offbeat alternative dc wedding blog

[image: Val & Sarah]

A few weeks ago I made the decision to practice what I preach and go a bit further with keeping Capitol Romance a place that is open, accepting, and resourceful for ANY couple in the Washington, DC metro area. It was always a goal of mine to feature couples of all ages, shapes, sizes, and sexual preferences, but it wasn’t until a late night conversation over pizza with a fellow wedding vendor, where I realized that just featuring diverse couples only goes so far. What about the vendors they see in the blog posts? What happens if a same-sex couple loves the style of a photographer I am in essence promoting by accepting to feature their work, only to find out after an inquiry, that the photographer does not have an LGBT-friendly business.

That is not ok here. Call me naive – but I guess until that late night conversation, I assumed that vendors submitting to this blog were down with my view points. I thought I made my views known enough. I figured, why would a non-LGBT friendly vendor even want to be on Capitol Romance when we so clearly preach love for all? But then I went to the Say I Do Expo this past spring and one of the attendees mentioned how a photographer I was running a discount with, was not open to her and her partner.

I was embarrassed. I stuttered out an apology, mortified, and was a bit mystified at what to do next. But, I knew I had to do something.

So then came that late night pizza conversation, where among other constructive criticism, I finally learned that it was better to have content on this site that 100% reflected my vision, beliefs, and goals for this blog, then to just have enough content to be able to blog every day.

This has been tough. I used to have enough content to plan out my posts 2-3 weeks out, now I am lucky if I have enough posts for a week out. Sometimes I am still thinking of, or finding content for the day before. Now that I am committed to vetting every submitting vendor, the process is slower, and the submissions are thinner. I have had some awkward email conversations with non-LGBT friendly vendors and I am sure my blog has losts some readers too. Blog posts have been a bit late on certain days, and some days there is no content at all.

But so what? Who cares? I don’t. This blog was never started so that I could have a well-oiled wedding blog machine, with overflowing content planned months out. This blog was started to HELP people … ALL people and help change the notion of the DC wedding scene.

So while content might be a bit thinner and my submitting vendors pool might have shrunk. I don’t care. I am committed to making this blog a place for all couples to get inspiration and resources to plan the DC wedding they want to have, no matter their beliefs or sexual preferences.

 

34 comments

  1. Bree, this is why I love you & Capitol Romance SO much. It might be harder to take that time to certify that everyone is pro-equality, but it is so, so worth it, and you are awesome for doing it!

  2. Thank you, Bree, for standing up for your viewpoints and for taking this important step. I’m so sorry that your work and your output has to suffer for it, but it’s people — allies — like you taking actions in their own personal sphere of influence that’s going to make such a difference in the long run. In the short run, I will continue to read your blog with delight, regardless of how many posts or what time they go up. My Maryland wedding next year will have all sorts of little Capitol-Romance-influenced touches, I’m sure. Thank you.

    1. Ashlee – woo girl you are making those tears come back to my eyes! Thank you for this comment and for reading Capitol Romance :) And please share your wedding next year (Congratulations!!) – I cannot wait to see it!

  3. LOVE LOVE LOVE! Stay true to your vision lady…it’ll pay off. As Jay Baer says in his book called Youtility….”help not hype”…keep being helpful….forget the hype! :)

  4. I’m proud of you Bree! Didn’t realize the change would have such an effect on content, but glad you’re following through. Keep up the good work :-)

  5. This is awesome. As a person in a heterosexual relationship I would not have even considered the topic of non-LGBT friendly vendors (had they not expressly stated as much to me), but this post definitely made me think twice about the vendors I select. It’s offensive to think these businesses would even consider rejecting customers based on sexual preference. It’s good to know I can come to your blog for LGBT friendly recommendations. It’s the little things that will help make a big change.

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