Celebrating Black History Month
Black History Month is coming to a close today, but we got a bonus day this year! Before it’s over I wanted to take a moment to celebrate some of my favorite local black-owned businesses to work as an event planner. The sheer amount of talent and creativity as well as the breadth of variety in what all these women do is truly inspirational. Take a peek and be sure to give them all a follow so you have them handy next time you’re looking for vendors!
Elizabeth Coopersmith Consulting
Liz Coopersmith
Liz is a CRM guru and Honeybook pro who uses her tech skills to help creative professionals (like me!) customize their customer relations platforms and make the most of their time and money. She’s all about efficiency, automation, and the latest tech tool that gives small business owners more freedom to do the creative things they love to do - rather than spend all their time managing back end tasks.
Liz helped me set up my own Honeybook automations and put new systems into place that have saved me so much time and - more importantly for my clients - stay organized. As a former wedding planner, she’s an industry veteran and you’ll see her name on the board of directors for the new iteration of The Rising Tide Society too. She’s walking the walk of supporting other business owners in the events industry. Her services are worth every penny, but she’s also dropping lots of knowledge for free over on IG - give her a follow!
Sara Connel
Sara is an artist who works with sugar, creating the most beautiful dipped treats you can imagine. She’s got everything from dipped strawberries to pretzel rods and cakesicles on her menu. She’s easy and professional to work with, but what really makes her stand out and has my clients asking for her again and again is the creativity and personalization she pours into every custom order she does. Whether I give her a ton of direction or none at all, she produces something totally special and unique every time. Check out her Instagram to see all her beautiful designs.
Custom Dipped Strawberries
by Cravings for Sweets
Julie Harris
Julie makes art out of lace and tulle and jewels. If you are looking for a truly custom heirloom accessory for your wedding day, Julie is the person you want to meet! This lady makes one-of-a-kind veils, capes, headpieces and other unique bridal accessories for clients to wear on their wedding days. Whether they want a statement piece or quiet luxury, her pieces are totally unique.
Something I just love about Julie’s business is that her designs are not just for brides, but she has made custom pieces for grooms as well. If you are part of an LGBTQ+ couple or just a non-traditional marrier, you can trust she’s got something special in mind for you. Check out her Instagram and you will be wowed by the variety of “veils” you see!
Hand Made Pearl Bridal Veil
A trendy bow-topped veil for a Barbie-themed styled shoot we worked on together.
Photo by Jade Elora Photography
Taylor Made
Owned by a husband and wife duo - Chris and Taylor - Petite LUXE Parties is a family-owned company specializing in kids party styling and modern kids party rentals! They have been in business almost ten years and have celebrated all across LA and OC, providing children's entertainment, decorating, and planning services. Taylor started the business in 2015 to make a little extra money while attending college and balancing motherhood with 2 little boys.
I love working with them because we share the ultimate goal of creating unique and memorable experiences for even our littlest clients and making sure their party is LUXE! Check out their inventory of modern kids furniture rentals!
A snapshot from my own children’s birthday party using Petite Luxe furniture rentals and props. Photo by Linda Tran.
Jovana Smith
Located on the West Side, Bougie Boards LA is on a mission to provide unforgettable food & hospitality experiences to all it’s clients. Jovana is a native Angeleno with roots in Belize and her colorful, international heritage shows up in her charcuterie boards. In addition to employing a staff of women of color, she is committed to sourcing from and collaborating with minority-owned businesses. Jovana has the biggest heart and she is using it to make her community a better place, one delicious bite at a time. Check her out for custom charcuterie boards for intimate events or grand grazing tables for large events.
And I have to admit a certain bias - I had the pleasure of planning Jovana’s unique micro wedding in 2022! See what a beautiful bride she was?
Wedding photo by Lily Tapia Photography
Marsha Smith
Minibop is an early education organization that utilizes the universal language of music to make early childhood learning more engaging and accessible. Minibop has served more than 19,000 children through in-studio music classes and lessons and across over 30 schools in LA county with in-school music-based enrichment programs. Other notable partnerships include The GRAMMY Museum and The Academy Museum of Los Angeles. How rad is that?
But why do I really love them? I do a lot of kids parties and they have great party entertainment packages! I have toddlers myself who have attended their studio classes as well as been guests at countless events where Minibop performed and it’s always a hit! They are rock stars for babies! Follow them on IG to see clips of their performances and classes for littles.
Kaiy
Smith-Beisman
Kaiy is dedicated to crafting the perfect bite, whether it’s from a beautiful charcuterie board or a dazzling grazing table. The center of the Stems mission is hospitality, but they are more than a catering company. Their heart is committed to making a positive social impact. Kaiy has used social media to build a large following with her eye candy grazing boards and uses that platform and her business knowledge to support underserved artisans from the BIPOC, womxn and other marginalized communities. Within the catering business she has built a team of dedicated women who make the magic happen.
As a planner I love recommending Stems to my clients because they can do any size event and I know it will be beautiful as well as delicious. Not to mention Kaiy’s extensive knowledge of local and seasonal artisan ingredients. If your event is looking not just to feed people, but to provide a beautiful sensory experience for your guests, you can’t go wrong with a Stems grazing table. The food is always delicious, but what amazes me every time we collaborate is the creativity and customization that goes into each event.
Cocktail Hour grazing table for wedding we worked on together. Photo by Lily Tapia Photography
Since we do weddings, adult social events and kids parties at Bon Bon Fête, I have the unique opportunity to work with a wide array of vendors. During Black History Month we hear a lot about the heavy hitters of Black history, but the women here are all contributing to a new era of Black history peopled with strong women entrepreneurs who use their talents and creativity to build successful businesses and put positivity back into their communities. I am always looking forward to my next opportunity to work with each of them. I hope you get a chance to check out their web pages and socials and consider them the next time you are booking event vendors.
Happy Planning!
Bonnie