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!

It was love at first "swipe."

Pepe and I met on a dating app, and I am forever grateful because otherwise I would not have met this wonderful man. He was the first guy I had actually agreed to meet for a date...and the last. I was drawn to how nerdy he was; he was big into DC comics, especially Superman, and I am a huge Harry Potter fan. He messaged me first with a simple "Hola" and we talked every day after that. Two weeks later, we went on our first date. He tried taking me to a fancy restaurant but we couldn't find it, so we got Mexican food instead — which we both love. Unfortunately, I was so nervous I barely ate!

We chose Cypress Grove for the engagement photos because this location was simply beautiful. We both have an appreciation for the outdoors and frequent parks often just to walk around and take in the scenery. Cypress Grove just seemed like the perfect spot.

Well, we actually won our engagement shoot with Crystal after attending a wedding expo in Orlando, and we're so glad we did! We had so much fun at the shoot! Crystal definitely brought all the good vibes and made us feel so comfortable taking lovey-dovey photos in a public park (we're both a little camera shy). We decided to book her for our wedding as well because we were so happy with how the photos turned out. I feel like we established a connection with her — she was so easy going — and I honestly couldn't see anyone else photographing our big day!

Words by Shameka, the bride, as told to Amber Marlow. Photos by Crystal Whitaker of Crystal Lily Photography.

CYPRESS GROVE ENGAGEMENT SESSION CRYSTAL LILY PHOTOGRAPHY COUPLE ON DOCK OVER LAKE

CYPRESS GROVE ENGAGEMENT SESSION CRYSTAL LILY PHOTOGRAPHY EMBRACE

CYPRESS GROVE ENGAGEMENT SESSION CRYSTAL LILY PHOTOGRAPHY SHAMEKA HUGS PEPE FROM BEHIND

CYPRESS GROVE ENGAGEMENT SESSION CRYSTAL LILY PHOTOGRAPHY PEPE AND SHAMEKA IN GAZEBO

CYPRESS GROVE ENGAGEMENT SESSION CRYSTAL LILY PHOTOGRAPHY COUPLE HOLDING HANDS, CLOSE-UP OF SHAMEKA’S ENGAGEMENT RING

CYPRESS GROVE ENGAGEMENT SESSION CRYSTAL LILY PHOTOGRAPHY COUPLE HOLDING HANDS WALKING BY LAKE

CYPRESS GROVE ENGAGEMENT SESSION CRYSTAL LILY PHOTOGRAPHY EMBRACE ON PARK PATH

CYPRESS GROVE ENGAGEMENT SESSION CRYSTAL LILY PHOTOGRAPHY SHAMEKA LEAPING INTO PEPE’S ARMS

CYPRESS GROVE ENGAGEMENT SESSION CRYSTAL LILY PHOTOGRAPHY SHAMEKA PORTRAIT SHOT

CYPRESS GROVE ENGAGEMENT SESSION CRYSTAL LILY PHOTOGRAPHY PEPE PORTRAIT SHOT

CRYSTAL LILY PHOTOGRAPHY

Crystal is a Los Angeles based photographer who lives for good vibes and real experiences. She's a free spirited, shamelessly goofy, travel junkie who she thinks she can dance. Crystal is focused on giving her couples great memories to share with the people they share their wine with, because what good is a fun experience is you aren't going to re-live it over a good bottle of vino and laughter?! Crystal also believes in spreading the love, so a portion of the costs from every booking goes towards an organization in need.