This is a list of resources curated by the Altared 2020 committee to support fellow wedding vendors who stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and are committed to making our industry a better and more equitable place.
Jaime Ta of Jaime Ta Creative has a running list of BIPOC & Queer community Pacific Northwest vendors. It's a project she started several months ago and which continues to evolve.
This is a great resource to 1) request your business be added, as applicable, and/or 2) connect with more vendors.
Many of the vendors in the directory are also members of the Altared Slack channel so feel free to connect there or, of course, over email and/or on Instagram (Jaime includes the handles for each vendor, wherever she can).
When you make a connection, remember your vendor referral lists. How can you improve it to better align with your values?Altared 2020 committee member Beth Kramer is in conversation with one of our 2020 speakers — Kheoshi Owens of Empress Rules — about developing a diversity, equity, and inclusion workshop specific to Pacific Northwest wedding vendors. It is early days on this but Beth would value your feedback. Here's an anonymous, six-question Google Form to share your thoughts.
Webinars: As we're sure you've seen, many wildly talented professionals have hosted webinars to discuss race and the wedding industry. The below is in no way comprehensive so if you want to learn about other webinars, we recommend this list from MunaLuchi.
The wedding planner and coach Terrica Skaggs hosted "Healing Wounds & Bridging Gaps: An Honest Conversation About Race & Allyship in the Wedding Industry." That link will take you to a very solid list of resources, too, including information about #unitythroughcommunity.
Jasmine Smith of DC Wedding Week hosted "Uncomfortable Conversations on Inequality in the Wedding Industry (Part 1)". In the video, Jasmine says she plans to host more webinars including one on Tuesday, June 16. Follow DC Wedding Week on Instagram to stay tuned.
Jordan Maney of Love All the Days is calling upon the wedding industry to step up. Learn more about the Step Up Pledge including the related petition.
As of June 24, 2020, Jordan is also running an Inclusive Wedding Vendors survey. It’s 10 questions and takes less than 10 minutes to fill out.This story from Catalyst Wed Co.: “People Are Not Props // How to Avoid Tokenism in Your Portfolio”
Altared 2020 attendee Inger McDowell of With Love, From PDX is also an organizer with the Justice Annex Racial Justice Platform. Learn more about Justice Annex — including a free educational video — on their GoFundMe.
Altared 2020 speaker Kheoshi Owens of Empress Rules and committee member Jamie Thrower of Studio XIII Photography are both founding members of the Equitable Giving Circle. If your wedding business is looking to give back in some capacity, consider this a worthy contender.
BlackPDX, I Love Black Food, and Mercatus are all superb resources to research and connect with fellow vendors in the Portland area. Try searching “wedding” or your specific vendor type in each website’s respective search bar and see what comes up.
Got something we should add? Please email Beth (elisabeth@elisabethkramer.com)
Onward.
Curated by the Altared 2020 committee: Jamie Thrower of Studio XIII Photography, Emily Sterling of Rooted & Wild: Spirited Ceremonies, Christina Wachspress of Novella Theory, Arielle Zamora of Small Yard Flowers, and Elisabeth “Beth” Kramer of Elisabeth Kramer, Day-Of Wedding Coordinator.