Gus & Jessie’s Nerdy Wedding at Josephine Butler Parks Center in Washington, DC

The one thing getting me through this week is another visit from my sister-in-law and niece. They’re passing back through on their way home from the beach, and I just love watching the cousins play together, as much as a 14- and 10-month old can actually play together. It also eases my mind that he seems to have developed social skills after not really seeing other people, let alone other babies & toddlers in several months.

I’m also super excited to share today’s wedding with you all. This was my one wedding that actually materialized this year since it happened at the end of February. Jessie & Gus were so creative with their non-floral centerpieces – small vignettes dedicated to their different interests. I was blown away by them, and I think you will be too! To get their full love story, check out their engagement session from a couple weeks ago.

One of our biggest bonds is our love of all things nerd, in completely different ways, of course. He is Star Wars and I am Harry Potter. He is TNMT 1 and I am TNMT Secret of the Oooze. I love horror and he loves cartoons. You get the idea. We wanted to tie all of that into our wedding, especially since we were on a budget that would not allow for flowers. So we used a lot of stuff that we already owned, and made each table an ode to a particular fandom we love.

We also decided to have the wedding in DC, as Gus was born and raised in the city, and this is where we met. The Josephine Butler Parks Center is quintessential DC, being an old embassy. It was an added bonus that it was across the street from our apartment, and Malcolm X Park, which holds a lot of sentimental value to us.

One thing that was important to us was that if someone were to walk in off the street who didn’t know us, they would know exactly what we were about at this wedding. Again, budget was very tight, so while it was very DIY and a lot of work, it ended up making it so much more personal and we are so happy that we did it that way. One of my favorite touches besides the tables was instead of champagne toasts we did Miller High Life, the “Champagne of Beers”, which is very on brand for us.

The dance floor was packed, the food was delicious (shoutout to GetPlated!), and the drinks were flowing. I could not have done it without Capitol Romance. I’m so happy with how everything turned out, and it was beyond anything I could have imagined!