We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shonté Parrish. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shonté below.

Shonté, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Being a black woman during the pandemic was difficult. Even though I was supposed to be in newly engaged bliss, I was wedding planning in the middle of a global pandemic, countless people dying, losing their jobs, and people who look like me still being gunned down for no reason other than being black. Although the state of the world contributed to my depressed state at times, I struggled to find balance in taking care of myself mentally while planning. I struggled to create boundaries and not be the yes friend, but it was simply something I have struggled with for years- ripping and running to be there for everyone else, but unable to be there for myself. I struggled with finding a circle of people who understood that I was excited, I was happy, and I did have and love my wedding planner, but I was in a constant state of anxiety, worry, and frustration. I never knew about how planning a wedding changes the dynamic between your family members, friends, your partners closest loved ones etc. I was shocked about wedding etiquette no one seemed to understand. During my planning process I ordered all types of planners, bridal boxes etc. to help me be organized and excited, however in these products, there were barely any representation of black faces. No black women, no black love, no black weddings! In my bridal groups, brides asked the same exact questions, looking for the same things, and I .

My wellness wedding planner titled- “Sis, let’s plan this wedding! “is intended for melanated brides who are underrepresented in the billion dollar wedding industry. The lack of options in bridal magazines, bridal fashion and couture, bridal boxes and planners, dress sizes, flattering shades and colors, and bridal expos in 2022/2023 is alarming. Black women and women of color should not have to visualize one of the best days of our lives through the lens or standard of someone who doesn’t look like us.

The mission of Woosah Bride is to create awareness for melanated people that are planning weddings and their support system of the importance of prioritizing mental health, and to have a platform to interact with others and create a community specifically to uplift this change.

I want self-care to become a mandatory conversation in the beginning and during planning, not just with brides, but with their support system. This movement has the power to impact the planning process yes, but also start powerful changes in a couple’s foundation for a successful marriage which experts will tell you needs great communication, boundaries, transparency, respect, consistently listening to your mind and body and taking care of yourself so you can show up in a marriage as your full self.

Shonté, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Woosah Bride is a wellness brand that focuses on self-care, mental health, sisterhood, and mental health. We partner with over 10 doctors, lawyers, wedding, and wellness professionals to provide curated advice that promotes mental and physical health as well as wedding education as you plan your wedding.

This brand is unique because of the following:

One of our featured products, a wellness wedding planner titled “Sis, let’s plan this wedding” is a survival guide for brides to be which contains curated timelines and checklists for Eloping, Destination, Traditional, Frugal, and Luxe Black Brides.
Our contributors include wedding industry professionals such as actual wedding planners.
Our contributors include several specialists in healthcare (dermatologists, psychiatrist, general physician, nutritionist, intimacy and sex doctors) who provide curated advice and recommendations specifically for melanated brides.
Our contributors include a contract and negotiations attorney who provides curated advice and recommendations specifically for melanated brides
Our contributors include pre and post marital counselors who provide curated advice and recommendations specifically for melanated brides
Our contributors include several wellness and self care brands who provide curated advice and recommendations specifically for melanated brides
This is the first bridal brand that has bridal and wellness products that focus directly on melanated brides.
The brand will provide bridal and travel consultants for brides to book and also wants to branch into a subscription-based model for brides to have access for the healthcare professionals to make appointments for the period they are planning for specialized advice.
The brand will host events like Black Girl Bridal Expos that will allow melanated brides to have access to up and coming designers, minority owned vendors such as florists, photographers, venue owns, professional planners etc. This event will be hosted like a family reunion with entertainment and art being included in the model.

Woosah Bride hopes to bridge the gap between the glamour of planning your big day and the reality which involves learning how to set boundaries and take care of self. It also has a specific product line to show illustrations of black and brown women of all shapes, sizes, and ages.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

When we launched I had to learn that perfectionism will impact the natural process of building a successful business. Being a perfectionist can cause too much time to be spent creating and not testing. I learned that releasing a project I am creating, helps to receive and apply feedback you receive from your target audience and is way more effective than spending time trying to perfect something that you THINK your target audience wants. This can lead to failure quickly and in between the time we launched our first products and when it was time to re-order, we already had enough reviews and general suggestions to make some updates that we knew would be positively received by our audience. I learn to execute the idea you have and make updates to it, as you go along.

How did you build your audience on social media?

We are still building our social media audience but at 4k in less than 6 months I think the key is authenticity, posts that are valuable, and being consistent. Because posting on multiple platforms can be draining, I hired people whose platforms I wanted to emulate, to just learn how to invest in branding in order for my page to look organized, professional, and aesthetically pleasing. It is difficult at times but truly understanding the value I am really bringing to my audience and knowing what they are looking for, helps.      

Contact Info:

• Website: www.woosahbride.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/woosahbride/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/woosahbride

Image Credits
Iris Mannings Photography @irismannings