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!

I (Jen) am a San Francisco native living in New York for the past seven years. I'm a book editor, and passionate about fiction, traveling, animals, good TV, and Vietnamese food. Hari is from India and moved to New York four years ago. He runs a creative agency that works to develop, design, and brand companies. He's a fan of cricket, podcasts, pets, whiskey, and animated films.

Hari took me to the New York Public Library (one of my favorite places) under the guise of meeting up with a friend. He arranged to have one of the security guards let us into a restricted section and he got down on one knee.

Kathleen from Parenthesis Photography is a rockstar. We found her on Instagram and consistently loved her aesthetic. Her photos are gritty, immersive, evocative, and incredibly lush. She really captures the genuine love and longing between two people—the connection that makes them want to commit to each other. I love how unique and rare her photographs feel—they don't look like wedding photographs. Not to mention how incredibly sweet, professional, and punctual she is. It's been a delight to work with her.

Words by Jen as told by Amber Marlow. Photos by Kathleen Telesco.

Randall's island park engagement hari standing behind jen on bridge

randall's island park engagement candid of hari by the river

randall's island park engagement jen and hari holding hands and laughing with river and buildings in background

randall's island park engagement jen and hari laughing on bridge over river

randall's island park engagement kiss on riverbank

randall's island park engagement embrace by river under tree

randall's island park engagement jen kissing hari's cheek

randall's island park engagement wide shot embrace under tree on riverbank

randall's island park engagement jen and hari near park trees

randall's island park engagement jen and hari hugging and smiling by riverbank

KATHLEEN TELESCO

With roots in art history, film, and documentary studies, I started shooting weddings in order to give an option to couples looking for something a little different from the norm. I live with my husband in Connecticut, in an apartment overrun with books, records, and boxes of tea. Some things I like to do when I'm not shooting: reading graphic novels and cookbooks, writing comedic prose, watching movies, and quoting Seinfeld. I plan most of my trips and travel around restaurants. I also have a little obsession with Anthony Bourdain.