Catalyst Wedding Company highlights weddings by and for game-changers. We seek to amplify and empower voices and viewpoints that are usually missing from the Wedding Industrial Complex. We're a community of badass wedding professionals who love all things funky, fresh, diverse, unique, and personality-driven; we convene twice yearly for (un)convention, a collaborative workshop, styled shoot, and dinner party. We're also the publishers of Catalyst Wedding Mag, a resource for couples looking for inspiration and affirmation that doing things differently in wedding-world is not only ok, it's wonderful!
Starting your business is scary, and half the time even the most experience entrepreneurs feel like they have no idea what they're doing (**cough** me **cough**), but there are a few important things that I learned from my time in the corporate world that all entrepreneurs should consider when they first start out.
Read MoreWhether the ring is 20 carats or $25, if you’re not the one rocking it, keep your two cents to yourself.
Read MoreIt's not uncommon to have your ceremony location and reception location be far apart, and if you're considering a remote location, you might have to consider how guests get back and forth from the venue to their hotel. Renting buses or limos can be a great way to provide a thoughtful service to your guests, but it can be hard to know who to trust for your wedding day transportation.
Read MoreHow to diversify portfolios is a topic that comes up frequently in photography groups on Facebook. It generally looks something like this: “I want to start photographing gay weddings but don’t have any gay clients… what do I do?” or “I need make my portfolio less white/straight… should I do a model call?” A few of those conversations have resulted in white people getting called out for tokenizing members of marginalized communities and, frequently, those who were called out responded with mild (or not so mild) outrage and wondered how to get away from their straight white client base if they can’t do model calls for LGBTQ2S+ folks or POC to expand their portfolios.
There is very limited information regarding tokenism as it pertains to fine arts generally and photography portfolio building specifically. This article is an attempt to compile the information I did find and present it in a way that is applicable to the photography industry. It might seem straightforward and obvious to some, but I think it is needed
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I think that people have romanticized the idea of self care; we don’t talk about what it really means to take care of self. What I want you to do when thinking about self care is to keep in mind those things that you need so badly. This includes the physical, mental, emotional, and financial. What is it going to take you to get to the place you need to be in these areas?
Read More7 ways to mitigate the frivolity of planning a big-ass party when neo-Nazis are marching, the planet is melting, and POTUS is leading the Confederate States of America with “alternative facts.”
Read MoreThere is a Zen teaching that goes “when you have only a little time, meditate for 10 minutes. And if you have no time at all, then meditate for 20.” This teaching acknowledges that a sense of not having enough time is not an objective law, but rather a subjective experience, one that we can change.
Read MoreCeremony and ritual help us acknowledge change and transition in our lives. You can think about the difference between a meal that starts with a toast or saying grace versus a meal that just starts. In the former, everyone takes a moment to settle in and be present with each other before eating, and in the second we just start right in and we don't necessarily stop to be present.
Read MoreAmy: I had so many back-to-back weddings with donuts (they're very in right now), and so at a client's wedding, while I totally knew in my heart of hearts they were not donuts, I had a brain fart and had the band announce that the donuts were now out at the dessert table! I was literally looking at these NOT DONUTS and saying, would you like a donut? Then, the photographer's assistant came up to me and said, “Amy, those are not donuts, right? They're like muffins, right?" And I was like, "no, they're donuts!" And then my assistant and I realized: WHAT THE HECK, THESE ARE CUPCAKES. I had a grandma or two ask for some donuts, and I had to sadly tell them we only had cupcakes. I'm a very on-top-of-my-shit lady, but that was the one moment I broke. Could have been worse! You have to laugh.
Read MorePlanning and preparing for a wedding can be stressful. Start the process of alleviating your stress by identifying the sources. There are two types of stress: eustress, which is positive and can be motivating, and distress, a negative source of anxiety. What is unnecessary and can be left behind, eradicated, or revamped? Create a to-do list, and delegate tasks to people that you trust, like your wedding party or coordinator who will help to disperse the load. Surround yourself with a positive support team that can help you to stay clear of unnecessary tension. Then begin implementing a daily routine like meditation and breathing techniques with a cup of herbal tea to start your day. This can create a moment for yourself and set the tone that will help you to feel grounded and ready to tackle what’s left on your to-do list.
Read MoreWeddings are the ultimate sensory experience — the sound of a band, the smell of fresh roses, the texture of a hemstitch napkin, the sight of family and friends over candlelight...and the taste of a great meal!
When planning the menu for any event, it’s important to consider all of your guests and their needs. From kosher to vegan to gluten free and more, here are few tips on how to curate the perfect menu for your special day.
Read MoreOne year ago, my now-husband and I chose our wedding venue. A month later, a man who ran a presidential campaign on a platform of hate won by a wide margin in that town. Like many others, we wanted to mobilize resources for social issues put at risk by the election. Our wedding would be the largest set of consumer decisions that we would influence in a turbulent 2017, so we first set our sights on how to design a wedding day that celebrated our commitment, while also making a statement about what we stand for.
Read MoreOn to more pressing matters. This may come as a surprise, but once again I was not at New York Fashion Week this year. I know, right? How am I always way too busy to attend or work the show every year? (laughs) (One year I’ll actually be invited to the show, and then I can stop pretending I’m too busy to go. *ugly cries*) But that didn’t stop me from sitting on my couch stalking all of the websites and social media to catch every update, and of course everyone was serving looks! However this was the first year I paid special attention to the bridal looks, so let’s talk about my thoughts on the ones I’ve seen thus far.
Read MoreA few months before the wedding, I started receiving texts and emails from members of the wedding party, asking what I wanted to do for a bachelorette weekend. Since I had been using Pinterest to find wedding inspiration, I started searching there for ideas.
After an initial search of "bachelorette party ideas," I quickly realized that Pinterest—or any other mainstream source—would not be the place for me to plan the feminist weekend with friends I had been dreaming about.
Read MoreThe easiest way to save money on weddings is to have a smaller one. The reason for this is simple: if you have fewer guests, you don't have to provide as much on the day. While this seems like you will have fewer people to celebrate with, a positive effect of a smaller wedding is that the wedding will feel more personal.
The practice of accepting ourselves exactly where we are creates a more grounded and joyful wedding day, but it is also a foundational principle of mindfulness. (Or, if it jives better with you: it’s my party and I’ll feel weird if I want to). Sounds nice, right? But why can it be so hard to be exactly where we are, especially in extraordinary circumstances and on special days?
Read MoreAs a wedding planner for a little over three years, I get asked quite frequently what a wedding planner does. Being a black woman, I’ve grown to understand that it’s just not common to hire a wedding planner in the black community. It’s just not the cultural norm. Typically the mother of the bride, Auntie FeeFee, or the family’s self proclaimed fashion guru handles the “coordination.” There is the possibility that the wedding day can run smoothly using such “coordinators,” but isn’t it easier to hire a professional? Yes!
So recently, I’ve been making it a point to make random posts on my social media page about what it is a wedding planner does and ask my followers why they would or would not hire a planner. So, to counteract the feedback I’ve received, here’s why you NEED a wedding planner.
Read MoreIf you find yourself slashing traditions left and right, you are not alone. Many couples are choosing to pare down to a much simpler wedding day devoid of traditions that are inextricably bound to outdated or straight-up sexist norms. Whether you want to have a smaller, more affordable or more casual wedding, or you’re just not that interested in having a huge dance party, here are some ways you can make your ceremony the focus of your wedding day.
Read MoreToday, three in four couples in the U.S. decide to get married outside of a religious institution. Couples report making the choice to write their own ceremony because they do not share a common faith tradition, have experienced bias or trauma through organized religion, or simply envision gathering in a place that feels more meaningful to their story than a house of worship.
Read MoreSix weeks ago, my fiancé Nathan and I were in Park Slope with a jewelry saleswoman encouraging me to try on a $19,000 vintage ring from early 19th-century Europe. That’s right: $19,000.
Seeing that rock, my stomach sank — not because the ring was way out of price range, which it was, but because I didn’t know how to express my diamond ambivalence to the clerk without being rude. After all, her hands were bedazzled with five diamond rings of her own. With the price tag, it should have been easy for me and Nathan to tell her we were going to pass. But as we explained our preferences, I started to feel like my value was under the spotlight — as though the worth of the ring was a reflection of my worth.
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Catalyst Wedding Company highlights weddings by and for game-changers. We seek to amplify and empower voices and viewpoints that are usually missing from the Wedding Industrial Complex. We're a community of badass wedding professionals who love all things funky, fresh, diverse, unique, and personality-driven; we convene twice yearly for (un)convention, a collaborative workshop, styled shoot, and dinner party. We're also the publishers of Catalyst Wedding Mag, a resource for couples looking for inspiration and affirmation that doing things differently in wedding-world is not only ok, it's wonderful!
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