June 17, 2019

50 Moments of Pure Queer Joy

June 17, 2019/ Catalyst Wedding Co

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!

April 08, 2019

Your Parents Are Paying for Your Wedding. Do You Have to Invite Their Friends?

April 08, 2019/ Catalyst Wedding Co

You’re creating your wedding budget and you’re lucky enough to have your parents helping out with the bill, but does that mean they have control over decisions like who gets to attend the wedding? It can be hard to balance your wedding day wants with your parents’ when they are helping to pick up the check, so we called on the members of our vendor directory to share their advice for how to manage those expectations.

May 23, 2018

10 Outfits That Prove Western Brides Don't Need White Wedding Dresses

May 23, 2018/ Catalyst Wedding Co

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that I wore white on my wedding day. It was a pretty awesome dress, but I chose it knowing full well that the idea of wearing white on your wedding day is not some tradition as old as time, just as old as the Victorian Era. White dresses are a little bit about purity and femininity, but also a whole lot about wealth. It wasn't until the last few centuries that the average woman could dream of affording a dress that they would only wear once.

So let's banish this whole idea of the white wedding dress as being a necessity. If you want to wear one, that's awesome! If you don't, that's fine, too! Let's celebrate these 10 AMAZING outfits that prove that you can pretty much do WHATEVER YOU WANT.

December 31, 2017

Our 10 Favorite Weddings and Elopements from 2017

December 31, 2017/ Catalyst Wedding Co

We have published more real weddings and engagement this year than ever before and we have been absolutely blown away by the love stories of all of the couples we've featured, but these 10 couples and the ceremonies to share their love and commitment to each other have helped us get through this dumpster fire of a year. Thanks for helping us to keep believing in love, beauty, and happiness!

August 25, 2017

Real Couples // Georgetown Sunrise Engagement: Varun + Amanda

August 25, 2017/ Catalyst Wedding Co

Varun and Amanda met up with me early in the morning on a weekday, on a day when the world was still too cool in the morning to not wear coats, but it warmed up quickly. They told me they met getting their MBAs and joked that their hands brushed while using excel, and the rest was history. We traipsed through the tiny bit of forest we found near the water in Georgetown, DC, as we discussed all things Wes Anderson, and Amanda talk about how Varun has taught her a lot about South Indian food and culture. We ended the session just as most coffee shops were opening and as the sun started to warm the city.

August 21, 2017

Real Couples // Remote Forest Mansion Wedding: Chris + Brian

August 21, 2017/ Great Oak Manor/ Catalyst Wedding Co

They were married on the coast, celebrated under a tent filled with everyone they loved, and only escaped for a moment to hold hands and walk on the sandy beach. Two men in love, married by the water, dancing through the night.

August 07, 2017

Real Couples // Motorcycle Fine Art Engagement: Waqas + Kari

August 07, 2017/ Catalyst Wedding Co

Kari and Waqas went on a motorcycle camping trip and this session was a pilgrimage of sorts to return to a time they loved so dearly. As we walked around with a light breeze blowing Kari’s hat, they pointed out all the areas they remembered eating breakfast at, the places they stumbled around in the dark, the lake where they watched the sun set as the shadows creeped up the trees. The revs from Waqas’s motorcycle echoed through the forest, a curious baby black bear crossed the road behind us, peeking as he trotted along. We went our separate ways, the bear and us, and this is how their session went.

July 24, 2017

Real Couples // Sunflower Sunbath: Lauren + Sean

July 24, 2017/ Catalyst Wedding Co

Broom’s Bloom Dairy has fields of crops all over in Maryland, but Lauren and Sean told me about the sunflower field that only blooms for a tiny amount of time (coupled with the temptation of fresh made ice cream), and this is where we found ourselves in an afternoon as the sun began to sat. The flowers were a maze we escaped into, muffling the sounds from the rest of the farm. We were suddenly isolated, surrounded by sunflowers, and showered by sunlight.

July 07, 2017

Real Couples // Carmel-by-the-Sea: Jess + Karolyn

July 07, 2017/ Catalyst Wedding Co

This wedding between two incredibly talented Irish photographers on a cliff in Carmel was fairly unplanned in that they were married the day before they intended, in a city they didn’t plan, on a cliff they hadn’t seen before, but in the end it was perfect. Their home in Northern Ireland is the only place in the UK and Ireland that doesn’t have marriage equality, so they’d been planning their Big Sur ceremony so they could get married somewhere beautiful—to finally have a piece of paper that said they married. But the week of their ceremony, the storms had been brewing in Big Sur and didn’t seem like they weren’t letting up. Warnings of weakened bridges to Big Sur, the intended wedding destination, and pictures of washed away cliffs filled my inbox as I drove from the airport to Carmel-by-the-Sea. Karolyn and Jess realized that I was there an extra day, the one day it was expected to not rain, so they decided Carmel would be the place they would get married. They were married with the sun shining down on them, hands clasped together, over the rushing sounds of waves, while greenery was hanging off cliffs for as far as the eye could see. And this is the story of how they were finally married.

July 05, 2017

Real Couples // Natural History Museum Engagement: Jess + Karolyn

July 05, 2017/ Catalyst Wedding Co

I was enjoying swimming in a sea of accents as the bustling group of tourists funneled their way into the Natural History Museum in London. Karolyn and Jess told me about their engagement story as we walked through the crowd. They pointed at the staircase and told me it happened upstairs, a small private corner of the museum all to their own. This is where they got engaged, this is where they come to remind themselves of how it all started. This is where we took photos in loud whispers, in the echoes of the monumental stone walls, before wandering out into the rare sunlight of London for a walk in the park.

May 26, 2017

12 Photographers You Need to Follow on Instagram for Nontraditional & Diverse Wedding Inspiration

May 26, 2017/ Catalyst Wedding Co

While wedding websites and blogs are a great destination for inspiration, wedding photographers are the original sources for beautiful wedding images, most of which are never published on blogs, in magazines, or on websites. If you are looking for original, nontraditional, and diverse wedding inspiration — or just a daily dose of love — then do yourself a favor and follow these talented artists: