Common Mistakes Made by African American Brides

In the African American community, a wedding is a joyous time of celebration with family and friends. It goes well beyond the fact that two people are being joined together in unity. This is a time to mend broken relationships, reunite old family, and party with friends that you probably won't be seeing again for years to come. Sadly to say, this is also a time for struggles for the bride, groom and those involved, arguments, and sometimes fights.

My goal is to highlight some of the mistakes commonly made by African American brides and hopefully help you avoid many of the hang ups and heartaches that come along with planning a wedding.

The first mistake is failing to hire a PROFESSIONAL wedding planner. This mistake is often made because the bride and groom tend to think that there is not enough money to pay for the service of a wedding planner or they feel that that money is better spent elsewhere. Here's the truth. Wedding planners work with your budget to help oversee the details of your day. Planners and coordinators typically charge 10-15% of the total wedding budget. When you think about it, you're not spending very much to have someone look over contracts, find and meet with vendors, coordinate vendors, keep track of guest list, and make you feel like the queen on your most royal day.