Let’s Get Personal: The Importance of Thinking Local & the DC Wedding Industry

When I started to think about what 2014 would look like for Capitol Romance, I tried to focus on my differentiators. What makes me different from other wedding blogs in and outside of DC; why would someone continue to read my blog over others? My mission is simple but too easily overlapped by other blogs and so I did a bit of soul searching to try and find my special sauce. I thought, if I could find this thing and really focus on it, then Capitol Romance could really thrive and grow in 2014.

Let’s Get Personal: The Importance of Thinking Local (and How it Pertains to the Wedding Industry)

I heard a few rumblings of it with my 2013 clients, but it was my 2014 clients that REALLY started to utter the same phrase over and over. We want our wedding to be “local”; we want “local” vendors; we want our DC wedding to have a “local” feel. There it was, my special sauce – thinking (and focusing on) local! This was something I had started from the first week of blogging (if you saw my #1 blogging tip article, then you saw my editorial calendar which had “Local Finds” as one of my initial blog topics) and something that I always internally focused on – I just didn’t really make it so widely known here, or associate it strongly with my business.

But that is changing.

Thinking locally is important to me, both as a citizen of Washington, DC AND as a small business owner. I believe that our city and the people in it, only have good things to gain if we all focus locally on the people, places, and things that live, work, and create here. I believe this SO much that I recently applied to be a part of Think Local First DC – an entire organization that is dedicated to driving sustainable economic development in DC through working with independent businesses, consumers, and policymakers.

I was THRILLED to be accepted (see my handy Made in DC Certified Local stamp of approval on my sidebar) and this organization has already opened me up to a world of other businesses that could help Capitol Romance and my readers. Through Think Local First DC I found some of my sponsors for my upcoming DIY wedding workshops and I was also connected to the DC MEETMarket & Fenton Street Market (2 places that would be a GREAT stop to find local wedding vendors) and currently drool over Trohv.

So how am I living the local pledge? Well, for starters I’ll be at opening day of the DC MEETMarket on April 5th to promote my workshops and the awesome vendors & sponsors that are making them possible. Please stop on by and check us out, as well as all the other amazing vendors that will be participating:

I’m also teaming up with the ladies behind Fenton Street Market to help them with their launch of Indie Bridal Party – a wedding show that exclusively focuses on local DC area wedding vendors! It’s on April 17th at the Darlington House – and you should DEF go to this too! We’ll be on hand to facilitate a DIY crafting station and showcase our DIY wedding workshops a bit more (are you sensing a theme here?).

So this will be one of my main 2014 business goals – to truly focus Capitol Romance and the DC wedding industry on “thinking local”. I’ll be doing this through the blog and outside of the blog (ya know, in real life), attending events and workshops, meeting other small business owners, shopping local, eating local, promoting local to my clients and even taking the scary step of hosting my own workshops to further connect engaged couples with amazing local wedding vendors.

We’ll see how this goes :)

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