• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

SLD Chicago News

Stories. Lives. Dealin's. CHICAGO

SLD CHICAGO NEWS
Stories. Lives. Dealin's. CHICAGO

  • Home
  • BUSINESS
  • LOCAL NEWS
  • POLITICS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • Meet the Team
  • About/Contact

As Wedding Season Ramps Up, Vendors Seek To Improve Inclusivity, Pledge To Do Better After Racial Unrest – CBS Chicago

by

CHICAGO (CBS) — Wedding season is slowly ramping up again. Of course, the pandemic’s made it a difficult year for the industry, and now many vendors are working hard to tackle another issue: inclusivity.

CBS 2 Morning Insider Lauren Victory shares how one Chicago business is playing a tiny part of a bigger solution.

READ MORE: Car Crashes Into Harlan High School In Roseland

Image is everything, especially in the wedding business.

There’s love and marriage, and photos to capture it all.

Amanda Rapacz and her sister Megan Westman are new to this scene. Their new Chicago business, started mid-pandemic, rents fake flowers.

The product needed to look perfect for future ads being snapped by photographer Edgar Melero.

“You know, a lot of money when you’re starting a business, is just going towards the LLC fees and the not so glamorous things,” said Westman, co-founder of Silk Stern Collective.

A $10,000 grant from the Amber Grant Foundation helped pay for the photo shoot with Grace and Ivory dresses at Ella Elli in Lincoln Park.

The money was awarded to Silk Stem Collective because of its eco-friendly concept and the sisters’ commitment to another cause: inclusivity.

“There is a lot of wedding content on the Internet already but a lot of it is not reflective of the diversity of customers in terms of age, size, race, gender, types of couples,” Rapacz said.

Take a Google Image search for “bridal bouquet.” The skin tone in most of the photos is white.

READ MORE: 7-Year-Old Girl Killed, Father Injured In Shooting At McDonald’s Drive-Thru In Homan Square

Tiffany Harper spoke about the problem to the Chicago Chapter of Wedding Industry Professionals association last summer.

Happily ever after doesn’t need to look like Cinderella, she said.

“We’ve got way more diversity than just Black Americans. We’ve got the LGBTQ community. We’ve got transgender. We’ve got all kinds of different groups and marginalized people that want to be a part of this industry but, and don’t fit that standard traditional model,” Harper said.

Several wedding publications and planning websites pledged to do better after racial unrest.

Wedding Wire recently added a filtering option to support diverse vendors.

“I don’t think there’s any industry that’s gotten it right yet. There’s still work to be done everywhere, but the fact that people are recognizing and seeing it is a big change,” Harper said.

Harper co-founded the Diverse Attorney Pipeline Program, as well as the blog Uncolor Blind. She’s worked as a diversity and inclusion consultant for several businesses.

Back at the photo shoot, model Toya Parker was beaming on the inside, thinking about future flower customers.

“I definitely want to be that person that they see that looks like them,” Parker said.

MORE NEWS: College Student Still Searching For A Summer Job? Some Big Companies Are Paying Top Dollar For Internships

A small role in someone’s big day.

View Original Source

Filed Under: BUSINESS, Chicago Business - Google

Primary Sidebar

More to See

Share of international homebuyers fell last year

The number of international homebuyers declined sharply throughout the United States in the past year amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic, according … [Read More...] about Share of international homebuyers fell last year

Chicago-area industrial real estate market is tight for smaller companies

Tom Rodeno, 50, a 20-year veteran in representing industrial spaces for Colliers International, based out of the Rosemont office with the title of … [Read More...] about Chicago-area industrial real estate market is tight for smaller companies

Chicago Casino Proposal Deadline Moves to October 29 After Ho-Hum Response

Chicago’s city officials move the deadline for submitting a proposal for the planned casino to October 29, looking for more bidders. Chicago … [Read More...] about Chicago Casino Proposal Deadline Moves to October 29 After Ho-Hum Response

Western Illinois Town Disbands Police Force Due to Budget – NBC Chicago

A community in western Illinois has officially disbanded its police department over budget concerns. East Galesburg has been without its police … [Read More...] about Western Illinois Town Disbands Police Force Due to Budget – NBC Chicago

Chicago cop killed, another injured in violent night

The officer who died was the first Chicago cop shot and killed in the line of duty this year, Brown said. It's the first line-of-duty shooting … [Read More...] about Chicago cop killed, another injured in violent night

Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | About/ Contact
Copyright © 2022 · SLD Chicago . Log in