In case you missed it, I shared a blog post listing out the 6 Benefits of Choosing Vendors That Give Back and people didn’t hate it; probably because despite the horrible stories we see in the news on a daily basis, people are inherently good and most people want to do good things, haha!

When I decided to incorporate philanthropy into my business, I also knew that I wanted to seek out other wedding and event professionals who had goodwill elements to their businesses. The reality is that the wedding and event industry has a huge opportunity to come together and make an impact in communities and the world around us.

When I connect with other vendors through social events or even events where we’re working together, I always have two questions in mind. I want to know if they work with the LGBTQ+ community and I want to know if they have a sustainable or philanthropic element to their business model.

As I’ve made more connections over the last year, I have been able to meet some pretty amazing like-minded vendors and I really want to share them!

For those of you who are looking to not only have an amazing time on your wedding day, but also want your event to help make an impact, I’ve pulled together a list of Greater Los Angeles LGBTQ+ inclusive wedding vendors who give back and help communities in Southern California and beyond.

It should be noted for the record that this list is in no particular order and will certainly be updated as I come across more, like-minded vendors. If you don’t live in Greater Los Angeles or Southern California for that matter, you can check out Plan With Purpose to see if there are any vendors who give back near you.

If you’re a vendor with a sustainable or philanthropic element to your business and we haven’t connected, I would love to hear from you! Additionally, you should definitely reach out to Nicki Fleischner at Plan With Purpose to see about joining the PWP vendor network. While the Plan With Purpose network is relatively new, it has been growing to become the go-to resource for people who are looking for vendors who do more to help local communities and the world around them.

Here are Greater Los Angeles wedding vendors who give back and help communities, myself included; and we’re all LGBTQ+ Inclusive, because love is love and hate is stupid. Since planners make up a huge chunk of the list, we’ll start there.

Wedding and Event Planners

Cause We Can Events is an event planning company for couples who want to step way outside of the box–like way, way, way outside; in the middle of the dessert, between mountains, in the woods, under the stars, basically, anywhere in nature.

Cause We Can Events is run by Gabrielle Pinkerton and her team of rad event pros who help do things like set up weekend, festival style weddings that have made them the equivalent of Coachella for wedding planners. They donate 10% to help support South Coast Botanic Garden, Growing Great, and Red Bucket Equine Rescue.

Art & Soul Events is run by Jessica Carrillio, who literally pours her soul into every event. Jessica’s clients are bold, rebellious, and creative, which means any Art & Soul event is going to be incredibly unique and personal to the couple.

Jessica is passionate about giving her all and giving back so bookings help to provide support for organizations like The Human Rights Campaign, Los Angeles LGBTQ Center, the ACLU, Safe Place for Youth, and GLAAD.

Anything But Gray Events is run by the always colorful Holly Gray and she is a real gem! Holly and her team work to design one of a kind, out of the box events full of color. Holly describes herself as a passionate, hardworking, jazzy weirdo and she knows she’s not the wedding planner for everyone.

Holly and her team only take on a select number of clients each year. A percentage of the profits from Anything But Gray Events gets donated to Best Friends Animal Society every year, because Holly is an animal lover and rescue mom herself and she loves the work BFAS does nationwide.

Ebeling Events is based in Malibu, California and is owned and operated by Kim Ebeling, who has been in the hospitality industry her entire career. Kim and her team of passionate creatives serve Greater Los Angeles, Orange and Santa Barbara counties, as well as the greater Pheonix, Arizona area.

Ebeling Events has a 1 for 1 business model with donations being made with every event booking for organizations like Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Kinder USA, and Team Rubicon to name a few.

Moxie Bright Events is a wedding and event planning company based in Los Angeles, owned and operated by Renee Dalo, who is a rock star at what she does. Whether you’re planning a local event or destination celebration, Renee’s background in theater production, acting, and directing makes her pretty great at keeping people organized and events running smoothly.

Renee and her team believe in giving back so with every wedding planned by Moxie Bright Events, a donation is made to a female entrepreneur through Kiva.org.

Amethyst Event Productions is a Los Angeles based wedding design and management company co-owned by two best friends, Deniz King and Jessica Gonzalez. Deniz and Jessica focus on unique custom events that promote sustainability and individuality. Not only do they specialize in sustainable events, they also have an array of tips and tricks for couples planning eco-friendly weddings.

With both of them having backgrounds in the hospitality industry, Deniz and Jessica know how important it is to nurture relationships and they bring expert care to every event they produce.

Opus Events is a full service wedding and event planning company owned by Belinda Lau. Belinda created Opus Events in an effort to connect with other like-minded professionals and be a part of the movement for more sustainable events.

As a result, when you work with Belinda and her team at Opus, they can connect you with an array of other vendors who also have sustainable values in mind.

Isabel Kate Events is owned by Isabel Kateman and she plans events for rulebreakers in LA (and NYC).  Isabel’s specialty is vegetarian and vegan weddings, and she works with her clients to incorporate sustainability in their events. 

Isabel also has a soft spot for animals and she donates a portion of sales to The Humane Society of New York and The Vanderpump Dog Foundation; where she and her husband rescued their two dogs.

Caterers, Bakers, and Bartenders

Serves You Right Catering is a Los Angeles based catering company owned by Michele Gan. Serves You Right prides itself on sourcing local, seasonal foods and ingredients for any special event. With a focus on local farmers and sources, this catering team makes creating a sustainable, eco-friendly menus easy for any event.

They can create custom menus for groups as large as 1,000 guests and dietary restrictions aren’t a problem!

Jennie Cooks Catering is a Los Angeles based catering company owned by Jennie Cook. Jennie and her team are passionate about catering events with sustainability in mind. Their ingredients are procured consciously from local vendors and they encourage zero waste parties and events by providing sustainable options for their clients.

Jennie and her team are also active in the local community with involvement in organizations like the RootDownLA, which empowers youth to succeed through healthy food ventures.

Juniper Rocks is a pretty rad, full service, vintage trailer bar tending service in Los Angeles. Jennifer Cooper is the mastermind behind this mobile bar and giving back is at the core of her business.

Jenny and her team at Juniper Rocks are huge advocates of Charity Water and for every event booked, Juniper Rocks provides a donation for one person to have access to clean drinking water. How rad is that?!

Austeriti is not just a bar catering company, Austeriti emphasizes sustainability through organic, farm to glass; and thoughtful cocktail & mocktail services in Southern California that result in a carbon negative bar at your event. By bringing attention to impact of climate change with each delicious, yet sustainable drink served, Austeriti hopes to continually stimulate the larger conversation about taking personal accountability to effect positive change on our planet.

Austeriti is a member of 1% For The Planet, One Tree Planted, and is constantly looking for additional methods of promoting sustainability through a reduced carbon footprint worldwide. 

Nicole Bakes Cakes is owned by Nicole Redd-McIntosh of Los Angeles. Nicole has been a pastry chef for 15 years and she is passionate about quality sweets and treats.

In addition to creating beautiful cakes and goodies for her clients, Nicole believes in giving back whenever she can. Nicole donates cakes to children in need and provides cakes for couples who have faced or are facing medical problems.

Spotted Hen Catering is dedicated to providing locally sourced, seasonal, organic or otherwise sustainably farmed food sourced from small farms in and around Los Angeles. Beyond responsibly sourcing our goods, they also compost our food scraps (or feed to them our head chef and owner’s chickens!)

Spotted Hen also cares for the community in other ways, by hiring from within the communities they work in, and proudly serving LGBTQ couples, celebrating their weddings. They believe love is love, and great food is great food, and community is community.

Pink Salt Cuisine is a Southern California-based catering and events company owned by executive chef, Hope Bailey, Melissa Carter, and Joyce Malicse. Dedicated to creating elevated and inspired plant-based culinary experiences, Pink Salt Cuisine uses locally sourced, organic produce to transform your favorite dishes into mindful plant-based masterpieces filled with creativity and flavor.

With a commitment to zero waste, Pink Salt Cuisine incorporates sustainable practices to eliminate the use of single use plastics, divert waste from landfills, and donate unserved food to local organizations.

Spirit Guides is a full-service craft cocktail catering company, showcasing exciting drinks & bar programs designed to fit any theme! Take “a journey in every glass” with founders Al Rahn & Jeremy Needleman, cocktail explorers with global palates and a commitment to the planet. The Guides compost all the fresh fruits of their labor at their home base in Glassell Park, and collect, wash & recycle any plastic used at their events. They are Conscious Caterers, LGBTQ+ friendly, and an absolute blast to have around!

Compostable is a food waste pickup service that is perfect if you’re looking for something better to do than throw away the leftover food waste from your event.

Compostable is largely focused on sustainability and a portion of their proceeds is donated to their nonprofit partner, LA Compost.

Food Finders is a food rescue service that has been operating in Southern California for over 30 years. The team at Food Finders will pick up donated perishable food from your event and distribute it to nonprofit pantries and shelters throughout Southern California. Their mission is to reduce food waste and hunger, simultaneously.

DJ’s, Florists, Officiants, Rentals, and other vendors who give back

DJ Keelez is a female DJ based in Los Angeles who specializes in fun, unique, high-energy weddings and events. She is also highly experienced in LGBTQ weddings and is proud to support The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), AIDS Walk, The Los Angeles LGBT Center, The Muscular Dystrophy Association, ACLU and several other charities each year.

Fibers and Florals is a floral design studio in Los Angeles, California. They create floral works for weddings and events, botanical styled shoots, weekly restaurant and office subscriptions, and personal flower deliveries. Their primary focus is on working collaboratively with clients— from initial concept to selection of foliage and florals, through execution; to ensure their unique vision comes to life.

They create floral works that enhance private spaces while reflecting their sustainable and environmentally-friendly values. Fibers and Florals sources foliage & florals that are sustainable, seasonal, and locally grown. Thoughtful consideration on how they approach pre, during, and post event workflow allows the team to ensure that leftover waste is avoided whenever possible by composting, recycling, and repurposing.

As of January 2020 Fibers & Florals will be partnering and donating post event florals with APAIT and Casa De Zulma, the first ever publicly funded enhanced bridge housing project for transgender women in LA county.

Flowers By Lady Buggs is a Los Angeles based floral design studio owned by Davida Buggs. Davida prides herself on having a talented team of designers who work with her to add natural beauty and personalized flare to every event.

Davida believes in sustainability so she sources everything locally and encourages her clients to choose things that are in season to avoid the extra expense of shipping from outside the local market. In addition, Davida donates arrangements to nonporfits and nursing homes to bring some extra cheer to the elderly.

Golden Oak Weddings is run by Rev. Elizabeth Oaks and is a wedding officiant based in Los Angeles. Elizabeth is passionate about the experience she provides to each of her couples and believes in all love.

Elizabeth gives back to communities regularly through donations to organizations that help the homeless, kids at risk (including LGBTQ youth) and organizations that work to protect the environment, combat hunger, and provide legal assistance and social justice initiatives. In addition, Elizabeth volunteers her time to perform wedding ceremonies at the L.A. County Clerk’s office. If that’s not enough, her office is also solar powered to further promote sustainability! Slow. Clap. Elizabeth, I bow down to you!

Provenance Rentals is a vintage and specialty rentals company owned by Anna Braff. Based in Inglewood, Prevenance Rentals supplies boutique vintage furniture and decor for weddings and events throughout Southern California.

Provenance looks towards sustainability as they reuse materials and re-purpose old furniture in their inventory.

Rebecca Casciano is a Clean Beauty Makeup Artist, Wellness Coach and Founder of The Sacred Beauty Movement. Rebecca’s on a mission to empower women to discover their authentic beauty, so they can radiate with a confidence that benefits all aspects of their lives. Since 2000, Rebecca’s work as a makeup artist in bridal, fashion and entertainment has paralleled her personal wellness journey, deeply influencing her approach to beauty.

In 2015, Rebecca founded The Sacred Beauty Movement, a series of events and programs dedicated to supporting women through self-love, spirituality and sisterhood. Learn more about Rebecca’s offerings and programs at www.rebeccacasciano.com.

Henna Caravan is a family run business founded and owned by Jessica McQueen. Jessica, along with her sister, Carissa, and mother, Flavia have worked to bring the experience and education of henna to people’s life celebrations since 1997.

Henna Caravan donates to a variety of causes throughout the year including organizations that support education for girls in developing countries, disaster relief, and elephant sanctuaries. They also donate their time to local charities in Southern California.

Ars Poetica is the largest, most diverse, professional, only woman-owned poetic agency. You can hire poets, tarot card readers, and calligraphers to entertain at your events. From dedicated poems created for couples to fresh perspectives on discussion topics at corporate events, the creatives of Ars Poetica know how to keep people intrigued.

Ars Poetica is owned by Lisa Ann Markuson , who prides herself on ensuring a tree is planted for every poem they write. The project, in partnership with One Tree Planted, is called One Tree :: One Poem and you can learn more about it on their website. (Linked above.)

Crystal Lily Photography (yes, that’s me!) is a brand and lifestyle photography studio serving Southern California and Central Florida. I’m passionate about giving good vibes photography experiences to impactful, purpose driven brands; and people who live and love by their own rules.

Donations are made annually to organizations that provide resources and support for mental health care and at risk LGBTQ+ youth. In the future, my goal is to expand giving to include providing portrait sessions to trauma survivors as a way of healing, while giving them the ability to have control over their own image.

Are you a vendor or do you know a vendor who serves the Greater Los Angeles area that should be included in this list? Please reach out! I would love to connect with you!

Are you planning an impactful event and looking for a photographer to work with? Let’s connect!