June 17, 2019

50 Moments of Pure Queer Joy

June 17, 2019/ Catalyst Wedding Co

This pride month is especially meaningful, as we mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising which brought visibility to LGBTQ+ issues and the community’s struggle for equal rights. We still face a great deal of discrimination in this world, but no one can dampen the light of love shone from these couples. To honor the sacrifice of every one who has helped the community reach this point, we are highlighting 50 moments of pure queer love and joy from past Catalyst couples. Thank you for sharing your love and light with us and the world!

June 10, 2019

Introducing Urban Set Bride's New Wedding Gown Collection

June 10, 2019/ Catalyst Wedding Co

Here at Catalyst, we are always on the look out for inclusive wedding wear and so we were thrilled to hear that our friends at Urban Set Bride has created a new collection of gowns available only at their boutique in Richmond, Virginia. Christine Haines Greenberg and Jennifer Haines have been bringing plus size and inclusive wedding attire to the Central Virginia area for the last five years, and we were lucky enough to sit down with Christine and hear more about the new collection.

April 24, 2019

3 Reasons to Have a Small Micro-Wedding

April 24, 2019/ Catalyst Wedding Co

I love suggesting micro-weddings to couples on a tight budget or couples who don’t want to deal with the emotional labor of planning a highly detailed wedding. Micro-weddings are small celebrations that don’t skimp on style but do cut a majority of the costs. But there are a few other benefits to having a tiny wedding, as well.

March 14, 2019

Yes, You Need to Feed Your Wedding Vendors

March 14, 2019/ Catalyst Wedding Co

Providing meals for your vendors is a commonly overlooked piece of the wedding day puzzle. You might be so deep in the weeds of making sure all your guests’ dietary restrictions are taken care of that you’ve forgotten that even your photographer, wedding planner, DJ, and other day-of vendors are going to need to eat, too!

October 29, 2018

Everything to Consider Before You Plan Your Honeymoon // Protravel International

October 29, 2018/ Catalyst Wedding Co

Planning weddings is hard work. Once you’ve said your vows, the last thing you want to do is be worried about your honeymoon going as planned. That’s why we can’t recommend highly enough that you book your honeymoon through an experienced destination travel agent, like Mileta Foster of Protravel International.

May 17, 2018

5 Tips for Hiring Inclusive Wedding Vendors

May 17, 2018/ Catalyst Wedding Co

We know our Catalyst readers are some of the most progressive couples out there, and the struggle to “stay woke” while navigating this super traditional wedding industry is REAL. Thankfully, one of the easiest ways to have a woke wedding is to book inclusive vendors. But how do you get started? We’ve outlined some steps that can help.

March 29, 2018

How to Find a LGBTQ+ Friendly Honeymoon Location // Honeyfund Registry

March 29, 2018/ Catalyst Wedding Co

While 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.

March 23, 2018

4 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Creating Your Wedding Budget

March 23, 2018/ Catalyst Wedding Co

There 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.

July 27, 2016

Keeping It Real with Shawnee Custalow of A Lovely Photo

July 27, 2016/ Catalyst Wedding Co

Happy Wednesday, y'all! Today we want to introduce our amazing sponsor, Shawnee Custalow of A Lovely Photo! She has been a strong supporter of Catalyst since the beginning. She also attended {un}convention Brooklyn, helped us to organize the Out of the Box Challenge, and has photographed some of our favorite #PhotoFriday posts to date (like this one and this one).

Shawnee took some time to give us a behind the scenes look into her photography business and share how she is disrupting the wedding industry by focusing on inclusivity.

June 03, 2016

Real Couples // A Queer Wedding With a View: Brandy + Conley

June 03, 2016/ Catalyst Wedding Co

Brandy & Conley (lovingly referred to as Bronley) are one of the most amazing couples I've ever met. Their wedding day was gorgeous and memorable for so many reasons. These two are very dear friends of mine, so photographing their celebration was already an honor. Everything about their celebration magnified just how much these two love each other and their friends and family, as well as what an incredible and caring support system they have. The ceremony was held at a local park that overlooked the city. Brandy & Conley said this was really important for them, because they could come back and visit the spot where they said their vows anytime they wanted. The reception was hosted by a fabulous drag queen and one of their friends did a pole dance performance in the middle of the dance floor that left everyone with their jaws on the floor. Many people at the wedding didn't know that Conley had started transitioning (including his Father), and it was a beautiful moment to see Conley called by his chosen name for the first time in such a public yet intimate setting. Everything was uniquely Bronley. No bullshit, just awesomeness, tons of laughter, and lots and lots of love.

January 08, 2016

Real Couples // Downtown Norfolk Mural Elopement: Molly + Tricia

January 08, 2016/ Catalyst Wedding Co

Tricia and Molly met and fell in love in an unconventional and completely 21st century way: on an online dating website. They shouldn’t have met, but their combined fates could not be stopped by the 10 mile radius set by Tricia. They decided on a small wedding at the Norfolk Courthouse to keep the most important people involved in their wedding day, opting for immediate family only. Tricia recalls the day of the ceremony being stressful yet glorious. One of Molly’s favorite moments was on the way to their honeymoon in the Outer Banks, rocking out to Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, their unofficial wedding song. Tricia’s favorite moment was having dinner with their families, while enjoying the aura of love. Currently, Molly is an Auto Damage Adjuster and Tricia is a banquet server by day and rockstar bassist by night for the band Blue Ribbon. They live in the Ghent neighborhood in Norfolk, Virginia with their cat ShiShi.