Millennial Marriage: Thirty with Roommates

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Millennial Marriage: Thirty with Roommates

For the majority of my adult life, I have lived with roommates with the exception of the year before Adam and I got married and the year after.We made the mistake of renting an apartment that was too expensive for our budget in central Washington, D.C., which promptly entered us into the “yopro” rat race of working to make rent. We say now that we are grateful for that expensive lesson: for us, a simpler life is a happier life.

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5 Tips for Staying Mindful on Your Wedding Day

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5 Tips for Staying Mindful on Your Wedding Day

I woke up the morning of my wedding exhausted, stressed, and haggard. My mom was frantic about the forecasted rain that day, and I hadn’t slept a wink. A few hours later I hunched in the salon chair letting the stylist do most of the work to keep my head propped up and debating whether a cup of coffee would jumpstart the best day of my life or unleash the full-blown, barely-concealed crazy. Then I had a near meltdown when I couldn’t find my lipstick, and I coped by throwing back mimosas on an empty stomach as my friends worriedly stood by. While I felt calm, collected, and present during the ceremony, the full day of preparations was just not that great. But that time is precious, and as everyone will tell you, it flies by. Part of mindfulness is simply noticing; being present makes a moment that you would otherwise skip past expand like a balloon.

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Millennial Marriage: Long Distance Loving You

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Millennial Marriage: Long Distance Loving You

My husband and I spent half of the last year apart. We were not forced into a distance relationship by factors outside of our control, but rather, like many Millennials with our privileged upbringings, lifestyle options seemed endless despite limited career realities, and our jobs and interests led us in different directions. Adam’s employer decided to transfer him from Washington, D.C. to Houston, Texas right before Volume One of Catalyst Wedding Magazine went to print and just as I began to feel rooted in a community of District creatives. We had been married a little over a year when I tentatively told him that in my heart of hearts, I was not ready to leave and proposed that he move to Texas alone. Always my biggest believer, he barely winced and got to helping me find a room to rent on Craigslist. Ever the realist, the day he left for Texas he gave a little spiel about what administrative things I should take care of if he were to die before we were reunited, and I verbally willed him eleven boxes of wedding magazines through teary eyes.    

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Make Magazine, Will Travel: Houston Edition

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Make Magazine, Will Travel: Houston Edition

You'll hardly ever find the Catalyst team in one place.  I can think of maybe three times when our Editor, Photographer, and Creative Director sat around one table, eating Indian food, and wildly brainstorming on an oversized piece of craft paper.

In just the past few months, Carly, our Photographer, has traveled to Sweden, Italy, Seattle, and New York for weddings, while our Creative Director, Jen, has spent the last three months hunkering down in Hong Kong, and Editor, Liz, has relocated from Washington, DC to Houston, Texas.

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A Letter from Liz: Catalyst is All of Ours

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A Letter from Liz: Catalyst is All of Ours

Today we are reflecting on the roots of Catalyst. Catalyst is truly an example of putting an intention out into the world and watching it blossom due to the care and love of a community. Carly and I started with a simple idea. We wanted to build and engage an existing community of nontraditional wedding lovers. After we met so many awesome fempreneurs at {un}convention, we wondered: what's next? On a whim, Carly said to me "why don't you quit your job and start a magazine with me?" I said, "Okay." And I did. On Monday, I gave my two weeks' notice, and Carly and I got to work. I'm not usually so impulsive, but there was something about this project that tugged on me, and I needed to see it through. What better way to reach a national (even global) community of diverse, progressive creatives, who love weddings but can't get behind all the traditional trappings of the industry? We knew very little about print media, but we knew lots of talented people. Have you ever looked around you and thought, man I bet my friends could build something awesome. This was one of those times.

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