Christina Bernales Photography

Can you talk to us a little bit about your experience thus far as a BIPOC professional in the wedding community?

"My experience has been interesting, especially being a film photographer of color. I always wanted my work to stand for itself but unfortunately I have felt that because my work shows an array of people that there's a hesitation for planners to work with me. It's hard enough to establish rapport and to find an amazing team and to add people's biases on top of that I felt it made it harder to be seen. Now I have had a lot of success despite this and it has not stopped me from producing amazing work or helping other photographers advance in their careers. I am always grateful for my community for supporting me and my business." - Elizabeth Austin of Elizabeth Austin Photography

"Since starting in this industry, it has given me some incredible moments, but has taken far more from me to make it worthwhile. I remember first starting out and asking wedding pros what I could be doing to get started. Who should I know? What rooms should I be in? The silence was deadly. I wasn't familiar with this because when I was in the Army I was so accustomed to teamwork and helping others out. It was impossible for me to do my job with just one race. Our focus was staying alive. Sadly, that did not travel into the wedding industry so I ended up going to where I felt most comfortable and that was the Black Community. But the problem with that was, in some cases the black community lacks the ability to see growth because of the systemic issues that hold us back. Imagine a body of people creating a beautiful race car. The next morning they wake up and that car has been stolen. All their hard work left unnoticed and we have to start over. That's how I felt and feel. Even as I gain traction planning six figure weddings and corporate events and increasing annual sales each year, it still left me on the outside. I wasn't invited to industry events where predominately white people attended. When a publication needed a Planner or Designer, I was never called even though they knew me by name and published my work multiple times. There have been times where I would come into a venue and the Sales Manager or Coordinator didn't believe I was the Planner. I have enough challenges being a black man, but being a black man in an industry primarily controlled by women, white women is worse than the military in many cases. I've adapted. Even placed my photo in my signature block just to help remove the uncertainty of who I am." - Andrew Roby of Andrew Roby Events

"I can’t say I’ve ever had someone in the wedding community be openly racist towards me thus far, but I know racism is often silent. I will stand up for myself or for anyone if I can see or hear open racism or injustice of any kind, but when you can’t see it or prove it, it’s a lot harder to fight it." - Eliana Nunes of Eliana Nunes Events

"I honestly can’t say I have experienced prejudice in booking my own weddings. I’m sure it has happened, but reasons based on race have yet to be disclosed to me. However, I have heard of instances where the Father of The Bride, who’s paying for the wedding, is “unsure” of me. Despite the wedding couple loving our 1^st meeting, my online mixes and videos, when the father is involved, there can sometimes be unwarranted hesitation. On the other hand, in 2019, I had 3 Santa Barbara weddings that were country-heavy DJ sets. I owe those weddings to an inclusive wedding coordinator (AmandaLaurenCo.com) who shows that when it comes to her clients' dance floor, she looks at turntable skills, not the color of skin." - DJ Will Gill

"I shared on my Instagram recently that when I first started my business I refused to show my face. I wanted Chic by Nicole to be colourless for the fear that I would lose clientele if they knew I was black before meeting me. Crazy, right!? I've had couples warn me that their family members may be prejudiced, I've had times where I wasn't taken seriously - where my white counterparts were and I've had to work in uncomfortable racially charged situations, while maintaining the utmost professionalism."- Nicole-Natassha of CHIC BY NICOLE

"In this industry I have been treated as less than desirable in many situations and in many forms. From ignored emails to rude ones, and as far as blatant rudeness and disrespect, both discrete and openly in front of clients and guests. It is a demoralizing thing to experience in an industry where we are called to celebrate love." - Beth Olatunji of Beth Jacobs Weddings & Events

I’ve been in the industry for 10 years, and although I have had great success (winning awards, features in a multitude of publications, provided expert advice to major outlets like NY Times, Brides, etc), I still have experienced microaggressions (and in some cases, blatant racism). I have had moments when visiting a venue and the venue manager or owner walks up to my assistant and assumes she's the owner (my assistant is caucasian). Another example: I have approached venues (these are venues where we've produced a minimum of 2-3 successful weddings already), to ask "how can we earn a spot on your preferred vendor list?" I have been given the run-around and ultimately not placed on their list. I am all about earning respect in the industry, so I let it go. But in one case, I learned that a new wedding planner was added to a particular venue list (one that did not add me and could not provide a reason). This wedding planner happened to be someone who worked for me in the past, and they just started their own company; with less than 1 year in business how can a venue justify adding this planner to the list of recommendations, but won't provide me with a straight answer about why I was not added? The planner told me about it, so I learned about the situation first hand." - Sojourner Auguste of Erganic Design

"Unfortunately I have had a few difficult experiences working as a Black wedding florist. The one that stands out the most is the time I was working with an assistant unloading flowers when I noticed the wedding planner’s assistant heading towards us, seemingly to introduce herself. I put my stuff down and moved to greet her when she walked right past me and asked my assistant if she was the florist. My assistant promptly informed her I was the florist, and that she was assisting me. The wedding planner’s assistant was clearly embarrassed, and avoided eye contact. Being mistaken as an assistant or just out of place altogether is not a rare occurrence. It started on my very first wedding, where I was followed around a church nearly the entire time I was setting up for the ceremony. At another event when I returned to strike I was profiled and followed around by a wedding guest, clearly eying me like I didn’t belong there. Although it’s been five years since that happened, the fact that situations like that still recur keeps these memories alive and fresh." - Jessica De Corse of Ellamah Floral