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!

The inspiration for this shoot came from it being spring, and I wanted to do something a little out of the box. Seeing that cherry blossoms are so close by in DC I wanted that feel, so I incorporated them in little elements of the design–the cake from sweets by ASH, the centerpieces and invitation suite. I loved the idea of pairing paper flowers in the centerpieces and an origami bouquet to show that unconventional does not have to be all modern and you can use alternatives to real or silk florals. I used rose gold to add a bit of luxury to the dusty rose and paired with champagne linens. The copper chargers and gold cutlery from Party Perfect added some depth to the table setting. The amazing chairs from Paisley and Jade pulled the entire setup together in the gardens overlooking the water of the Boathouse at Sunday Park.

The model, Aaliyah, wore jewelry and hairpiece done by Bryck and Lace Weddings, and the dress was from her own collection, which tied in nicely with the understated luxury feel for the shoot.

Words by Jonelle McLeod of Bryck & Lace Weddings, the stylist and designer. Photos by Sarah Schultz-Taylor.