Get inspiration for your Black wedding celebration with our tips for where to look for the most gorgeous inspiration online and beyond.
Before we get started, search "black wedding inspiration," take a look, and come back here. You likely were presented with a lot of black wedding gowns, right? Maybe even a "black and white" wedding theme? But very little about Black weddings—meaning Black, as in the race, not black, as in the color, correct? (FYI, as well as according to the Associated Press Stylebook, a capital B in Black represents the race going forward.)
Listen, there's nothing wrong with wanting a black wedding gown, or going for a Halloween, fall vibe on your wedding day, but for Black people and African-Americans, it can be deeply important to make sure that you're celebrating your heritage and culture during your wedding. And, while Google SEO has a long way to go when it comes to differentiating between a race and a color, there are plenty of resources out there for those people who want to make sure that their wedding also has a reflection of their background.
Looking for images for inspiration to use for your own wedding? We took the weight off of your shoulders and gathered the best of what the Internet has to offer when it comes to wedding inspiration.
To no one's surprise, Pinterest is an excellent resource for finding wedding inspiration, but it's particularly great for finding Black wedding inspiration—as long as you’re searching the right way. You're already spending plenty of time pinning wedding dress ideas, but this is a fantastic source for finding celebrity wedding photos that you're looking to emulate, or learning wedding traditions that you may have never heard of.
Pinterest can be an indispensable resource for anyone looking to find hair inspiration, makeup ideas, a roundup of wedding day activities, DIY wedding decor ideas, and/or get a strong view on how other Black couples have celebrated their marriages.
Pro Tip: A great way to get to what you're looking for, before digging through a sea of black wedding gowns and table runners, is to search "Black bridal inspiration"—that appears to be another search term that may benefit you in this case.
No doubt that IG was high on your list of inspiration sources, even before you really got into the throes of hardcore wedding planning. Instagram makes it easy to find what you're looking for through the use of hashtags, which eliminates most crossover between the capital B Black and the lowercase one.
Instagram can also be a fantastic place to find your dream vendor, whether it's a wedding planner, location, cake shop, or even a photographer—consider it a walking portfolio for someone's work. Make use of the "save to collection" button when you come across something that you know you can't live without, and go over your saves with your SO later to make a wedding day wish list.
We love hashtags such as #Blackbride, #Blackbrides, #Blackexcellence, #Blacklove, #melaninengaged, #melaninmarried, and #weddingsonpoint, along with hashtags that include the city where your wedding is taking place. Finally, Instagram is a great resource for finding inspo on wedding decorations for your Black wedding, too.
Pro Tip: Once you find one account you love, be sure to click the dropdown arrow on the profile to be shown other accounts similar to it. You’ll be down the inspiration rabbit hole ASAP.
Magazines
Sure, bridal magazines exist, but very few of them—almost none—are specifically geared towards Black and African-American weddings.
If you're looking for a notable source or love seeing photos of other people's weddings, Essence magazine has a gorgeous selection of Black and African-American wedding coverage where you can see both celebrity weddings and the weddings of beautiful Black couples all around the world.
Another great resource for Black wedding inspiration is BlackBride.com, one of the longest-running websites and resources for Black women and multicultural women. Finally, you can check out Munaluchi Bride magazine, another multicultural wedding magazine for Black people and people of color.
Pro Tip: Yes, you can contact these websites and have your Black love on display on their pages, and we strongly encourage it.
Blogs
There are plenty of Black wedding blogs out there for the curious. Some are collective resources, and some are people chronicling wedding traditions from all around the world, which can be a wonderful source for inspiration and traditions to incorporate into your wedding day.
Nu Bride is a now-defunct UK-based wedding blog that is great for wedding advice and inspiration, while Bontle Bride is a wedding magazine and blog based in South Africa that is all about celebrating culture. There's Black Bridal Bliss, a blog featuring real weddings, as well as Nigerian Wedding Blog, where you can see real-life Nigerian weddings.
Pro Tip: Even blogs that are no longer activily publishing can serve as wonderful sources of inspiration. Sift through archives to find photos and inspo from years past.
Finding inspiration for Black and African-American weddings can feel difficult, but it doesn't necessarily have to be. Make sure that your search terms are geared towards what you want to see, create organized folders when you do come across images that spark your creativity and let your Black love thrive.
