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!

You might be used to seeing couples light a unity candle or blend sand together in a jar, but there are lots of other meaningful unity ceremonies you can choose from for your wedding. There are plenty of unity rites with religious ties such as the lazo, or Catholic wedding cord, but here are nine great non-traditional alternatives you can incorporate into your ceremony regardless of your faith or religion.

With so much pressure to have a Pinterest-perfect wedding day, choosing the backdrop for saying your “I Do’s” can be a tough decision. Thankfully, there is no one way to choose a backdrop for your wedding ceremony. As with anything on your wedding day, choose a backdrop that really reflects who you are as a couple. Here are some of our favorites to inspire you and show you that any choice can be beautiful!

Trans people have always existed and will always exist regardless of official documentation. Full stop. So what can you do to make your wedding more welcoming to your trans and gender nonconforming guests?

What 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.

Kate and I first met online New Years Eve 2016. We were both looking to make new friends and the very next day went on a hike together to a local waterfall. After getting to know each other over a few months, we attended our local film festival. Before one of the shows, a woman was performing an odd feat outside: she was attempting to lift a fifty pound weight chained to her EYELIDS (?!). Kate, like many in the crowd, was totally into it. Meanwhile I grabbed her arm, hid behind and tried not to throw up at the thought of it.

For some reason after that, we just felt closer. So thanks, weird eyelid lady! And luckily, her eyelids remained intact after she accomplished the lift. During the movie, it was total junior high butterflies as we awkwardly tried to hold each other's hands. After that it became pretty apparent that we both felt a lot more than friendship.

Jami and Keri's wedding took place on October 7th at Firehouse Chicago, one of my all time favorite U.S. wedding venues in the quaint neighborhood of Andersonville. Jami’s pale blue and lace wedding dress was handmade. Kerri wore a dapper suit from J. Crew with a handsome bow tie and boutonniere. Hillary Bullock officiated their outdoor ceremony under the ivy where Jami walked down the staircase to meet Kerri and a knot tying ceremony was included to signify their union. 

We are a queer couple with a transgender husband, who met five years ago through mutual friends at a dance night at a local bar. We lived in the same small town for over a decade, knowing some of the same people, and we managed to miss each other for all those years. When marriage equality passed, we discussed getting married, and it was an easy yes! Our wedding was one year later on the weekend of the anniversary of marriage becoming federally legal. Because both of us never thought we were ever going to get married we never thought about what we would want for a wedding.

Joann & Dawn met in Chicago and got engaged at the very cool Ironhorse Hotel in Milwaukee, WI where we shot their engagement session. It was important to them to have an intimate, joyful destination wedding that included all of their closest fiends and family. They spent a long weekend with their guests enjoying an all-inclusive resort in Mexico, playing games and hanging out in the pool. It's nice when the guests from all over the world get to know each other before the wedding day- it makes the party even more fun! They were walked down the aisle by a best friend and brother and had male friends and family as part of their wedding party. Dawn handmade their beautiful and unique wedding bouquets, and she surprised Joann with a song during the reception. They had a non traditional guest book and a Cards Against Humanity make-your-own-card set which was I'm sure will provide many years of entertainment.  But it wasn't all rainbows and butterflies: Joann had a foot injury and wore one heel and one flip flop the whole day! Still, they were super relaxed and had such a great time--they even jumped in the pool in their dresses at the end of the night!