Real Weddings, Advice, & Inspiration

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!

Three years prior to the day they wed, Sean and Ryan met. “Our meeting was pure luck, and not just because it was on St. Patrick's Day. Sean was on a scavenger hunt and needed the shamrock beads that Ryan was wearing. He won the hunt and scored Ryan’s number!” They’ve been together ever since.

Favoring individualism over tradition, Sean and Ryan started their rainy wedding day getting ready together, savoring those tender, quiet moments before the celebration. Soon after, Sean and Ryan made their way to the ceremony, which was held in a gorgeous, immaculate ballroom. There, surrounded by countless candles and the warmth of their family and friends, Sean and Ryan walked into their ceremony together, shared vows, exchanged rings, and became Mr. and Mr.!

Throughout the reception, the personalization continued with hilarious “roast” introductions for each wedding party attendant, sweet mother/son dances — where Sean and his mother dressed and danced to ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ and a glow stick dance party. It was truly a day of luck and love.

Photos by Cassandra Zetta

Two pairs of black patent leather men's dress shoes.

One groom helps another with his cufflink.

One groom helps his future husband with a boutonniere.

Purple bridesmaid dresses at a same-sex Black tie wedding in Ohio

Vanity Fair style wedding party photo at a Black tie wedding in Ohio.

Two grooms at their wedding in Ohio pose for an iconic photo.

Two grooms gear up for their wedding at the Bell Event Centre in Ohio

Elegant signage greets guests at a Black tie wedding in Ohio.

Grooms entering their wedding ceremony together.

A Black tie wedding ceremony in Ohio, photographed by Cassandra Zetta.

Wedding ceremony at the Bell Event Centre.

Exiting their wedding ceremony as Mr. and Mr.

Mr. and Mr. cake topper on a tower of doughnuts.

Wedding party laughter at an elegant Black tie wedding photographed by Cassandra Zetta.

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CASSANDRA ZETTA

Cassandra Zetta is a wedding photographer specializing in LGBTQ+ weddings and elopements. After planning her own queer wedding in 2012, she refocused her business on the community, aiming to create a space where all couples can love openly. When not behind the camera, she enjoys spending time with her beloved husband and four fur-kids, dabbling in the arts, and road trips.