Capitol Wedding: Elizabeth & Oliver’s DIY Embassy Row Wedding in Washington, DC

“All in all, it was true to us and I think all of our guests were happy to see that!”

Elizabeth & Oliver’s DIY Washington, DC Embassy Row wedding is further proof that you can have an amazing wedding in DC without a huge budget. For them it just meant lots of DIY and working within their strict budget! Thanks to Softbox Media Photography [submitted via Two Bright Lights] for sharing!

Elizabeth & Oliver through an offbeat Washington, DC wedding by showcasing their love & spunk through a homemade photobooth, a Star Wars themed wedding cake, an awesome taco bar [in lieu of traditional catering] and using an iPod as their “DJ”.

Elizabeth & Oliver’s Offbeat, Budget-Friendly Washington DC Wedding at the Cranford House

Vendors:

Hair Stylist: Belle Soeur Styles

Caterer: Occasions Catering

Floral Designer: Flowers by Sidra Forman

Event Venue: Cranford House

Cake: Buzz Bakery

From the bride, Elizabeth:

Well, our wedding was very much us and pretty heavy on the DIY. We were working on a strict budget so we had no choice but to do a lot of it on our own (homemade magnets, the signage for the food, the invites, the sound system, the cupcakes & the photo booth).

Ollie and I are both creative people – I was a graphic designer before I went back to school for nursing and he was in a band for 8 years – so we definitely had a good handle on all the creative stuff. Our invites were pretty rad.

We didn’t have a set color, but instead opted for fall tones – orange and red. Our small bridal party meant that my matron of honor could wear any thing in that color range.

Looking for an alternative [& budget-friendly!] wedding venue in Washington, DC? Well, look no further than the Cranford House on Embassy Row!

Cranford House was a GREAT venue. It is very affordable and a unique space with different rooms, downstairs seating etc.

Click inside for the rest of Elizabeth & Oliver’s budget-friendly, offbeat Washington, DC wedding ~ including a seriously awesome alternative engagement ring and a Star Wars themed wedding cake!

Drooling over this unique engagement ring – it’s SO different, i just love it!

Everything was very casual. We were doing photos while guests entered. The bar was open as they came in and our awesome catering company passed out champagne as people arrived.

Our “officiant” was my boss and we wrote our own vows that were fun and sincere.

Fun fact: we got legally married three days before the wedding. It was something that I wanted to do that was just the two of us. It also made the wedding day easier because the deal was already done (so when the hair and makeup people showed up late and it was raining all day it wasn’t as big of a deal).

^I always love & admire couples that decide to do something different – like get married before the wedding! I think I might write a whole post on that and get some good info from brides/grooms that opted for that and why.

The ceremony was chock full of Beatles songs!

We walked down the to The Beatles “here there and everywhere” and then walked back down to “got to get you into my life” :) And the the pianist played Beatles songs for our cocktail hour.

We opted for fun food bars, taco and cheese burgers, because we aren’t huge fans of traditional wedding fare and I LOVE TACOS!

Magnet wedding favors?! LOVE

Elizabeth actually made the wedding cupcakes herself ~ which she does not advise future brides to do! Funny she said that, as I initially wanted to make my own wedding cupcakes too ~ but my mom talked me out of it :)

And now, for one of my favorite details ~ one that will be SURE to thrill my friend Casandra, over at When Geeks Wed:

I made our cupcakes which was the stupidest thing I did. It took forever to frost those buggers and I do not recommend that to anyone. Our cake that we cut was from Buzz bakery – it has the Rebel Alliance symbol from Star Wars on the top. Fun fact, I ride vintage vespa’s and am a member of the Jedi Knight Scooter Club.

That’s right … a Star Wars Themed Wedding Cake. LOVE.

Out first dance was to Marvin Gaye “let’s get it on” and then we had our most awesome playlist. No joke, it was a killer dance party which was important to us because the night we met we danced for three hours. We [also] did the traditional horah, which was terrifying and fantastic.

Elizabeth & Oliver made a DIY Photobooth for their wedding too!

We made a photo booth in the coat room on the first floor with my DSLR, a tripod and a wireless shutter remote. Those pics are on our Flickr site (bethandolliewedding). It turned out great and cost $40.

All in all, it was true to us and I think all of our guests were happy to see that!

I loved so much about Elizabeth & Oliver’s offbeat DC wedding ~ and couldn’t have been more thrilled to get to share it on Capitol Romance :) Thank you Elizabeth & Oliver for sharing all your awesome details – especially while on your honeymoon!

A special thanks to Softbox Media Photography & Two Bright Lights for making this submission possible!