With a little bit of research, a chat with your officiant, and with our advice, you should feel confident in your wedding vows before it comes time to exchange them in public.

We were both a little nervous – there were certain moments we didn’t have an exact script for, and so were awkward for a moment – but knowing that everyone there was thrilled for us, we felt comfortable to be a little informal and come up with things on the fly.

So much pressure is put on people to have the perfect wedding with every last detail planned, but in the end, simply having a fun day with the people we loved most was what made the wedding special.

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.

I loved the idea of pairing paper flowers in the centerpieces and an origami bouquet to show that unconventional does not have to be all modern and you can use alternatives to real or silk florals. I used rose gold to add a bit of luxury to the dusty rose and paired with champagne linens.