What's a modern Black woman to do when she's planning her wedding and not a single bridal magazine seems to have a hair suggestion that works for her or even a variety of skin tones modeling the bridesmaid colors of the season? She's gotta get creative, that's what. While it is indeed disappointing that there is still a lack of Black models gracing the cover of bridal magazines, Instagram is like the Band-Aid that makes it a little better. For example, Tobi Oredein is super excited for her big day and has found tons of wedding inspo literally right at the palm of her hands on social media. 

"After feeling deflated, reading numerous beauty features advising brides-to-be on the "essential steps to getting a perfect tan for your wedding day" and not seeing a single article on how to style my afro on my big day, I turned to social media," Tobi revealed to The Pool.

In trying to make her big day as close to perfect as possible, brides spend tons of time looking at wedding imagery, and scrolling through digital bridal magazines and websites. However, if you really look, all that's out there is so many shades of "white" when it comes to dresses and a huge lack of models with melanin.

It's similar to brown little girls having brown dolls; it's important to see yourself because it makes the experience more relatable, so it's obvious that this is certainly quite frustrating for Black women preparing to tie the knot. 

"It ties into the dangerous narrative that Black women are undesirable. That marriage, which is unfortunately still seen by some as the highest achievement for women, is only reserved for white women," Tobi said. "It was that familiar feeling of looking at a range of pictures that feature beautiful women and not seeing myself represented."

Some go-to inspiration accounts include Munaluchi Bride, which shows Black couples happily in love on their wedding day; Creme De La Bride, a London-based multi-ethnic wedding account; a Nigerian Instagram page by the name of Bella Naija; and Afro Bride, to name a few. Some of the amazing inspo from all four pages can be seen in the photos above.

Social media has not only helped Black brides with choosing centerpieces and color schemes, but Instagram and Pinterest featuring Black brides can pretty much give the full wedding experience.

"These social media accounts have allowed me to get lost in the sea of wedding inspiration without having to think twice, because my skin tone doesn't match the bride on my screen."