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!
For years our platonic friendship grew, our friends waiting patiently for our love to coalesce, when finally Jess decided enough was enough and said, "We're getting drinks." That night we made out on a dark dance floor in a basement bar, and we've been inseparable ever since.
Read MoreSome of our loved ones are straight, some gay, some queer, some partnered, some single, and we wanted everyone to feel loved, safe and honored exactly as they are. We encouraged the people in our wedding party to wear whatever they wanted and decide for themselves if they preferred a bouquet, a boutonniere or neither.
Read MoreWe met through mutual friends, but we didn't date right away because David was in a relationship at the time. We were friends for two years before we decided to go on our first date in August 2018. That first date was a country concert at the Orange County fair. We danced and laughed the whole night, bonding over the similarities and values we had in common.
Read MoreThe only thing that was truly important was that I married the woman of my dreams and love of my life. Everything else was just delicious frosting on the cake.
Read MoreWe met at Dore Alley, Folsom Street fair's smaller, gayer, and more local equivalent. I was experimenting with my exhibitionist side, walking around naked and being the social butterfly that I am. Eugene and I passed by each other from afar a couple times, but we didn't talk until the end when he saw me putting my clothes back on and talking to a friend. He came up to me and asked me a little about myself and asked for my number. We took a selfie together for his contact in my phone, and a couple weeks later, I hit him up for our first date.
Read MoreThe couple told me they were looking for a venue with a rustic ranch theme, and found it in the Circle Oak Ranch. They viewed the photos online, and immediately scheduled a visit. They knew instantly that it was the place they were going to get married.
Read MoreCandice and Kaitlyn are a real couple who are engaged and preparing to walk down the aisle. They dub themselves "Muscles and Mouse," and as you can see, live up to the playful, loving couple that the nicknames imply. Inspired by the historic school house, we went with an art inspired theme. The shoot is colorful, bright, and abstract to show that you can be bold in expressing yourself while celebrating life and love.
Read MoreWe love modern takes on the traditional engagement ring, and we love ring stacks even more, so we couldn't be more thrilled to welcome Rebecca Mir Grady Jewelry to our Catalyst vendor community. Not only are Rebecca's rings stunning, but they are all handmade from reclaimed precious metals and ethically sourced stones in her Santa Fe studio so there's no diamond guilt here. Plus, you can feel awesome rocking your engagement or wedding ring for the rest of your life knowing you supported a LGBTQ+-owned business. It doesn't get better than that!
Read MoreJanelle:
William and I met through my aunt at an Olive Garden. We re-connected six days later in San Diego, and in true “US” fashion we met at a favorite taco shop of mine. From there we headed to the Cabrillo monument to soak in the panoramic view overlooking La Jolla/Pacific Beach just as the sun set in the distance. The day flew by as we joined in transparent and authentic conversation about our past, present, and future desires for our lives.
Read MoreStylized shoot with real multi-cultural female couple. These two have been married for a year, and we provided them with a stylized shoot in Joshua Tree during a Creatively Inspired Workshop + Stylized Shoot. Many vendors included in this shoot (included below photos).
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 MoreJamie's cousin, Glenn, told me to come to his housewarming. I really didn't want to go because I was already in my pajamas and I knew Glenn didn't have a new place. Our friend Jesus ended up picking me up so I had no other choice. It turned out to be Jamie's housewarming—I met Jamie and thought he was cute and shy. Later after I left, Jamie asked Glenn about me and the rest is history.
I (Jamie) had asked her parents for their blessing a few months back. It was her birthday weekend and she always talked about going to Catalina Island so I wanted to surprise her with a day trip.
Read MoreFor the ceremony, I wore all traditional jewelry, except for the finger rings and the nose ring because it was too much jewelry for me. I don't normally wear jewelry and they were a bit uncomfortable. I wore a maang tikka on my forehead, which I loved, a few heavy diamond necklaces and earrings, ankle bracelets, and red and white bangles, which are the traditional wedding colors. We exchanged not only rings but also Mangal Sutras (diamond and black onyx necklaces bought in India) during the ceremony. We also got wedding Henna or Mehndi done before leaving LA on our hands and feet. It took hours to be applied and we had to sit still and sleep without rubbing it off so it would stain as dark as possible, which was so hard! As is the tradition we got each other's first name initial hidden in our Henna and during the first look we had to find it on each other.
Read MoreWe met through a mutual friend when we were in college, but were acquaintances for a long time. I was born in Taiwan but grew up in Japan, and Mark is Japanese but was born in America, therefore not as fluent in Japanese. We actually bonded over that fact when we reconnected years later since I speak Japanese better, and that led to where we are today!
Read MoreI (Jonathon) am an amalgam of right and left brain—I'm in internal medicine and geriatrics, and I am an actor. I am a Colorado Native. Paul is a cerebral kind of guy with a background in forensic psychology who specialized in army intelligence. He too loves the outdoors and enjoying great times with friends. Between my love of the outdoors and his love of the historical elements of society, the castle was a great backdrop for our wedding.
Read MoreCasper was the one to propose to me. I had just started my Master's program at SDSU and he was adamant that we take a trip up to Seattle. I was excited, but nervous because of my program. I had a lot of homework that I needed to complete and wasn't too thrilled to be going up North because of my school, but I went up anyway. We strolled around the city for a day. Then he took me on a one-day trip to Bainbridge Island. I was very excited because I had never taken a ferry to the island. We were at a beautiful park sitting on a bench with an amazing view of Seattle when Casper popped the question.
Read MoreWith much trepidation and nervousness, we met up at a local bar in San Diego. After the initial chit-chat (and a tiny bit of liquid courage), we felt a sense of comfort and compatibility that neither of us had expected. We talked for hours, sharing our pasts, and discovering we had quite a bit in common. Before we knew it, the bar was making last call and neither of us wanted the night to end.
We are David White and Michael Rawls. We met in January 2011 and were married on June 20, 2016, at San Francisco City Hall. I wanted our proposal story to be special, so we planned a trip to Las Vegas in September of 2015. We saw Celine Deon and Britney Spears in concert two nights back to back, which was pretty awesome. I surprised Michael the second afternoon with a helicopter tour from Vegas out to the Grand Canyon. Michael had never been to the Grand Canyon, and neither of us had been in a helicopter. The helicopter tour we selected was special because we didn't just fly over the canyon. We landed by the Colorado River and had a champagne lunch with the pilot and two other couples. While we were in the belly of the canyon, I asked Michael to be my husband. It was pretty great: he said yes.
Read MoreWhen planning a wedding, typically you do so without ever thinking you will virtually undo all of it. The endless coordination of vendors and schedules, guests and wedding party — there is an emotional investment in each of these phone calls, emails and appointments. They all become a part of this process leading to a day when you will pledge your life and love to another person. However, when the wedding is called off just weeks before the big day, and everything comes to a halt, you are left with...what exactly? I was not sure. It was a painful decision to make, but somehow I knew it was the right one for myself and my son.
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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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