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!
Stephanie Selle, owner of With These Rings, firmly believes that “you can’t buy love, but you can make it.” In fact, it’s her tagline! Her studio in Port Townsend, Washington gives couples the unique experience of making their own handcrafted rings!
Read MoreWe got engaged on our four-year anniversary. Ever year we try to outdo each other with gifts on our anniversary. I was sure that I would win this year as I planned on gifting Michael, not one, but two Seattle Sounders jerseys because they are his favorite MLS soccer team. I had planned to record his reaction live for all of our family and friends to witness his priceless reaction. However, I did not realize that Michael had planted all of these ideas into my head through various family members.
Michael played along with the surprise and had a small gift to give me so that I felt I had won that year’s gift exchange, and at the very end of it all Michael got down on one knee and proposed to me while all of our family and friends watched from all over the country. It was a magical moment that we’ll have forever and can relive whenever we want because he made sure that I had recorded it.
Diablo Lake was chosen as our photoshoot location by suggestion of our photographer, Meghann. It had been on our list of places to visit and therefore it was the perfect opportunity.
Read MoreIt’s not a relationship death sentence, and yet so many react as if I’ve given them one when I suggest it. Premarital counseling. Somehow we’ve associated that with being sent to the principal’s office or having our parents say they’re “disappointed" in us. We treat it like it means there's a problem, but premarital counseling isn’t a sign of problems, it’s the solution to them.
Read MoreThe badass team of Wood Grain & Lace has taken on a rebrand in the last few months, and we are in love with the new look and vibe! Rebranding can have its ups and downs, but we know that for The Hive Wedding Collective, there will be nothing stopping this amazing team!
We got some time with founder, Christine, to hear more about the rebranding process, what their new brand means to them, and what she wishes they knew when they started the process.
Read MoreOur wedding venue is the most beautiful, timeless space that combined historical significance with updated charm. It was also conveniently located not too far from where we lived. We drove by it several times a week and felt comfortable there. Since we aren't native to Baltimore, we decided that we would marry here and bring all of our loved ones to the city we call home.
Our ceremony was short and simple, officiated by our sister-in-law, Colleen. Everyone in our immediate family walked down the aisle in pairs with flowers. Meg walked down with her mom and dad. Lovey ran down the aisle and joined our bridesmaids up front in one of her favorite camping chairs. We had small wedding parties with a few friends and involved other close friends and family in our ceremony with our readings. We also worked with a great caterer, Copper Kitchen, that we knew would make our wedding food something to always be remembered.
Read More"As the editor of the LGBTQ+ wedding blog H&H Weddings, I’ve observed that same-sex couples and gender nonconforming couples are leading the way in gender-fluid wedding wear trends. Here are some of my favorites that I’d like to see a whole lot more of."
Read MoreInvitations and save the dates are an important part of your wedding. Without them, no one would know when your wedding is! If you want to make a good first impression with your future guests, show off some lovely paper goods.Find inspiration from 6 of our favorite wedding invitation suites.
Read MoreAfter prepping at the hotel, we made our way down to the pier. It had been overcast and threatening to pour all day, but we'd yet to have any rain and we crossed our fingers and prayed to Mother Nature to hold out until after the ceremony. Lo and behold, those grumpy grey clouds were the best thing to happen to our wedding because when we arrived at the site around 4 p.m. it was absolutely deserted! With the exception of a group of teenagers and a lone, very chilled out pot-smoking cloud gazer who was occupying the only skyline facing corner of the entire pier (and who kindly conceded it when approached by our ever efficient, polite and diplomatic officiant), we had the whole pier to ourselves! It was incredible. We felt as though we were in New York City's most exclusive spot, set against the backdrop of one of the most iconic skylines in the world. The breeze was blowing, the water was lapping and the city was just starting to light up—we were on Cloud 9!
Read MoreRachelle Rawlings is a Bay Area photographer that understands the importance of LISTENING to her couples — getting to know who they are, what's important to them, and what they really want out of their wedding day. While she loves details, and can clearly capture a gorgeous detail photo, she's here to serve her clients and capture their celebration of love, and that includes all the moments of the day, not just the Pinterest-worthy ones.Because of this, and her commitment to inclusivity, we are so thrilled to have Rachelle in our vendor community!
Read MoreMatt had been carrying a ring around for over 4 months and proposed on the last day we were in Copenhagen. We were at a dessert bar and he asked the waitress to hide the ring in my pastry, but they almost brought my dessert to the wrong couple! He told me that this place specifically puts gold in their desserts and when I found the ring, I thought it was part of the tart until he got down on one knee. Good thing I didn't eat it! I was surprised to hear that all our family members already knew except me. He nailed it!
We planned this trip just for leisure and our lovely photographer just so happened to have time to meet us in Joshua Tree for a quick engagement session. It was so nice to have such a different landscape in these shots.
Read MoreThis past fall, I purchased a deck of Tarot Cards by Starchild Tarot that were so beautiful and inspiring, and ultimately ended up being the catalyst for the whole vision of this shoot. I knew I wanted to incorporate some "woo-woo" elements but wanted to stay away from the typical, trendy ways of incorporating these various elements. I envisioned the guest names being lettered on some type of crystal, using the tarot cards as table "numbers" and, most of all, having two brides be our models. I knew right away who would make the perfect brides, and luckily they were available and very open to being a couple, even though they had never met before. Their "reception" was spent getting to know each other!
The motivation for this shoot was to express creativity, get something atypical in my and the other vendors' portfolios, and connect all of my favorite woman-owned wedding vendors together in one room! It was truly an inspiring, uplifting experience to be with so many amazing women for the day as they supported my vision and made it a reality.
If you have spent even a limited amount of time in the wedding industry, you have likely picked up on the heteronormative language that is deeply ingrained in the day-to-day. This language is outdated, and hurtful to those in non-hetero relationships. It's time for the wedding industry to be inclusive of all couples in love. It's time for a wedding language re-dux.
Read MoreIn case you couldn't tell, we have a community of wedding photographers in our vendor directory that are simply amazing. Alex Blackwelder of Alex Bee Photo has been a long-time member of our community, and it's about time we formally introduced her to all of you! She is that magical unicorn in the Appalachian region that will capture the hilarious moments of your wedding day, the quiet moments between you and your partner, and the unexpected moments with your family and friends that will lift your heart for years to come.If you are looking an inclusive, body-positive, couple-centric wedding photographer, submit an inquiry with Alex Bee Photo today!
Read More"We knew we wanted to have it in the Berkshires since most of my family and friends back in Virginia had not been there yet, and we wanted to give them a chance to experience the community and see why I decided to live in this area. We decided to go with the simplest (and most affordable) wedding venue option so that we can spend the money to customize a few details to our liking.
"I hate being the center of attention, so if I had my way, I would just magically appear at the front of the aisle, say "I Do", and then immediately poof away. Unfortunately, technology isn't there yet. So we settled on a very short ceremony so that there was minimal looking at me. But it was a very special moment because we had our dear friend, Ethan, perform the wedding ceremony. He quoted Bob Dylan, as requested, and really made the ceremony specific to us."
Read MoreWhile there hopefully will come a day where LGBTQ+ couples can travel without fear of persecution throughout every corner of the globe, that is not the current reality. There are still some places that refuse to open the doors to the LGBTQ+ community or have laws that are harmful to these couples. Rather than bother with these places, we have compiled a list of places where LGBTQ+ couples are welcomed.
Read MoreFor this styled shoot my goal was to take two models into an environment that was aesthetically less than ideal, and create a stylish, artistic vibe that captured a diverse couple. The two locations were a tennis court and an old archery range surrounded by burlap drapes.
I wanted Jasmine and Chris to give off a hip, casual, urban vibe while simulating a comfortable connection between the two models so I asked them to wear black to give off that feeling and energy. I envisioned this mixing well with the unique, unorthodox setting.
During the shoot I wanted Jasmine to represent the traditional "male" role which was a challenge but because of the height difference in both the models it ended up working out through experimenting with switching the "norms" of how a male/female couple should interact.
I chose to capture this shoot using two different formats: film and digital. I felt this would add to the different urban feel that I was going for.
Read MoreCassandra Zetta is a photographer whose work we have admired for a long time, and once we had her speak at {un}convention in Richmond last November, we knew her dedication to LGBTQ+ couples meant she was the absolute right fit for our vendor community.Get to know Cassandra Zetta and how she's making the world of wedding photography a better and more inclusive place.
Read MoreThere are a lot of opinions out there about how much money you should spend on your wedding, and how much you should spend of specific pieces of your wedding. The truth is, your wedding budget should be just as unique as your relationship, but with all the outside voices surrounding you it can be hard to know which things are worth spending big money on and which aren't.
Here are four questions to ask yourself before you and your partner create your wedding budget.
Read MoreHey beauties, it’s March and the first day of spring, and I am so ready for some warmer weather and sunny days. It’s actually a bit rainy here as i’m sitting writing this but i’m still sipping on a half and half, or Arnold Palmer like the sophisticated people say. The weather seems to be lagging on getting the information that it's spring, but that doesn’t mean that we have to wait, so i’m going to drop my top 5 beauty products for the spring and a few makeup trends that I want to see in excess this season!
Read MoreWhat could make a wedding even more special than sharing it with loved ones? Sharing it with your fur babies, of course! Most couples consider their fur babies members of the family, so why should they stay home on this special day? Here are some of our favorite wedding fur babies.
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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!
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