Who is Ellie the Bride?

As a newly engaged fiancée, I started searching for all the magazines and blogs I could find. Lo and behold — I couldn’t find many that featured Black and Brown women. And of those I did find, the primary emphasis was on luxury and spending. I wanted to create a space that spoke to: Black and Brown brides — not just across all income levels, but with thought-provoking content for those who want to move through this process intentionally and intelligently. I want to speak to women who love to read, who love to do their nails, and who ask questions like, “When did women start getting their nails done at a salon?” Most of all, I want to speak to women who are more excited to be married than they are to get married.

What Is an Ellie Bride?

When Monica famously said, “I’ll never be a bride again. Now, I’m just someone’s wife!”—it resonated deeply, because it captured something essential: the bridal experience is often a whirlwind of beauty, joy, self-discovery, shopping, celebration, and romance. Then, suddenly, it’s over. You’re married, and culturally, you become just someone’s wife.

But in many South African traditions, that transition is seen differently.

The word Makoti is a Nguni term referring to a woman who has joined a family through marriage. It’s a layered concept—it means bride, sister-in-law, daughter-in-law, newlywed—and it carries through well beyond the wedding day. In many cultures here, being a bride never ends. You’re always your husband’s bride, your in-laws’ Makoti. It’s a role and identity that evolves, but never disappears.

An Ellie Bride embraces this. She finds ways to carry the joy, intention, beauty, and creativity of her engagement and wedding season into everyday married life. It’s not about recreating your wedding day—it’s about integrating that sense of celebration, care, and self-expression into your daily experience as a wife, woman, and forever bride.

Why This Blog?

There are countless wedding blogs that help you plan the engagement, the wedding, the honeymoon… and then? Nothing. As if the story ends there.

This blog is for the after—for the marriage itself.

Ellie The Bride is about integrating the bridal mindset into your everyday life. It’s about helping you carry the best parts of your wedding prep—your self-care, your glam, your learning, your joy—into the long-term reality of partnership.

Here, you’ll find:

• Curated, research-backed recommendations
• Reviews of fiction and non-fiction on engagement, weddings, and marriage
• Relationship and wellness podcast roundups
• Tips on diamonds, gemstones, and keepsakes
• And honest conversations about what it means to be a Makoti in modern times

This is a space for the modern forever bride—someone who wants a meaningful marriage, not just a beautiful wedding.