Black brides have a new resource that allows them to easily plan weddings that celebrate their cultural heritage and support the community.
Recently re-launched, the Web site www.BlackBridalGuide.com features the wares of Black wedding vendors, an online shop and a forum for women to discuss the bridal experience.
The shop sells wedding brooms, African furniture and other accessories. Additionally, brides can create their own blogs on the site.
Dina Tate, founder of BlackBridalGuide.com, explained that she decided to create the Web site when one of her friends, who wanted to support African American businesses, had difficulty finding a Black wedding planner, dress designer and photographer when she got married.
“When I created this site, a lot of the vendors said ‘thank you,’” Tate explained. “They are out there, but they don’t have enough money to make their own Web site.”
Tate features vendors on the site for free in an effort to give them exposure. She makes her profits from the online store.
Tate noted that Black vendors can have trouble gaining exposure because people do not think African Americans are getting married anymore.
“It’s easy to think that we’re baby’s mamas, baby’s daddies, not that we’re building strong African American families,” she said.
The University of Illinois in Chicago alum noted her desire to dispel this idea.
“It’s a mission of mine to show that we are getting married, we are celebrating our heritage, our culture,” she said.
Tate wanted BlackBridalGuide.com to have a sleek and professional look in order for it to stand out in comparison to other African American wedding Web sites.
“I looked at all my competitors,” she said. “Their sites weren’t as clean and well designed.”
Tate, however, noted her effort to create a brand for her customers.
“[They] just throw links up there,” she added of other Black bridal Web sites.
Vendors, like bridal gown designers, are sometimes hesitant when it comes to featuring their products on such a site due to quality issues. Tate, however, receives much positive feedback from vendors and brides alike about BlackBridalGuide.com.
“They’re so happy it looks that good,” she said.
Tate explained that Black weddings differ from others because they often have strong African American themes or some elements of Black culture blended in.
Couples can go to the extreme and wear traditional African garb or a bride might have some subtle African elements in her gown and a jumping-the-broom ceremony.
Slaves, as explained in an article on the site, created the jumping the broom ceremony in order to honor their nuptials because they were not allowed to get married. The ceremony represents sweeping out the old and bringing in the new.
Tate writes most of the articles on the Web site after doing research and talking to vendors and brides. In the future, Tate plans to feature information on financial institutions and mortgage companies on the site so brides can plan for after the wedding.
BlackBridalGuide.com will have a fashion show for Black wedding vendors in New York next March. Tate also wants to have a show in Chicago.
“I always go back to Chicago every couple of years,” she said. “That’s like my second home.”
She encouraged Black wedding vendors in the city to e-mail her directly so she can feature them on the site. Visit the site for more information.
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