image via Sinclair & Moore
….Continued from original BIPOC post….
As someone in the wedding and event industry for about 10 years, and creating with my own company for the last 6, I can tell you first hand that there are few BIPOC professionals in the numerous different fields within the industry. Yes, there are names that are integral to the growth of the wedding/event industry and immediately come to mind like the amazing Joy Proctor and Sinclair & Moore, but there are numerous smaller businesses created by BIPOC that are working extremely hard, putting together event after event, and they certainly don’t have the fame industry recognition, yet!
It can be a challenge to want to support all the small businesses and vendors, especially those who are BIPOC, and feel torn because they may not necessarily fit your aesthic, but that’s okay, there are vendors and decorators and florists to fit all your style preferences — you just need to get out there, use them and amplify their business so others know about them. I certainly thought I knew more BIPOC vendors within the wedding/event industries and will certainly keep on the lookout for ones I can be inspired by.
Like I mentioned in the original BIPOC post, this list not only consists of black wedding/event professionals but several others within in the BIPOC community. Start gathering ideas for you future wedding and event {whenever that will safely be} because there’s plenty of inspiring ideas below…
1. Joy Proctor
If you work in the weddings industry, especially one geared towards design, then you absolutely know, admire and constantly inspired by and learn from the amazing Joy Proctor. She has been a global leader in the industry for years, she is what so many aspire to be, myself included. She was one of the first, and few wedding planners/designer when I was in college studying event planning, that was in her own box pushing the boundaries of “wedding looks” and creating an aesthetic that I actually related to. I guess you could say she’s one of the first that put “fine art wedding design” at the forefront before it was even a thing. After years of planning and coordination, she now only focuses on the design aspect of weddings {I can’t blame her, doing both is a beautiful but very taxing job…}. Each one of her events is unique, but classic and minimalist, and always evoke a strong emotion of love and connection, and a hint of belonging in another time. Joy certainly paved the way for many in the wedding industry, especially black women.
2. Sinclair & Moore
So much of my own business core and structure was inspired by Sinclair & Moore, a bespoke full service wedding/event planning, design and floral company. When I first decided to dive into starting my own business, creating and finicking with my aesthetic I leaned on Steven, and was inspired by every detail, every piece of inspiration and advice he had for aspiring wedding planners and designers. When he started, he too did so from his tiny home, doing everything for each wedding, from the cake, to planning to the florals, he even made his wife Jamie’s wedding dress! He was a Swiss army knife to say the least, and that’s how I felt wanting to combine all my creative loves into one business. He’s one of the few men, much less a black man, reigning at the top of wedding professionals. His destination weddings are a dream, and like Joy Proctor he has that “je ne sais quoi” touch about his aesthetic and perfectly styled details that make you feel so much. He’s teamed up with If I Made for many free and paid courses, which I have taken numerous of. His work, and teachings have personally been invaluable to me!!
3. Madame a la Maison
When I first fell in love with Madame a la Maison, they were still launching their website and collections. Oh but the moment I set eyes on their unique French vintage treasures that were available to rent or purchase for weddings, my heart skipped a beat. Those that know me know I love all things vintage, from another time period, especially that that’s of any relation to France {I’m a bit of a Francophile}. And that is the beauty you can find at Madame a la Maison!!
4. Ethos West Collective
Ethos West Collective is the recently formed collective resource created to highlight black professionals in the refined wedding and event industry, with a focus on the West Coast, by including all of the US and Europe. It’ll be an inspiring source to feature and showcase varying talented vendors, as well as provide support and offer resources to promote opportunity for collaboration within the field for black professionals. If you know wedding/event vendor that would benefit, send them the submission form to join!
5. Lea Stafford Events
Lea Stafford is the creator of the self-named wedding and event planning/design company. She’s been a leader in the non-conformative luxury event world, both in California and internationally, creating special occasions and experiences with a story. I love that her aesthetic is classic and minimalist but still evokes a great emotion. She is also the founder of the Ethos West Collective.
6. Fallon Carter Events
Fallon Carter Events is a full service wedding and event planning company making all things simple when it comes to creating and celebrating special moments. Fallon has become one of the top planners in the industry for good reason, she loves a good destination celebration, which for most is daunting, and having done one myself, the idea of meticulously unwrapping and assembling even the tiniest of logistical detail is quite an exciting challenge you most love to taken on, and Fallon does! Her work has been seen in the highest of wedding publications like Vogue, Brides and Martha Stewart Weddings and she also happens to be the event chair at the amazing Wish Upon a Wedding NY, which grants weddings/vow renewal services for couples facing serious illnesses.
7. Collective Rentals
Collective Rentals is a furniture rental company offering fresh style with a classic soul for every event, photo shoot, film or whatever vision you may have. Design director Lauren Montgomery coming from the interior design world, is breathing new life into the furniture rental industry, with a team who simply wants to create divine environments with beautiful pieces — a unique way of doing design and speciality rentals. And I love that approach to furniture rentals! Not to mention their gorgouese selection like jewel-toned textured glassware and sofas!
8. Natasja Sadi // The Art of Flowers
Natasja Sadi is a master at her craft, an incredible skillful and emotional artist when she creates her gorgeous cakes and sugarflower arrangements. Breathtaking in every sense! Her background in bridal couture lends itself perfectly to her love of celebrating and eating together, and her heart is absolutely seen in every painstainklingy perfect delicate detail of her work. Her work has been revered all over the world — it is amazing!
9. Alexandra Berrocal // Pretty Space Happy Face
When I saw this picture above for the Manrepeller editorial I was instantly obsessed, I had to find out more about these black women, the black owned brands featured and the woman behind the styling of this masterpiece of beauty! Alexandra Berrocal is a talented creator of beautiful experiences and moments, from events to decor, styling and creative direction. She’s from Brooklyn, and I can’t believe she never crossed my social media path, but I’m so glad I’m following her along now, her creativity is inspiring! She also created Pretty Space Happy Face a collection of vintage and contemporary Home pieces to style a home that makes you smile.
10. The Wild Mother
The Wild Mother is a floral and Event Design studio, a modern corner flower shop if you will and I couldn’t agree more. I think what connects me to their work is not only their natural flowing floral arrangements and designs that give you a the modern feeling of yesteryear, it’s that they aim to bring the romance and freedom of the nature indoor with each of their pieces, and that is what I aim with all my floral works as well. Their “The Eleven :: Reasons Flowers Matter in the Landscape of your Life” is a beautiful description and story of flowers and arrangements. Their whole aesthetic, process that they approach their work and clients — it’s all beautiful and inspiring to me!
11. Rawfinery Flowers
Lizbeth Molina is another jewelry designer turned floral designer who is creating stunning floral work with Rawfinery Flowers! She gives new beautiful life to dried flowers and grasses, with a simple but impactful touch! There’s something so natural and organically eye-catching about her arrangements that I just love!
12. Offerings
Offerings’ founder Schentell grew up in her grandmother’s rose garden and from a young age her life-long fascination with the pattern of nature wove into all her creations, mostly done with flowers. This love of creating and flowers led her to an education in design, which led to the creation of NÜN her jewelry inspired by natural forms. But in 2016 plants and flowers called her once again, and she wholeheartedly dove into floral design. I love florists who have a unique and personal story of being called by nature to create and her work absolutely shows it, each with an effortless organic and beautiful feeling!
13. Ella Mah
Oh Ella Mah florals are a beautiful lush ode to romantic flowers! Jessica makes sure she helps each client; whether for a wedding, other celebration or editorial, achieve their style by creating floral designs that are inspired by nature in the most refined and loveliest of ways!!
14. Whit Hazen
Whit Hazen is fighting for social justice and making sure “the revolution will have flowers”…because yes!! You can still fight the cause and create beauty with flowers! It was only natural Whit would have her own design and floral studio, she was alway included to working on farms, teaching others how to grow their own food and then she found floral design — the perfect blend of working with plants, crafting beauty and collaborating with others. She is celebrating and working with color in a modern free-flowing kind of way, with her works featured in many publications, and she’s a proud member of Slow Flowers.
15. Brooklyn Blooms
The more florist I know, the better! Brooklyn Blooms believes in the same concept as I do, that everyone deserves to have beautiful florals tailored to their style and loves. LaParis Phillips is inspired by fashion, art and nature, using different elements for texture and whatever beautiful blooms are in season.
16. Maurice Harris // Bloom and Plume
I have seen Maurice Harris‘ one of a kind, show-stopping floral creations for years but I never knew who the man behind the work was. His floral work, installations and creations are pure art and beyond what is considered floral design. He has worked with some of the biggest brands in the world, a true visionary when it comes to designing and creating with flowers. Maurice recently just launched “Centerpiece”a show for Quibi and the upcoming “Full Bloom” for HBOMax.
17. Love Bears Destination Wedding Photographers
Love Bears are destination wedding photographers who captivated me with these portraits of themselves. Fran and Mils are the couple and individual artists behind the camera, capturing the powerful love of each couple and bringing it to life. Their style is all sorts of emotional and evoke that sentiment of love and longing, and I love how they use their different perspectives to create their own beautiful version of wedding story telling. Many of their shoots are gorgeous travels and outdoor spaces, a reflection of their personal passion too.
18. Avonné Photography
I always get excited when I find out about another amazing wedding photographer serving the NJ-NYC-PA area and Avonné is a beautiful passionate talent. It’s clearly seen in her immensely emotion driven photographs she more than loves what she does, it’s certainly a calling. I’d say her photography style is on the moodier side, but it all feels absolutely natural and romantic. She also travels to shoot weddings and elopements, so if you’ve fallen in love with her work and are getting married, get to contacting her!
19. Light Visual
Light Visuals wedding photography doesn’t hold back on the raw emotion. Each photograph perfectly encapsulates and makes you feel the emotion the couple is feeling, the mood and story that was being experienced in that moment. That is how photography should make you feel, especially wedding photography. Husband and wife duo, Ronye and Dom travel all over capturing these moments and shooting each special moment with their mission in mind… “Life goes by in the blink of an eye, and at the end of the day the most precious gift we can give you is time.”
20. SoCal Standard
Erica is the wedding and branding photographer behind SoCal Standard and where other photographers hone in on natural subtle colors, she celebrates the vibrant colors of each moment in her photographs. She describes herself and her work as colorful, romantic, modern, beachy, boho, bougie, minimalist, and all things 90s music related haha — and that it is!!
21. Boudoir by Veronica
Veronica Campbell the photographer behind the lens for Boudoir by Veronica gave me a follow on Instagram and so I had to give her boudoir photography a look, and you can tell that Veronica is dedicated to showing how women and gorgeous in every sense. Her photography celebrates femininity!
22. Amanda Reid Designs
Amanda Reid Designs offers calligraphy services for the contemporary bride, luxury brands, and businesses in the Austin, Texas area with a her focus on custom wedding/event signage, banners, and custom lettering projects like her beautiful bridal jackets! Amanda also hosts a variety of interactive workshops to help teach others the unique skill of lettering and modern calligraphy. Fun fact, during the day she’s a Doctor of Physical Therapy working in a clinic, and at night/weekends she’s the creatively talented calligrapher. The ability to bounce between completely different careers working with patients, allows her to pour even more attention to all the details for her event projects and creative brands.
23. Elizabeth Austin Photography
Elizabeth Austin is a film and digital wedding photographer, avid traveler and educator. Her stunning photography creates a lovely experience, she’s able to capture the feeling from each moment and evoke it into a still photograph! She also happens to be the co-owner of The Black Hair Experience and hosts the Beyond Pretty Podcast. I discovered her work through the Ethos West Collective, an invaluable resource featuring so many amazing black professionals in the wedding and event world. Please check them out!
24. Bia Blooms
Bia Blooms is an LA based floral boutique created by Bia Yapp from her love of flowers and their power to make any space come to life — they’re not only pretty but flowers lift our spirits and our mood. Ain’t the most truthful thing ever!! Each month Bia creates a limited run of arrangements via flower orders. Her floral work is colorful and simple and just makes you want to smile from joy. Oh and she also happens to run another company, BEOTIS which is a boutique talent agency that represents a leading roster of multi-hyphenate artists and writers of color with speaking engagements, literary works, brand partnerships and creative consulting. If you’re looking to donate towards Bia Blooms’ growth and the expansion of a Black-owned business you can Venmo your donation to @TabiaYapp.
And these lists won’t end here, as I learn about more BIPOC I will continuously be updating these lists with as many inspiring talents as possible, so stay tuned!!
Don’t forget to check out these other inspiring BIPOC too!
Writers || Poets || Speakers || Publications+Books || NonProfits
Interiors || Home Decor + Design
Artists || Photographers || Creators
Environmentalists || Sustainability || Planters/Gardeners
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