Where you spend your money shapes the world around you. If you are having a wedding in the SF Bay Area, this is a guide to Bay Area Black owned businesses to help you with some or all aspects of hosting your wedding.
As you say your vows to commit to one another, your actions to shop Black are making a commitment that has a powerful impact on the Black community.
Let’s start with wedding planners. You’ve got this wonderful wedding vision in your mind, but you can’t quite figure out how to make it happen? Here are Black owned wedding planning companies.
Venues:
Venues can range from an intimate art gallery to a nightclub to a ballroom. Black owned Bay area venues include:
Jewelry:
We can’t get too far down the wedding planning road without looking at some jewelry! If you need to select a wedding ring or wedding bands, or look for some bling for other members of the wedding party, here are two jewelers to consider:
Flowers:
Flowers can make the most economy-driven weddings look elegant and couture. As far as we know, there is only one Black-owned florist in the Bay Area.
Limo Services:
It could be to the airport, your hotel, to the after-party, or simply back home at the end of your long, exhausting wedding day. At any rate, who wants to have to think about it then? .
Music:
Destiny Muhammad, known as the “Harpist from the Hood,” plays a wide range of music from ‘Celtic to Coltrane’ and will work with you to customize your playlist for the wedding and/or reception.
Even if you have live music during the ceremony, you can always chooseDJ-curated music for the reception, especially the father/bride, mother/groom and bride/groom dances. Besides, your guests will love to “kick up a rug” in their chic wedding attire. And then, of course, there’s the electric slide…which allows almost everyone to participate regardless of dance skills, disabilities, age, etc.
Catering:
I mean free your mother from the kitchen that day, ok? She wants to dress up and have fun too. There are over fifty Black owned catering businesses in the Bay Area with a wide range of cuisine choices. Scroll through the list here.
Cakes:
Whether you need desserts for your bridal shower, treats to “treat” your out-of-town guests or a cake for the main event, you’ll need a baker. These days, there are some “hot” cakes being created for weddings. There are over thirty nine Black owned bakeries to choose from here.
Wine & Spirits:
Okay, all teetotalers move along, but if you’re planning to serve wine at some point in the weekend (or even consider a winery visit for guests), we have a few black owned wine dealers and wineries listed here.
Cupcakes & Cocktails:
If you’ve got the space, you can combine dessert and cocktails by hiring the Sugar Coated Cocktails Mobile Bar. They’ll bring “Susie,” a vintage 1976 Hartman Horse Trailer which can display their Cupcake Bar and Dry Hire Bar. They champagne-based cocktails will bring joy to all. Find them here.
Photographers:
Of course, you’ll want to capture the big day on film for those forever memories. Framing a few photos for yourselves and loved ones (including those who can’t make the event) is a very nice thank you gift after the wedding. Here are our listed photographers.
Videographers:
There are photos and then there’s video. Your budget may dictate one or the other, but you should consider both and then choose if necessary.
Travel& Lodging:
Using a travel service is helpful for at least three reasons. One, who has time for booking in the midst of all the other wedding tasks? Two, depending on how many out-of-town guests you have, an agent may be able to get group discounts on airfares, hotel rooms and restaurants. To save costs, a travel agent can even help single guests share rooms without you getting involved in their private matters. Three, if you’re being gifted the honeymoon, you can give them your trip parameters (what part of the world, near water, no kids, etc.) to the travel agent and they can work with the person who is “gifting” around costs so everybody’s happy.
Need a place for a guest to stay while in town? Airbnb is perfect for those short stays where you want more of a homey feel with all the amenities that some hotels forget – ironing board, laundry, ability to refrigerate and cook, etc. — and at any time of the day/night. Black owned Airbnb spaces in our directory are listed here.
Bachelorette Party & Other Activities:
Even if the wedding is in the Bay Area, add to the “destination wedding” quality of your event by incorporating fun activities before the big day and/or during the wedding weekend.
Book an afternoon of spa services from massages, waxing, mani/pedis, facials, etc. for all the brown skin girls in the wedding to indulge.
You and your crew can make floral crown headdresses while sipping cocktails and snacking on appetizers.
Host the ladies at a Tea Party where you can discuss and get pumped about the wedding details.
And, finally, let’s talk about saying YES to “the dress.” We are not aware of any Black owned bridal gown designers in the Bay Area but this article lists twenty Black bridal designers from around the country.
A local alternative would be to hire a local seamstress to make your gown and/or the gowns of the wedding party.
Seamstresses:
Shirley’s Designs & Alterations
Veda Ambeau, the owner, created my mother-of-the-bride’s outfit for my daughter’s wedding, starting with a muslin prototype and perfecting the dupioni silk outfit over multiple fittings. The final results were outstanding.
We hope this guide helps you with your wedding plans. We may have missed a few vendors in the SF Bay Area. If you have other recommendations for this guide, please send us an email at [email protected].
If you use at least 30% of the vendors mentioned in this list, please let us know and send photos that we can feature you on our website blog and FB page.
Happy Wedding, Happy Life!
