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!

If synchronicity and divine coincidences are guidance from the universe that something is right, then we have been guided together from the very beginning. It is mind blowing to me that we met only 1.5 years before we married, through a Tinder date! From our first coffee date, we were taken with each other. We spent a magical year traveling more than I ever have, indulging our fitness fanaticism and foodie tendencies together. But most importantly, at the ages of 46 and 52, we had the tools and desire to make a relationship work. My father once said when the right man came along, he would make my life easier, not harder. At the time, I couldn't even fathom what that would look like, but now I know exactly what he meant.

Christmas Eve, the day before my favorite day of the year, Frank surprised me with a "ring on the dessert plate" proposal at a historic restaurant in Austin. To be honest, I thought he was going to propose two other times that year (once because his Google calendar actually said "Propose" on it!), and he hadn't, so I had surrendered and let go of my expectations and he managed to completely leave me speechless... all I could get out was "Yes!"

We decided to marry on our lucky day 4/4 of that next year. He said I could have whatever kind of wedding I wanted, but I could tell he was completely happy and relieved when I said we should go to my favorite city, NYC, to have a long weekend and get married at the City Hall.

We have children spread out all over the world, and it didn't seem right to have a wedding they couldn't all attend. And unlike our previous marriages, it wasn't about the big party or the spectacle this time... it was just about us! When you are the only two people at your wedding, the wedding photographer becomes very important! Kamila and her assistant, whom we had never met in person before, were the only two people who shared the day with us, and they were absolutely perfect! They were so helpful and made everything run smoothly. They were fun to hang out with, but they also knew when to hang back and let us be in our bubble. And the photos Kamila created are far better than my wildest dreams.

Our fairy tale wedding was the perfect prelude to our fairy tale life. I can say this with certainty, not because we will have any particular experiences, any particular successes, or any particular things, but because whatever happens to us will be met with a spirit of gratitude, partnership, learning, and wonder.

Words by Inger, the bride, as told to Amber Marlow. Photos by Kamila Harris.

tattooed feminist elopement nyc frank and inger on sofa sitting close together

tattooed feminist elopement nyc inger's rose-embroidered combat boots under dress

tattooed feminist elopement nyc couple on couch, inger's head in frank's lap

tattooed feminist elopement nyc inger holding bouquet

tattooed feminist elopement nyc inger's back tattoos visible in halter-neck dress

tattooed feminist elopement nyc kiss at city hall

tattooed feminist elopement nyc couple embracing on sidewalk under clear umbrella

tattooed feminist elopement nyc inger with wall street's fearless girl statue

tattooed feminist elopement nyc kiss on boardwalk, river and bridge in background

tattooed feminist elopement nyc kiss on boardwalk

tattooed feminist elopement nyc frank and inger having pizza

tattooed feminist elopement nyc couple having pizza, inger smiling for camera

VENDORS

Photography | Kamila Harris Photography

Officiant | Manhattan City Clerk

Pre-Ceremony Venue | Crosby Street Hotel

Florals | Eco Flower

KAMILA HARRIS

Kamila is a wedding, elopement, and corporate event photographer from Queens, NYC. She's a progressive feminist photographer who loves capturing out-of-the-box intimate weddings and is always up for a photography adventure. She frequently photographs weddings and engagement sessions in her other favorite city, New Orleans.