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!

Lush floral bouquet at The Bindery Portland OR Melissa Babasin Photography

Wedding reception table decor at The Bindery Portland OR Melissa Babasin photography

Styled decor backdrop at The Bindery Portland OR Melissa Babasin photography

Celestial styled wedding stationery at The Bindery Portland OR Melissa Babasin Photography

Styled model in Adorned in Grace gown at The Bindery in Portland Melissa Babasin Photography

Model in Adorned in Grace sparkling dress at The Bindery in Portland OR Melissa Babasin Photo

Bridal model with charcuterie board at The Bindery in Portland OR Melissa Babasin photography

Bridal models in styled backdrop at The Bindery in Portland OR Melissa Babasin photography

Model with lush bouquet at The Bindery in Portland OR Melissa Babasin Photography

Model in grey gown with lush bouquet at The Bindery in Portland Melissa Babasin photography

Bridal models in drinking wine at The Bindery in Portland OR Melissa Babasin photography

Personal appetizers on celestial styled table in Portland OR Melissa Babasin photography

Lush bouquet in a vase at The Bindery Portland OR Melissa Babasin photography

Wedding cake served on styled table at The Bindery Portland OR Melissa Babasin photography

Bridal models with blue smoke outside The Bindery Portland OR Melissa Babasin photography

Styled model in sparkling gown with bouquet at The Bindery in Portland Melissa Babasin Photo

Photos by Melissa Babasin Photography. Words by Jaime Ta Creative.

How Did This Wedding Party Styled Shoot Come Together?

As a woman of color owned business based in the PNW, I was tired of seeing the SAME type of photos with the SAME traditional Caucasian couple or models. I wanted to see people like myself in the wedding blogs and magazine, and truly wanted to advocate for my couples in changing the wedding industry by representing THEM.

My inspiration for this shoot come from the night skies in Oregon. When you get away from the city, the stars truly are nature showing off. I wanted to bring the stars to the city. This celestial styled wedding party shoot is meant to be inspiration for couples planning a small shower or celebrating their love with their closest friends and loved ones to keep it authentic to them and to not be afraid to add some sparkle.

The models and vendor team curated feature people of color and highlight the diversity of what the real wedding world looks like. Inclusivity is a buzz word you see a lot of folks use, but I wanted to walk the walk by being intentional with the vendors that I reached out to by reaching out to vendors that don't normally get the spotlight, and give them a chance to shine.

A lot of these vendors I had worked with together before and they are absolute talents and gems to the wedding industry in the way they care for their clients and the way their work speaks for itself.

Jodi Iverson of Jodi Iverson Florals is a local woman of color owned business who I wanted to work with because of her use of bold colors and daring asymmetry in floral arrangements that make her bouquets absolutely stunning and eye catching. Our catering team is local to the Oregon Coast. Sage Bleu Catering and The Culinary Concierge created charcuterie boards that looked like a work of art. Their talent was a true collaboration, and one that made the table settings come to life. I also love working with Adorned in Grace Bridal because of their mission to help the prevention of human trafficking and support for victims with the proceeds of their gown sales. The shop is also run by volunteers and gowns are donated by the community.