Real Weddings, Advice, & Inspiration

Catalyst Wedding Company highlights weddings by and for game-changers. We seek to amplify and empower voices and viewpoints that are usually missing from the Wedding Industrial Complex. We're a community of badass wedding professionals who love all things funky, fresh, diverse, unique, and personality-driven; we convene twice yearly for (un)convention, a collaborative workshop, styled shoot, and dinner party. We're also the publishers of Catalyst Wedding Mag, a resource for couples looking for inspiration and affirmation that doing things differently in wedding-world is not only ok, it's wonderful!

Carly Romeo, co-founder of Catalyst Wed Co. recently planned Feminist Photo Vaycay, which is a blend of relaxation and creative exploration. Over the course of three days, fifteen photographers descended on the desert (well, a house in Palm Springs) and talked shop, took photos of each other, and had access to four professionally-styled shoots with themes that spanned the genres of boudoir, editorial, weddings, and couples' portraiture. But more than giving photographers a chance to shoot genres that they don't usually work within, the shoots were intentionally diverse – featuring multicultural models and same-sex couples – and representative of the diversity of clients they all seek to serve. The results were spectacular: they pushed themselves creatively, they shot in pools and on top of mountains, and they practiced and shared technical skills. Oh, and the photos turned out awesome.

Below, find a 60s-inspired mod elopement shot by two photographers, Jessica Schilling and Shawnee Custalow of A Lovely Photo. The stylist, Bridal Marché, explains her inspiration: "Elopements are always so fun, and with Palm Springs as your background it was an easy decision to have the couple do a poolside elopement. The couple started their day getting dressed together and then eloped under a palm tree in their backyard. After their 'I do's they jumped into the pool and had a fun backyard reception."

Photographer: Jessica Schilling

60s mod wedding eloement in palm springs california photos by Jessica Schilling

60s Mod wedding elopement in palm springs california by Jessica Schilling photography

Photographer: Shawnee Custalow of A Lovely Photo

The Creative Team

Styling: Holiday Celebrate & Bridal Marché

Hair: #slinginpretty

Makeup: @sittingpretty

Florals: Burlap & Rose & Amanda Burnette

Models: @yazminmonewatkins @davidneedsig

Wedding Dress: Ash and Light

Look: Kim Sheree & The Trend Haus

Jasmine Fitzwilliam of Let's Frolic Together

JESSICA SCHILLING

Jessica Schilling is a film photographer who specializes in outdoor elopements, intimate weddings, and family portrait sessions that highlight personal connections in California's beautiful natural scenery. She is also a documentary editor and internationally-published toy camera enthusiast. Jessica loves traveling all over the world, and lives in Los Angeles with her husband, cat, and box turtle.

SHAWNEE CUSTALOW

Shawnee is a queer feminist photographer and the creative eyes behind the lens of A Lovely Photo. She likes to genuinely get to know her couples and has been known to bust a move on the dance floor with them on more than one occasion. She strives to capture those in-between fleeting moments of the day that tend to reveal more about a celebration and couple than a stiffly posed portrait ever could.