As a wedding planning business, one of our most important roles is connecting couples with the best vendors for their special day. In the Milwaukee area, we’re lucky to know of many unique and budget-friendly options for catering, bar service, music, floral and décor, photography, dance, and more. As a way to show our support of the Black Lives Matter movement and to keep the momentum going in Milwaukee, we’re happy to spread the word about just a few of the incredible local black-owned businesses you can use for your wedding. 414loral - Floral Owner: Mikel McGee
FB: @414loral | IG: @414loral | Website: 414loral.square.site 414loral provides monthly floral subscriptions, fresh flowers for any occasion, and arrangements for weddings and other events. 414loral started with an Instagram account in November 2019, but things really became official when it became licensed as an LLC in June 2020. Since starting her business in 2019, Mikel’s floral subscription has been a huge success. Starting as a one-woman business, she has since brought on some staff to assist with deliveries and larger events. Mikel and the 414loral team are looking forward to a handful of weddings this summer and are already booking for 2021.
When asked how she got the concept for her floral business, Mikel shared “the 414loral (4-1-Floral) namesake represents community. ‘All for one and one floral’ is a motto that kind of just fit. I believe that each petal has the power to positively transform an individual's day. I grew up hearing that you can't buy happiness; it's created and comes when it is most unexpected. At 414loral heartfelt handcrafted happiness is something we strive to provide to all of our customers.” We’ve been lucky enough to work with 414loral in the past, and we look forward to taking on more weddings together in the future. Please see below for more from our interview with Mikel.
What are some future goals for your business? “I would like to continue to expand our reach via social media, book more weddings/events, and ultimately move into a brick and mortar storefront. I also would like to turn 414loral into something more full time.”
What sets you apart from similar services? “414loral is a black-owned small business which is unique as there are not many in Milwaukee. This is my soul food and each bouquet I create is an outpouring of my love for floral design and Milwaukee. I believe in providing superior customer service as well as a quality product at a reasonable price.”
What song(s) would you rush to the dance floor to at a wedding? “Juvenile, Mannie Fresh, and Lil Wayne's classic 90's hits.”
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GM.CREATIVE - Photography Owner: Glenda Mitchell FB: @GM.CREATIVE | IG: @GM.CREATIVE | Website: www.gmcreative.com GM.CREATIVE, owned by Glenda Mitchell, is a portrait and lifestyle photography company for friends, families, lovers, and brands. Glenda has been doing photography for over six years, but made her company a reality in the fall of 2019. As a child of adoption, Glenda didn’t have photos of herself under the age of two years old. That, along with growing up as the only black girl in school until college, gave her awareness and respect for being different. When she started a family of her own, it was important for her to capture the memories and highlight the “differences that make people shine.” Glenda has been blessed with supportive clients throughout and says “from friends starting businesses of their own to being proactive and reaching out to brands and people whose ideals match with mine, my business has been growing steadily at a pace I'm comfortable with. Even through COVID-19, I've been growing my knowledge of the behind the scenes needs in preparation for the world to open back up.” GM.CREATIVE has already been featured on nationsphotolab.com, MilwaukeeMom.com, and the MKEBlackOffical app. While GM.CREATIVE’s focus has been portraits and lifestyle photography, Glenda is excited to start working with couples for engagement sessions and weddings. See below for more from our interview with Glenda. What are some future goals for your business? "By 2021 I'd like my own studio space and to move my business full time. It's important to me coming from a non-traditional family to depict families in all their uniqueness. I'd also like to move into more commercial projects as well." What sets you apart from similar services? "My process is very collaborative. I don't want to plug clients into my style of photography but rather use my photography to help them shine in an authentic way. I'm honest with my clients about my capabilities and every instance that's helped me grow has been client instigated." What song would you rush to the dance floor during a wedding? "I Wanna Dance With Somebody or How Will I know? by Whitney Houston"
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Anomaly Catering - Catering Owner: Anomalous Campbell IG: @anomaly_catering | Website: anomalousummummgoo.wixsite.com/anomalycatering
Anomaly Catering will “take your taste buds on an adventure with every bite.” This full-service catering company will provide what you need for any event - customizable healthy menu selections, servers, and dinnerware - all for an affordable cost. Anomalous Campbell worked as an engineer with MPS for 14.5 years. Because her schedule didn’t allow her to spend as much time with her daughter as she would have liked, she decided to make a change. She left her job to raise her daughter and spend more time doing what she loved - cooking. Walnut Way, a nonprofit organization focused on reclaiming and redeveloping the economic health and vitality of the Lindsay Heights neighborhood in Milwaukee, brought Anomaly on to cook and educate in their Healing Circle program. When women from the Healing Circle program started calling and asking her to cook for their events, Anomaly Catering was born. Since becoming licensed in February of 2018, Anomaly Catering provides full-service catering for weddings, repasses, date nights, and nonprofit events as well as healthy cooking demos and educational courses. Anomalous works closely with nonprofits including the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association to teach healthy cooking courses and is also a chef for World Central Kitchen and Tandem. Anomalous is happy to be able to share her skills and knowledge with those who want to enjoy her food and learn how to cook healthier, but the accomplishment she is most proud of has been, to teach her daughter entrepreneurship along the way. See below for more from our interview with Anomalous. What are some future goals for your business? Anomalous has the goals of starting an Anomaly Catering food truck and expanding the business outside of Milwaukee. They’ve traveled to Atlanta, San Antonio, and California in the past, and hope to do more traveling pop-up events. What sets you apart from similar services? Anomaly Catering takes traditional foods and makes them healthier. Anomalous’ food doesn’t include salt and most of her ingredients come from local shops and farmers’ markets. In addition to catering, Anomaly Catering has the educational component and helps clients transition to a healthier diet. What song would you rush to the dance floor during a wedding? The Cha Cha Slide, or any song that brings everyone to the floor to dance together. _____________________________________________________________________
WoLF Studios, LLC - Dance Owner: Wanyah L. Frazier IG: @wolfstudiosmke | Website: www.wolfstudiosmke.com
What’s a wedding without dancing? We were excited to speak with Wanyah Frazier about his company, WoLF Studios, which offers a wide range of services including wedding choreography, private dance lessons, corporate workshops, public school dance residencies, and a youth performance company. Wolf Studios believes in versatility and offers dance training in a wide variety of styles - Jazz, Contemporary, Ballet, Ballroom, Latin Styles, Afrobeats and Hip-Hop - instructed by professionals with extensive experience in their style(s). Wanyah started WoLF Studios as a solution for the lack of POC representation in the arts community in the Milwaukee area. WoLF Studios believes that creating platforms and additional opportunities are key to achieving the change they want to see in the community. Since being founded in April 2019, Wanyah and his team have worked to create performance platforms, employment opportunities, dance education for artists of color. Just two months after its foundation, Wanyah led WoLF Studios’ first high-profile performance at the Nō Studios Dance Fest feat. Since then WoLF Studios has created its own performance company, expanded their residency services to include multiple art organizations, partnership with talent local artists, began offering private lessons including wedding packages, started a monthly Salsa Social in collaboration with Nō Studios, and laid the groundwork for their youth performance company in the fall. See below for more of our interview with Wanyah. What are some future goals for your business? “As we’ve expanded it has become our goal to have a permanent studio space of our own. Many of our future goals revolve around art initiatives that are made possible by having the real estate to facilitate them. We aim to have our space operational by the end of 2020.” What sets you apart from similar services? “We find uniqueness in our ability to collaborate with individual artists and other arts organizations. We understand that there is room for everyone in our arts community, and that through collaboration we can accomplish far more than any one organization or person.” What song would you rush to the dance floor for at a wedding? “Personally, I’d have to say the Wobble…. It gets me every time. At this point I think it’s a staple for any gathering.”