glen Echo Park, MD

Glen Echo Park might just be the COOLEST place in the Washington, DC area for your wedding, reception, or engagement shoot. I think it all comes down to a matter of preference. Art Galleries (like Long View & Artisphere) offer the cool-factor, but have that modern feel & vibe to them, that doesn’t work for all couples.  And then you have the historical houses in DC that just drip with history and heritage (Dumbarton House, Decatur House & Halcyon House to name a few) but don’t always offer much in the way of modern or funky.

But then there is Glen Echo. This historical amusement park turned art center is the ultimate cool kid at Washington, DC’s wedding venue school.

Don’t believe me? Well, for starters, you can rent the old bumper car pavilion seen above, for your reception:

Or you can rent the old Spanish Ballroom:

And I haven’t even mentioned the fact that there is a working carousel there! Wedding or Engagement Pictures on a Carousel!? YES PLEASE!

And just in case you need some more convincing (or even if you don’t and you just want to drool over the awesomeness that IS Glen Echo Park) here are some pictures from weddings and engagement shoots at Glen Echo!

Carrie & Jon’s Vintage Amusement Park Wedding by Bellwether Events

[photos above, courtesy of Stephanie Ascari Photography]

Stephanie & Adam courtesy of Abby Jiu Photography

Renee & Gary’s Wedding by Amy Raab Photography ~ Just look at these “Table Names”!

Amber & Jon’s Eshoot!! By Procopio Photography

Emily & Andrew’s Eshoot by Justine Ungaro

Jennifer & Cody’s Adorable Vintage Eshoot by Simply Bloom Photography

An offbeat affair (the bride wore red!!) by my fav, Gabe Aceves Photography

A sassy e-shoot from Love Life Images

Love these carnival-themed details from a wedding shot by Michelle Lindsay Photography

Our very own Abby Grace‘s engagement shoot by Terra Dawn Photography!!

And finally (seriously, this was impossible for me to end, so many good pics) from Eleven Hearts Photography