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!

Nicholas and I met the way most twenty-somethings meet these days: social media! We went to separate high schools but were both in theatre programs. Through state festivals we met a mutual friend from yet another school and then became friends on Facebook through him. I was living near Daytona Beach, and Nicholas was living in Tampa. After years of being friends online, I decided to drive down and meet him in person. We had a super casual first date at a Red Robin in the mall and we immediately connected so well. I quickly found myself commuting to and from Tampa sometimes two or three times a week to be together. After three short months, we moved in together, and have been together since.

The proposal was a complete surprise! Nicholas had been sharing all kinds of dream proposals with me for years, so I always thought I would be the one proposing to him. In February 2016, he decided that at Christmas he would be proposing. He told my family early on; to my surprise, no one spilled the secret! We were going to celebrate Christmas with my immediate family in Texas, and he knew it would mean a lot to me. He ordered a custom deer antler and ironwood ring that I’ve always wanted and had it delivered to my sister's house because he knows I’m nosey and I would have found it if it was in our apartment. On Christmas morning, my sister handed Nicholas a small gift box as if it was from her to him. She started filming him opening it and I was so confused... what could be so important? Then, I saw the wood-burned box and I knew what it was immediately. I said some embarrassing things on camera, followed by an emphatic “Yes!”

Words by Michael, one of the grooms, as told by Amber Marlow. Photos by Jennifer Maginness of Jennifer M Photography.

rialto theatre wedding custom starbucks cups reading "groom 4-14-2018"

rialto theatre wedding couple getting ready

rialto theatre wedding grooms walking into hall

rialto theatre wedding ceremony in front of theatre curtains

rialto theatre wedding officiant with arms out announcing newly married couple

rialto theatre wedding kiss in front of large mural of blonde woman

rialto theatre wedding couple holding hands staring at one another in front of brightly painted doors

rialto theatre wedding grooms from waist down holding hands in front of doors

rialto theatre wedding couple holding hands in street with city in background

rialto theatre wedding cake with glitter "love" decal, blueberries, flowers, and macaroons topping

rialto theatre wedding cake on gold tray

rialto theatre wedding grooms cutting main cake on dessert table

rialto theatre wedding couple feeding each other cake

VENDORS

Venue | Rialto Theatre

Officiant | Scott Lortz

Wedding cake | Alessi Bakery

Catering | KD's Catering & Events

JENNIFER MAGINNESS

I am a wife, mother, and RN who found a creative outlet in photography. I quickly realized I loved the couples, engagements, and weddings, getting fully emotionally involved and loving every facet of their stories together. I'm a hopeless romantic who loves love in all forms! My style is clean, timeless, and warm, and I hope to reflect their love and their life in their photos.