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.

For this engagement inspiration shoot at Feminist Photo Vaycay in Palm Springs the models were Janet and Gabe. When they sent us images of themselves, their smiles were absolutely infectious and the team knew they’d capture that “in love and on vacation“ attitude. 

Catalyst co-founder Carly Romeo started the Feminist Photo VayCay a few years ago, a retreat where photographers can participate in styled shoots using local vendors and gorgeous couples who are PoC, and/or queer/non-binary. This the first of two styled shoots from the retreat: an elopement inspiration in the high desert at the Tumbleweed Sanctuary. Mia and Sasja are our real-life couple and models, and they were incredibly brave in what was shockingly cold weather.

Why does a wedding planner want to talk about politics and identity? As a Texas-based business owner, you can imagine how often I get asked that question. But the answer is always the same: because politics and identity affect everything I do: my choice of hairstyle, who I work with, the very fact that I’m a black-owned business that loves working with same-sex couples in a state that makes its position on that very well-known. I could go on. But ultimately, do you know why? Because people are politics.

Carly Romeo, co-founder of Catalyst Wed Co. recently planned Feminist Photo Vaycay, which is a blend of relaxation and creative exploration. Over the course of three days, fifteen photographers descended on the desert (well, a house in Palm Springs) and talked shop, took photos of each other, and had access to four professionally-styled shoots with themes that spanned the genres of boudoir, editorial, weddings, and couples' portraiture. But more than giving photographers a chance to shoot genres that they don't usually work within, the shoots were intentionally diverse -- featuring multicultural models and same-sex couples — and representative of the diversity of clients they all seek to serve. The results were spectacular: they pushed themselves creatively, they shot in pools and on top of mountains, and they practiced and shared technical skills. Oh, and the photos turned out awesome.