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Updated January 12, 2024 The luxurious destination wedding market will be worth nearly $80 billion by 2027, according to data published in Research and Markets’ 2023 Destination Wedding Global Market Report.
Recently, World Bride Magazine founder Myrdith Leon-McCormack spoke about the importance of unity in the multi-billion-dollar luxury space.
From event producers, photographers, and fashion designers to planners, cake makers and caterers, people of color have historically been underrepresented in the wedding industry and publications. And the destination wedding space amplifies the disparity. As engagement season unfolds, Leon-McCormack posed a profound question: Why aren’t Black and Brown people worldwide dominating the growing industry?
Leon-McCormack, a businesswoman, mother, and proud daughter of Haitian parents, reminded BLACK ENTERPRISE that people of color are not always seen in a positive or progressive light. They’re often represented in “entertainment, the movies and cops and robbers experiences.” So, there is a responsibility to break the stereotypes circulating across media outlets.
“There’s Black people all over the world, and I don’t think people realize,” Leon-McCormack told BE.
“It is a myth to think that Black people are just limited to a specific region.”
Couples are choosing to tie the knot in luxurious destinations outside of their hometown, especially after the pandemic-induced slump. In celebration of love, freedom, and life, couples are spending an average estimated baseline cost of $35,000, according to experts. The wedding industry consists of smaller enterprises and services catering to weddings, guests, brides and grooms, and much more.
“Who you choose to spend your money with values your business,” Leon-McCormack explained to BE.
“If you don’t feel invited, wanted, desired, appreciated, why would you give them your money?”
She added: “Wherever you’re traveling around the world, you just have to make a diligent effort to find those qualified people to do the business with.“
Leon-McCormack’s ambition and brand expertise have taken her across the globe, allowing her to explore popular wedding destinations like Egypt, Qatar, Dubai, London, France, and Ireland. She is proud to have found communities, businesses, and services by people of color in these countries that welcomed her with open arms. Throughout her three-decade career, Leon-McCormack, 2023 Crain’s New York Business Notable Black Leader, has architected businesses from the ground up.
Before WBM, Leon-McCormack transitioned from a renowned Celebrity Manicurist represented by Factory Downtown into a visionary founder. MLM Represents, the firm she founded, provides invaluable strategic guidance to select clientele. She brings her prowess to radio and serves as Executive Entertainment Producer for the weekly radio show Keep It Moving w/Marsha Jews on WEAA 88.9 FM.
Since 2006, World Bride Magazine has boasted being the “number one source for diverse wedding information.” The mission is to represent the authenticity and the inclusivity of everyone on the planet. Every page broke away from the Western or European perspective and celebrated the culture of a people exactly where they were. WBM has worked with advertisers such as Piaget and Cadillac, and Black woman entrepreneurs, including Brussels-based dressmaker Valentine Avoh and Black jewelry designer Sheryl Jones.
“We don’t write about anything we haven’t touched, tasted, experienced, smelled, and seen with our own eyes… We just can’t,” Leon-Coleman said, adding that her team of all shades and backgrounds is passionate about sharing stories and ads that act as endorsements and reflect everyone they serve.
She continued, “The average consumer does not know how to differentiate between a paid ad and what we believe in. We look for brands that are inviting and are very specific, and we make it clear who they’re targeted to. But when it comes to ethic, that’s nonnegotiable.”
“I like places that are off the beaten path, and that’s what our goal is every year is to not give you the same commercial who paid the highest dollar, but to find the most exquisite gems for people to look into.”
Thanks to her wisdom, Leon-McCormack shared some tips for readers, couples, and business owners who want to take up space in the destination wedding industry.
DO YOUR RESEARCH
- Research the company.
- Find a place that’s that’s excited to work with Black people.
- Go for a trial.
- Take meetings.
- Interview people.
- Examine their body of work.
ACCOUNTABILITY
- “I am still a customer. There’s a certain standard that I expect to be treated as a customer.”
- “It’s not what you say. It’s how you say it.”
- “Give the same energy to a Black business that wants to get better, that wants to compete.”
- “If your ethics is to [exclude] other people and [shame] other people, and you have a history of doing it, we don’t do business with people like that.”
“I want Black people, Black business owners to step up their game to get into the luxury space because there’s room. Come into the luxury space with the understanding that there’s very few of us in that space, and there’s few of us that are in that luxury space.”
Pick up the lastest issue of World Bride Magazine here.
It seems Paramount is making yet another attempt at a Star Trek feature film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Toby Haynes, who directed episodes of Andor, will direct this newest Trek film, with screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith providing the script. In terms of plot, all we know is that it will be set decades before the events of J.J. Abram’s 2009 Star Trek, technically the eleventh Trek feature overall, which launched a trilogy. Abrams’ Bad Robot will remain as producers. The original report says a fourth film featuring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and the rest of that cast remains in the works.
The last Star Trek feature film to hit theaters was 2016’s Star Trek: Beyond. Whenever this new Trek movie arrives, it will be the longest gap between Star Trek films since the long-running franchise launched with 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The longest gap until now was between 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis, the fourth and final film in the saga of Captain Picard’s crew, and the 2009 reboot. Although Star Trek has been missing in movie theaters all these years, it has been thriving on streaming television, with series like Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks, and most recently, Strange New Worlds.
So what could “decades before” mean in regards to this movie’s timeline? The 2009 Star Trek began with the birth of Captain Kirk. It could be a story about the Romulan Wars. The infamous Vulcan offshoot species began a war with Earth, one constantly referenced in almost every Trek series. Its fallout saw the foundation of the Federation Starfleet. That’s a story possibly worth telling, even if it is another prequel to a prequel.
No word yet on when production is meant to commence on this film, much less a release date. Hopefully, it will fare better than those other announced Star Trek movies that never got off the ground.
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