A Rustic, DIY Wedding at Bloomingdale in Queenstown, Maryland

Ashley Ryan (27 and a veterinary technician) and Kevin Ryan (27 and an electrician) created their own rustic wedding space at Bloomingdale in Queenstown, Maryland, using plenty of DIY elements. The couple's photographer, dKin Photography, captured the wedding, from the outdoor ceremony to the white-tented reception. Keeping with the historical setting of Bloomingdale, Ashley wanted the wedding day fashions to be rustic with a vintage twist. She purchased her strapless, silk wedding dress from an organization called Brides Against Breast Cancer, which donates all its proceeds to women undergoing treatment and to educate others about the disease. Her bridesmaids wore chiffon dresses in the same style but different muted colors, following the color palette of dusty rose, dusty purple, sage and peach. For the reception-table centerpieces, Ashley and her father made wooden boxes and placed glass mason jars and bottles inside with added zinnias and veronica. "They turned out absolutely gorgeous," Ashley says. Ashley and her mother thought it would be great to incorporate an old craft they used to do together into the wedding day favors, so they made colorful pot holders. "For our favors we wanted to give our guests something that they were actually going to use," Ashley says. It was important to Ashley and Kevin that their entire wedding day reflected them as a couple. "We made sure during the entire planning process that we remained true to ourselves and did not get swayed by what we 'should' be doing on our wedding day," Ashley says.