It's a more than just a
destination wedding blog...+ podcast...

Black Destination Bride is A Bridefriend's Guide to Destination Weddings!
 It's a little corner for us to chat and share our experiences of destination wedding planning... 
Desti-to-Desti.

I have one main mission in mind –

We’ll be talking
all things desti including choosing Wedding Dresses, Alterations, Bridal Hair and Makeup Selections, Product Unboxings & Reviews, Bride & Groom Ring Choices, Budgeting, Vendor Choices, EMOTIONAL Advice, Trials and Triumphs and everything in between.

I started the BlackDesti Blog by sharing my experiences to help other couples easily navigate every destination wedding planning detail, both big and small. Throughout my journey I yelled from the mountaintop, "After all, I’m learning these lessons the hard way planning my destination wedding, so why not share the wealth?" 

My mini-mission was to memorialize this process, keep myself accountable to stay on track for my own destination wedding plan, of course! Memorialized?...CHECK! On track?...See -- what had happened was...okay, kinda sorta...well --the journal tells it all!

The more I realized how helpful I could be, the more I reached out and now, we have the BlackDesti blog and my podcast, The Bridefriends' Guide to Destination Weddings Podcast. There, I interview other Destis and DestiPros around the word to gather and share even more advice and real life experiences.  More on the podcast here.

I get butterflies every time I hear about how my journey has helped someone else navigate through their own and feel more comfortable taking the steps toward destination wedding planning! As it turns out, I love to talk, especially about Desti weddings and I also love being an open book and take joy in sharing the times when I discovered a strategy, trick or tool that helped me navigate through my adventure and I look forward to sharing more as I go along.

And I realized that I FOUND MY PASSION! And it's helping Destis just like you - So we got lucky!

I truly believe that consistency makes the experience here for you as the reader more fulfilling and I'll try my best to ensure I'm giving you great content. 

Let me go ahead and state the obvious:  
By no means am I the first, last or only Black Bride to have a Destination Wedding - hell, I have 2 close friends who have done it themselves - before me (and wonderfully, might I add).

But if you look at any Destination Wedding Magazine or Forum - you'd think we don't exist!

In most cases, the information in this blog can be transferred to any race, but the Black Desti needs a real voice. As of present, black brides are still a wildly under-represented demographic in the wedding industry and the destination wedding space amplifies the disparity. This isn't only for Black Brides, but it damn sure is going to include and celebrate ALL BRIDES. The current wedding publications that DO have information, are lacking couples of color and the struggle to find a bride that looks like me IS REAL - and it's upsetting and can disparage couples from even attempting try it. I seriously got so frustrated by the lack of representation of my beautiful sisters and brothers doing the same thing that I was planning to do, so I told myself that something had to be done.

Enter: BlackDestinationBride

200 Day Journal

I would have LOVED to know exactly what I could expect during my destination wedding planning, and while it is obvious that no 2 weddings are the same, the general objective should ring true for all:

1. Complete as much shit as possible before you get to your destination, so you can actually enjoy your wedding;

2. Maintain the sanity of yourself, your fiancé, and other loved ones;

3. Get as much usable advice from people in support of your decision to have a destination wedding, have been in your place, and don't want anything from you;

4. Stay in love with your decision and dance down the aisle in your version of paradise; and

5. Enjoy every moment (because it goes so quickly - blah, blah, blah);

That being said, I decided to share these experiences through a Daily Journal beginning at the 200-Day Mark that will hopefully shed some light on what to do and more importantly, what NOT to do. 

I get butterflies every time I hear about how my journey has helped someone else navigate through their own planning and feel more comfortable taking the steps toward destination wedding planning!

This should be fun for you...You can thank me later.  Check out my Journal Here!

Workout Plans

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Gym. And if you don't know me, now you know. It obviously has it's perks in the vanity department, but I've also learned that it keeps my Lupus flares at bay as well. The most effective way to be in shape for the wedding, is consistency.  You can check some workouts out here.

Advice Posts + Videos

Maybe it was because my mom has always worked for a cosmetics company and both my mom and my sister were cosmetologists in their past lives, but they have certainly influenced my love for Hair & Makeup. More importantly, I'm into skin care and always looking to improve a regimen that makes me feel more beautiful by the day. Here on the blog, I will share Destination Wedding Planning Advice and various types of Beauty content in these ways:

1. List: I love talking out the many ways I've been able to accomplish some beauty feat. Just because you read my blog doesn't mean we have the same skin or hair type so lists will provide variety.

2. Review: In the case you were thinking about using a service or buying a certain product, my addictions to Destination Wedding Content, Pinterest and Sephora + My willingness to be completely honest and open = A good idea about the new purchase/experience you were considering.

3. Video How-To's: Whether it's a tutorial or my favorite news, talking all things destination in video format should be lots of fun for us to interact. I've enjoyed my time as a Subscriber on YouTube, so it's time I try out the other side for a change.

4. Interviews: I'm reaching out to past BDB couples and am developing quite a Tribe. I will continue to reach out and connect with those willing to help Future Destis like myself along the path to planning the wedding of their dreams by sharing REAL details and USABLE advice - not just inspirational color schemes and menu options - Pinterest has enough of those already! No shade on Pinterest - I love me some Pinterest.

honesty | celebration | love |commitment |sharing