Working in the wedding industry can be difficult and unpredictable in the best of times. The effects of the pandemic on so many of our industry friends, partners, and vendors have been devastating and life-changing, to say the least. Here at Catalyst, we have been working hard to find new paths forward, but after six years of working to bring more diverse voices and love stories to the wedding industry, we have made the difficult decision to stop publication at the end of 2020.

Ultimately, the pandemic forced our team to reevaluate our priorities and we found ours lay elsewhere — with our families, our need for financial stability, and our other businesses and passions.

It has been especially hard to imagine seeing Catalyst disappear during this time of political uncertainty post-election, given the rising tide of white supremacy, and Amy Coney Barret’s appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. We need to hear and lift up the love stories of LGBTQ+, disabled, and Black, Brown, Indigenous folx now more than ever, as lives literally hang in the balance.

This is why we hope that Catalyst does not disappear, but rather, it is time for our team to pass the baton. Over the next year, we’ll be looking for a new home for our content and vendor directory. (If you or anyone you know are interested in acquiring Catalyst and continuing publication, please contact us.)

Thank You!

The most challenging part of writing this is thinking about all of the people who have supported us, cheered us on, educated us, and inspired us over the last six years. Our gratitude is endless.

First, we want to thank those of you who have been with us since the beginning, contributing to our Kickstarter campaign and disrupting the wedding industry at every turn! We also thank all of those who supported our Patreon. We literally wouldn’t be here without you.

We are so grateful to our writers and contributors, who consistently delivered content that exceeded our expectations. We especially want to thank Rebecca Scott, Shae Washington, Frances Lee, Rebecca Anger, Jamie Carle, Meghan Ely, Elisabeth Kramer, Jordan Maney, Jaime Patterson, and Cindy Savage for all the advice, humor, and personal stories you have shared.

Among our industry partners, we must especially thank Kate Schaefer of H&H Weddings, Nova Reid, and Dawn Mauberret for being unofficial members of our team and for also helping us to organize our conference for wedding vendors, {un}convention. We also thank all of our {un}convention sponsors, speakers, and educators, especially our keynote speakers Kelley Raye, Latoya Dixon Smith, Maddie Eisenhart, and Kat Williams.

We’d like to thank every wedding vendor who has ever been a member of our vendor directory, but especially our long-time members Color Pop Events, The Hive Wedding Collective, LVR Events, Aide-mémoire Jewelry, Naturaleza Organic Jewelry, Valerie Madison Jewelry, With These Rings, Corey Torpie Photography, Diana Ascarrunz Photography, The Girl Tyler, Jessica Hunt Photography, Meera Graham Photography, and Shawnee Custalow Studios. Additional thanks goes to all our partners who have worked to provide inclusive educational opportunities to our vendor community, especially Equally Wed, The Equality Institute, and Tomayia Colvin Education.

Finally, thank you to everyone who shared your love stories in Catalyst -- your words and photographs made tangible the promise of inclusivity in the wedding industry.

This community has held each other up during many difficult times, and we march forward knowing this bond cannot be severed. We still have a lot of work to do together, friends.

With all our love,

Jen Siomacco, Amber Marlow, Carly Romeo, and Liz Susong

Volume Four of Catalyst Wedding Magazine

So, what does this all mean?

We knew you’d have questions, which is why we’ve put together a little Q&A. If you still need answers, please email Jen Siomacco at jen@catalystwedco.com

I’m interested in acquiring Catalyst. Who do I contact?

Please contact Jen at jen@catalystwedco.com if you're interested and we will send you our pitch deck.

What happens between now and December 31, 2020?

Between now and the end of the year we’ll be pulling out all the stops to bring you new content, shout out members of our vendor community, and highlight some of our favorite all-time articles and love stories.

As of now, Catalyst is no longer accepting new submissions. If you previously submitted a wedding, engagement or styled shoot and have questions, email jen@catalystwedco.com before December 31, 2020.

Can I still join the Catalyst Vendor Directory?

As of now, we are no longer adding members to our vendor directory. If you have questions about your listing please contact us.

**Can I still buy copies of Catalyst Wedding Magazine?**

Limited print copies of Volumes 2, 3 and 4 are currently still available, and will remain available ONLY through December 31, 2020. We are happy to ship these within the US, and for those of you outside of the US, we do offer digital downloads of Volumes 2, 3 & 4.

Find all available issues in the Catalyst shop.

For vendors, wholesale rates are available for orders of 10 or more copies. These beauties make great client gifts! Email jen@catalystwedco.com to place an order.

Will catalystwedco.com disappear on January 1, 2021?

Absolutely not! We are so proud of the vendor directly we’ve amassed over the years, and both the directory and the Catalyst site will remain up into 2021 as we work to find a new home for our content and our community.

Where can I connect with the Catalyst Team after 2020 ends?

Jen Siomacco

Earlier this year, our CEO and Editor-in-Chief Jen established her feminist digital agency, VVITCH, and is doing her best to create radical, human-first, and accessible digital branding and marketing.

Amber Marlow

Amber, our Chief Revenue Officer, Director of Vendor Relations & Photo Submissions Editor, is focusing her photography company, Amber Marlow, on NYC micro-weddings for the COVID era.

Liz Susong

Co-founder Liz Susong is currently managing social media for the Cincinnati Birth Center, an organization providing home birth midwifery, as well as doula services.

Carly Romeo

Carly Romeo, our other co-founder, is photographing mini-weddings in and around Richmond, Virginia, as well as making (and selling out!) her Not Yr Sweetie bean-to-bar craft chocolate.