Story & Lesson Highlights with Katie Alderson

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Katie Alderson. Check out our conversation below.

Good morning Katie, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: Who are you learning from right now?
Grace Beverly! An entrepreneur, influencer and podcaster who founded The Productivity Method and inspires me to both focus on my growth with excitement and fervor, but to also have grace for the messiness that often comes before success!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m the co-owner of Vibe Visuals and The Vibe Visuals COLLECTIVE, two sister companies that are redefining what it means to capture authentic human stories. Based between Oregon and Missouri but serving couples worldwide, Vibe Visuals is where I specialize in wedding and elopement media for couples whose love stories don’t fit traditional molds—and that’s exactly what makes them extraordinary.
What sets me apart in the wedding media world is my commitment to the stories that society often overlooks. I work with couples breaking barriers, healing generational trauma, or choosing love over fear-based expectations. Whether you’re an LGBTQ+ couple, eloping without family support, or have a vision that challenges conventional wedding aesthetics, I see and celebrate every story with equal brilliance. My philosophy is simple but powerful: all humans deserve to tell their story.
My approach to capturing “authentically raw” moments goes beyond pretty pictures. I dive deep into couples’ complete narratives—the beautiful and the messy, the overlooked details that others might skip because they’re not Instagram-perfect. My background as a middle and high school English teacher shines through in how I approach storytelling, weaving metaphor and narrative structure into visual art. My motto says it all: metaphor. magic. fun.
The artistry doesn’t stop at traditional photography. I create mixed-media pieces that blend photo, text, animation, and sound—digital collages that tell stories in layers, just like real life. It’s this passion for combining visual and audio elements that originally drew me to leave my teaching career (and a hard-earned MA) to pursue something that fulfilled my soul, not just my bank account. Honestly, I felt like I had no other choice—I was miserable and needed work that truly fulfilled me.
Beyond wedding work, The Vibe Visuals COLLECTIVE focuses on content creation for intention-driven creatives and conscious brands—those working to heal and unite our collective human experience. I’m passionate about collaborating with clients who share my commitment to lifelong learning and positive transformation.
Currently, I’m also developing an exciting community-focused project in Kansas City, Missouri—a third space concept born from my own healing journey and travels. After experiencing some traumatic events, I discovered during my solo travels how third spaces have virtually vanished in America, but how they held me through much of my grief when I finally found them. I had felt so lonely before because there weren’t many accessible community collectives. This project addresses that gap, though I’m keeping the details under wraps for now—stay tuned!
From leaving the traditional path of education to building businesses that celebrate unconventional love stories, my work is ultimately about one thing: making sure every human feels seen, heard, and valued for exactly who they are.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Wow this is such a beautiful question. I really think it comes down to understanding the ego. It’s always trying to keep you safe and gets so in the way of human connection if you don’t understand how to work with it and alongside it. this doesn’t mean that you have to get along with everyone, but it does mean that when you learn to work alongside the ego and how the ego shapes your paradigms, its easy to sit it down beside you so that even when you don’t agree with someone, you can see them as human and wish them well.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Lol. I feel like this happens on a microcosm weekly, right? It’s really tough to live life without SOMETHING making you feel like you’re not enough, like you’re an imposter, like you don’t have what it takes. It takes so much practice and internal validation to keep going. It does get easier the more you love on yourself.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
I LOVE this question—I think about it constantly.
Honestly? I don’t really know if there’s a distinction, because I’m quite literally always flowing and changing. What it means to be authentic is paradoxically always in flux. All I can say is that I’m always trying to be real and authentic in whatever environment I’m in, but even that’s a practice, not a destination.
It takes so much bravery and constant work to even know how to do this authentically, because society relentlessly tells us to look outside ourselves for validation. We’re conditioned to believe that we don’t just get to be—that we can’t feel successful or enough or worthy without asking others, society, or “the norms” for permission first.
And that’s just not true. But it’s also not easy to unlearn—and I’m definitely not perfectly unlearned yet either! I’m still catching myself seeking external validation, still practicing the art of trusting my own inner compass over what I think I “should” be doing or how I “should” show up.
Maybe the most authentic thing I can say is that I’m committed to the ongoing work of becoming more myself, whatever that means in any given moment. The public version of me is me trying my best to show up as I am, while also knowing that tomorrow’s version might look different—and that’s okay too.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What will you regret not doing? 
would regret not learning and growing—not just for myself, but for everyone whose path crosses mine.
I have this inherent pull toward growth and healing the collective, born from how many times I’ve been lost because of this trauma or that, not understanding societal norms or being cast out because I go against them. Those experiences taught me something crucial: hurt people hurt people, but healed people heal people.
I know I would regret not doing the work to transform my own wounds into wisdom. There’s this phrase that haunts me: “Don’t bleed on people who didn’t cut you.” I refuse to pass along my unhealed trauma as someone else’s burden. So I would deeply regret not practicing how to be a better human—not just for my own sake, but because every bit of healing work I do ripples outward.
The world has enough unconscious pain being passed around. What I’d regret most is not doing everything in my power to interrupt that cycle—to turn my deepest struggles into my greatest gifts for others. That’s not just personal growth; that’s collective healing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vibe-visuals.com
• Instagram: www.instgram.com/vibevisualsvideo
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vibevisualsvideo
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@vibevisualsvideo
• Other: https://www.instgram.com/thevvcollective

Image Credits
Vibe Visuals & The Vibe Visuals COLLECTIVE