Candice (00:02.437)

Have you ever wondered what it takes to build an iconic brand in the wedding industry? Well, I have a real treat for you today because our behind the brand series is back. And I'm so excited to introduce you to one of my favorite people and one of my treasured coaching clients.

I have been coaching Sydney from Ink Weddings for many years. In fact, I just went in my inbox and looked up how long to sort of orient myself. And Sid applied to join WPI in February of 2022. And so I've had the pleasure of working with Sid for many years and watching her business in ink weddings grow and change and evolve.

And I asked her to come on the podcast today to talk about her journey because it has been so inspiring to watch her evolution as a business owner, but also as a designer and as a creative person. And one of my favorite things about Sid is that she A trademarked a very cool term, which we're gonna talk about during today's episode, but also that she had the guts to rebrand herself.

In the likes of Madonna and Prince and Oprah and Cher. And I'm trying to think of all the singular-named gods and goddesses out there. But in her quest to build an iconic business, she wanted to harness the power and the energy of a singular name. And so we will be referring to her as Sid today because that's how she refers to herself.

Syd (01:27.246)

Nope.

Candice (01:43.055)

Now, let me give you a proper intro because Sid is the founder and creative director of In Ink Weddings, and she's based in Austin. She's a full service wedding planning and design company, and she's known for creating immersive, editorial-worthy celebrations with an edge. And her design philosophy is messy luxury, trademark, by the way. And through that, she blends intentional design, a very high touch, immersive guest experience, and a lot.

Syd (02:05.752)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (02:12.847)

Fun, creative storytelling to help her couples in Austin and worldwide create weddings that feel very personal, visually impactful, and unforgettable and badass. And her work focuses on designing celebrations that feel artful and experimental and alive while still feeling effortless.

For the guests and the loved ones that are attending them. So today we're gonna do a deep dive into Sid's journey of entrepreneurship. I'm gonna ask her how she got started. I'm gonna ask her about the rebranding process in her business. And you might be surprised about her story. And I'm also gonna have her talk to us about what messy luxury means and how she was able to trademark a slogan, her process.

how she sees the world and why you might want to do that too. So without further ado, please help me welcome Sid to the podcast.

Syd (03:18.158)

Hey Candace, thank you so much for having me here. And I feel like I can take on the world now after that introduction. Let me tell you.

Candice (03:26.427)

You have to replay that. That's like your your like, you how sports teams have like their pump up song? Is it Georgia State that has the ACDC song? Because I see it sometimes on TikTok where the whole crowd is like vibrating to that A C D song and it's like the most hype song ever. That is your hype song.

Syd (03:31.187)

Yes, it's my walkout. Like, let's go, it's for the wedding day. Let let's hit it.

Syd (03:48.414)

I love it. That or my follows followers know that I love SpongeBob from the bubble bullet episode. If guys remember that, they're walking out and it's just this big moment of boom bum bum bum boom. I had my brother, my mom, dance to that at his wedding for their mother son son dance. So killer, killer. I'm here for it.

Candice (04:09.113)

Song is from SpongeBob. After working with you for so many years, I did not know that, but I'm so glad I do now. I'm so happy to have you here, Sid. Thanks for agreeing to do this. I've been wanting to have you on the podcast for a while. And recently you did this amazing presentation at our retreat, at our Barbados retreat in April, and you talked about your journey. And I am so excited that you're gonna now share it with everybody else here who's listening to the podcast.

Syd (04:10.824)

Ha why not?

Candice (04:37.071)

So on that note, I would love to know how you got started. I always find it so fascinating to hear what compelled you to start your business. What was it like at the very beginning? Sort of take us back in time. I need year, I need month, I need to be like locked in to the time and share with us a little bit about what the motivation was and the inspiration was.

Syd (04:49.346)

Mm-hmm.

Syd (05:01.452)

Yeah, absolutely. So let me tell you, I went through the ringer. If you feel like you haven't found your job or you're wishy-washy, like let me tell you that was absolutely me to start that off. So I'm gonna take you back to when I was 16 years old. It was my 16th birthday party, and I'm like, we gotta do this right. We gotta make this crazy. We gotta make this fun. And my like my parents, like they were the good parents, and they make

Candice (05:08.613)

Mm-hmm.

Syd (05:25.74)

We didn't drink a lot like in high school. So I'm like, I have to be able to throw a really cool party without booze here. I'm like, how are we gonna do that? You know? and so I was just thinking, I'm like, how can I get a shit ton of pudding at my house? And you know what? Sam's Club sells pudding by the gallon. So who knows? It literally looks like a paint bucket. So I convinced my

Candice (05:31.682)

Yeah.

Candice (05:44.941)

Woo Knoo!

Syd (05:52.053)

Sweet parents, I said, I would like to have a pudding party for my 16th birthday and buy 50 gallons of pudding from Costco. And I would like a kiddie pool, I would like a slip and slide, I would like water guns, so we can just play in it all night long. And they didn't blink and they said yes. And so this kicks off Sid's guest experience, and I will say, from that party.

Candice (06:07.892)

Ha ha ha.

Syd (06:14.004)

One of the best compliments I could ever receive was the cool guy was there. He's like, Sid, this is the best party I've ever been to and there's no alcohol. I'm like, yeah, because I know what I'm doing. But I will say I do love a Jen Derry Martini. I'm not a dry girl. I do love my drinks. so just to kick that off. so

Candice (06:24.313)

I love this story. I'm never tired of hearing this story, by the way.

Yeah.

Syd (06:36.728)

You know, in college when I was mass com for my for my degree and I had interned with a planner just doing day of here and there. And it was a lot of fun and it was beautiful and extravagant weddings. And I enjoyed working with her day of. I'm like, I'm not J-Lo in the wedding planner. Like, no interest of the doing this full time. Like I will show up and help you out with the party. So that was the end of that piece of my life. That was in 2014. And after I graduated college.

I was working at a nonprofit for a while, doing marketing with them, and it was actually incredibly niche. It was a nonprofit for former nuclear energy workers that we were helping them get their health benefits. These were people that were working with uranium, processing it during the Cold War era, which is I learned so much during that job. very, very niche.

Candice (07:25.083)

I bet. Very niche. So if you're afraid to niche down, like look at that niche.

Syd (07:30.348)

Let me tell you, I know how to host a party at a golden corral for seniors. So there's that.

Candice (07:36.347)

That's your resume, please. Put actually put that immediately on the home page of your website.

Syd (07:39.899)

Right. And so I did that for a bit. And Isaac, my husband, we had started dating in 2018, which brought me down to Texas. And we got married in 2020. And his job wanted to relocate us down to the Austin area. So it put me in the position to ask, all right, what does Sid wanna do? Because I had been doing like seriously, if you look at like my resumes and the amount of like

W9s I've had to submit over the years, like it's insane. And at one point I was convinced that I should join the FBI and go to Quantico so I can next knock down the doors of human traffickers. And clearly that did not happen. Little midlife crisis. But what led me into the weddings is I sat down. It was kind of it was kind of cheesy. I made like a list of like what are the skills that I know that I have and what are the things that people say that I'm good at.

Candice (08:20.163)

Ha ha ha ha ha.

Syd (08:34.828)

And so my skills, I'm like, I'm great with admin, I'm great with organization. one of my close friends, she's like, Sid, you present as type B, but you are 100% type A. I'm like, great, I'm glad that I can chameleon myself a little bit. but in terms of what do people say that I'm good at, is like I'm typically the one that's you know putting together the friend trips. I'm the one that's celebrating Groundhog's Day, I'm the one making sure that people feel seen and celebrated for like every little milestone.

And I was like, okay, so what what is all of this? I'm like, that's a wedding planner. I'm like, well, maybe we can give this a try. So I submitted my LLC in May twenty twenty-one and I officially started my business in August of 2021. Haven't turned back.

Candice (09:20.539)

Amazing story. I love that it all really begins with Sam's Club and Gallons of Pudding. Who knew? I love it. I know. You're actually gonna need to reshare that photo when this episode comes out so everybody can see that photo from your 16th birthday. So go to go stalk sit on Instagram right now and see if she has posted that photo. But I love the story. Yeah, I love the story.

Syd (09:26.294)

Right. You have a new sponsor for this podcast now.

Syd (09:34.042)

Yes. Yes, I would love to.

Syd (09:41.262)

Yep, it's there.

Candice (09:45.851)

And it a fascinating story too. Just goes to show that everybody's business journey and beginnings are all so different. And I love that you were at a crossroads in your life and you thought, you know what, what do I want to do? And in your Sid way, in your type A way, you're like, what am I good at? What's the intersection of what I'm good at, what I want to do? And boom, here we have in ink weddings. When you look at now we're fast forwarding several years later, almost six years, would you

Syd (09:53.23)

Mm.

Syd (10:06.35)

Yeah.

Candice (10:14.503)

When you look at your business now, do you was it the same business you were writing on paper then? Or has this evolved so much and in so many different beautiful ways like you couldn't have imagined where you would be?

Syd (10:28.001)

Yeah, it's completely changed. so I think whenever I first started out, the trend, you know, was very boho and very rustic. And so I remember when I first started working with you, I'm like, Candace, I wanna work with the smaller budgets that are just like, you know, out in the wild, like all fairyland. And like those are the types of people that I want to work with. Because that time in my mind, I was thinking if you had money, you're not gonna be fun to work with. So I wanna work with these smaller budgets that are

Candice (10:35.587)

Yeah. yeah.

Syd (10:58.015)

bit more relaxed and not like all frills and whatnot. And as I began building the business and realizing the things that I love and realizing that I need a budget in order to be able to put on some really great immersive events, things started changing. And I started realizing that my people are out there that want to be able to spend the cash and have a fun, immersive time, but are still

Candice (11:01.647)

Yeah.

Candice (11:14.49)

Yeah.

Syd (11:25.025)

human and that there's like not everyone out there is a bride or groomzilla, right? And I think that was a big thing that I had to learn that I'm like I don't have to play small in order to bring my my business to the place that I want it. I can play big and hit the clients that I do want to work with. so that was a huge evolution point for me to realize.

Candice (11:30.18)

Yeah.

Candice (11:45.563)

Do you have any sense of like when that happened for you, or maybe like what was the catalyst? Was it a specific client, a conversation, maybe just a culmination of things? I think so many people are in that original mindset where they're like, I wanna help people save money, or I wanna work with clients who have, you know, smaller budgets because that feels safe, or I feel comfortable, or I feel connected to people at that bracket. And then I and then people who have more money are

difficult or scary or gonna be hard clients to work with. So that's just not for me. I would love to know, was there anything that kind of changed your mindset?

Syd (12:24.067)

Yeah. So I think a big piece of it was like in the beginning, I was casting my net to reach everyone. I wanted to be able to please every, you know, potential couple. I wanted to please every like venue vendor. Like I just had to be liked by everyone. And in doing so, I was getting a lot of inquiries, but I was starting to feel that burnout of emotionally I am not aligned with certain clients. like

I can do something great for them, but I'm like, why am I feeling this burnout with these people? And it was funny. I remember probably a year and a half into business, I was I was stressed out. I was laying on the living room floor and I was telling Isaac, I'm like, I can't do this anymore. Like these people are just so difficult to work with, yada, yada, yada. And Isaac just had like, I was on the floor and he gets on top of it. He's like kind of like playfully smacks me across the face, like the what's her name in the Incredibles. She has the newspaper and she smacks the

Candice (13:14.978)

Ha ha ha.

Syd (13:20.191)

Mom across the face, like, get yourself together. And Isaac's like, get yourself together, Sid. He's like, you can do this, but there needs to be a refinement here because you know, you can't keep doing the same thing over and over and expect to get different results out of it. And so for me, you know, and that's kind of what led into the revision of my brand, is I started looking around and identifying, you know, who are the people that I love to work with. I was able to think about like past clients, like,

Candice (13:22.356)

Ha ha ha

Candice (13:35.491)

I

Syd (13:50.051)

This just felt fed me. And while it was a lot of work, it brought me a lot of joy. And also thinking about like who are the clients that aren't bringing me life right now. so I don't think that there's a specific point, but there was that recognition that something needs to switch up here. And I think

Candice (14:07.834)

Yeah.

Syd (14:11.511)

on that point of two of seeing that needs something to change is also looking at like what are the types of weddings and the designs that I really like too like not just the people, like what what's making me thrive. And you know, there are so many beautiful like traditional designs out there, but I'm like I'm not being creatively fed through them. And so I was trying to figure out how do I find my people and start niching down. But it's also scary too, because once you niche down, you're like

Your inquiries are gonna go down, right? And it's like, will will my people actually find me? so I think yeah, that was the big point of seeing that I'm not feeling fulfilled by my business right now. How can we change this up? Because it's my business, you know, no one else is w running this.

Candice (14:51.403)

Right. Right. Right. And you get to call the shots and make the decisions. And a lesson in that, such an important lesson, is in our quest to try to help as many people as possible, or to cast a wide net, or to try to please as many people as possible, we can often leave more people unhappy and are including ourselves because our net is too wide.

Syd (14:57.496)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (15:17.955)

Our focus is too wide. We're trying to support too many of the wrong people. And when you focus in on what makes sense for you and where you feel your best and work your best, then you can focus in on the smaller number of people that you're truly meant to serve. And that doesn't mean that your days get 100% easier and like everything's shun sunshine and rainbows and like the best day ever. But it does mean that you're more intentional about.

Syd (15:34.223)

Mm-hmm.

Syd (15:40.015)

Not at all.

Candice (15:45.155)

You work with and the clients you want to work with, and the criteria too that you put into place to work with the right people. I really love that lesson. And I think every wedding pro goes through that once, if not more than once, experiences that kind of brand evolution and that understanding of, like, I think I need to re-examine the clients that I'm working with. Yeah. So tell me.

Syd (15:45.295)

Mm.

Syd (16:07.934)

Mm. Yeah. One hundred percent.

Candice (16:12.601)

I wanna know, I love asking this question. Take me back to your very first wedding. I love hearing this story from everybody because it's always so different. and and whatever you feel comfortable sharing about that, but take me back to your first wedding. What was that like?

Syd (16:22.669)

Mm-hmm.

Syd (16:28.035)

Yeah, so I was actually reflecting on this before a call and I feel I've heard some horror stories about people's first weddings, but I actually had a very delightful experience. this couple, they they found me on Instagram, which I had no understanding of SEO then. So the fact that she's like, I found you on Instagram. I'm like, how? She's like, I typed in Austin wedding planner. I'm like, I didn't know that that worked like that. but

Candice (16:34.105)

Okay. Yeah.

Syd (16:55.547)

this couple f found me there. And the bride, she's actually she's an influencer. And I remember whenever we first started working together, she had like a very small following, and now she's blown up and she and her husband are living their best life and they have two kiddos. But for their wedding day itself, like you know, I was starting to put that pressure on me of like, okay, this is my first one, I have to do this right.

I have to make sure that I'm presenting that as though I've done this for years, which I mean that's the imposter s syndrome. Like Sid, you have done weddings before. You have worked in the event world before. It's like you know what you're doing. You're just dealing with someone in a white dress this time around. and I will say overall the wedding w went without a hitch and I had like people like reaching out to me post wedding. But the main thing that I took away from that is I was able to see,

Like this couple, they had some like unique family dynamics and like friend dynamics. And for me to be in that position to support them through that and guide them through that, you know, that's a big reason of why I wanted to start the business to begin with. And so to be able to get that affirmation after the first wedding of like, yes, said do you see the way that you're supporting these people, the way that these people need you, that you're providing a service that not a lot of people can do.

Candice (18:16.357)

Yeah.

Syd (18:16.751)

and so like there wasn't like a lot of like, you know, big highlight moments on the day itself, but I think the end of it is what led me be like, okay, I did this. I I can work through this, you know. and charging $500 off that wedding, and I'm like, whoa, that was we're not there anymore.

Candice (18:35.909)

We all have our yes, we all we all have our five hundred dollar wedding. I love hearing that too, because I I mean everybody. I guess she was talking about I think her three hundred dollar wedding on the podcast, her very first wedding, and she was like catering it, doing the flowers like she was doing way too much for that wedding. It's so it it it is so relatable. But I love that your first wedding, you had such a great experience. doesn't surprise me though. And I often I like to sometimes

Syd (18:41.294)

Yeah.

Syd (18:45.305)

Mm-hmm.

Syd (18:51.773)

yeah.

Syd (18:55.8)

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Candice (19:03.159)

orient myself during a a challenging moment where I'm faced with a challenge in my business or in my life. And I go back to something like my first wedding and I think, wow, you were able to pull that off and you had no idea what you were truly doing. What can't you pull off? You know, like what can't you do?

Syd (19:19.215)

Mm-hmm.

Syd (19:22.881)

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And truly what like this makes me think about is so Candace has recommended an amazing book to all of us girls in our coaching group, which is Meditation for Mortals. And just the big theme that I'm getting out of it right now is just just take the action and don't like don't make it complex. Just just do it. We're going back to Shia LaBeouf on that one. but I feel like that's been something that's this isn't I know this isn't a question right now, but just saying like what has brought my business so far.

is choosing not to be afraid and just be like, all right, we're gonna dive in, we're gonna see if I land. And I always have landed, but I think trusting myself that I will land in every situation so far has has worked out, you know.

Candice (19:57.391)

Yeah.

Candice (20:05.925)

I feel like that is probably one of your strongest suits, is like you take the time you need to process something.

But you make decisions pretty decisively and quickly about things. And I think that that has been such an integral part of your growth. And while it probably doesn't feel rapid to you, six years in business may does not feel or seem rapid, but you've had so many different areas of your business over that six year period. And we're gonna get to where you are now. But before we get there, I do wanna talk about your brand and

Syd (20:29.444)

Yeah.

Candice (20:40.921)

w what it means and how it's evolved. So you started your business, you have in Inc., and then you rebranded a I think in like 2023. We had been working together for a little while. You rebranded and tell us about that rebranding that evolution of your business.

Syd (20:51.138)

Mm-hmm.

Syd (20:59.533)

Yeah, absolutely. So I've had three, well, I guess two rebrands total, right? So I had like my first go ahead and then my second my first rebrand was in twenty twenty three, where I was like, Okay, I want to start adding some more color into my design and not just like the greens and the blushes and the whites. Like I need to start attracting more of that. And

I was so thankful for that because I feel like I was starting to attract this clientele that wanted something different and wanting something a little bit more unique. but then let's see, a year later, I was in Santa Barbara, living my best life on the beach, just journaling. And all of a sudden, as I'm writing, I'm like, I'm still not feeling a hundred percent fulfilled with my current clients that I have right now. And I started feeling in me that,

Do I need to rebrand again? I'm like, Sid, you just spent $7,000 on this rebrand a year ago. You can't do that, you know? because on paper, that doesn't make sense at all. And I was trying to make tweaks to the business to refine a little bit more of that, of what I was wanting, but I'm like, it's just not landing. And so something that I've shared a lot with the group is just that how important our intuition is and to listen to it.

And after, you know, that moment and at the I guess yeah, end of 2024, I started exploring that. I'm like, okay, if I actually want to rebrand, what do I want my my brand to look like? And you know, something that you talk with us in the group so much is f defining our ideal client avatar. So just recognizing the exact people that I want to work with and the exact types of designs that I wanted to work with. but part of that too was looking inward at myself, I'm like.

Sid, who are you? Like, if you were like, you know, a bride coming in, like winning your wedding plan, like plan, like what what does that look like for you? And so I started, and this is kind of like moving over to like how messy luxury was evolve evolving, but I started thinking about, you know, I love the low, low things and the high, high things. And so it's like

Syd (23:14.677)

I love camping and being out in the woods. And then I also love going to Italy and staying at these extravagant hotels. And I love having my bush beer and I love having a glass of boove. And I love, you know, my old sweatshirts from back in the day and I love my Prada bag. And so I feel that for me growing up, I've always had this black or white thinking that's like, no, you can only pick one lane. You can't have both of these things.

And I put myself into that position of asking myself, like, well, what if I can have both of these things? And what if I can find these in my clients as well? and so I'm exploring this idea a little bit. And as I'm looking more into it, especially like on like my personal style and everything, my favorite looks are specifically from when Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly were dating. Like, they are the epitome of.

this grunge, but then also like these heavy like chains and jewelry and like luxury bags. And at that time we started calling that look grungy prada. I'm like, I like I love this idea, but I'm like, how do I work that into my business? And again, how can I get clients like that of that they have money that they would like to spend, but also they want to create a design that is unlike anything else that anyone else has like experienced at a wedding.

Candice (24:30.202)

Right.

Syd (24:41.621)

And as I started playing more around with that, I'm like, this feels messy and this feels luxurious at the same time. I'm like, this is messy luxury. And from there, that's where I took the big dive off of, you know, what is messy luxury? What does that look and feel like? And what does that look like in my clients? And that became the new divide defining point for my brand. So I was able to create this is my ICA, this is like the type of clients I want to work with.

Now I can start moving into thinking about the rebrand of my messaging, of my brand logos, my colors, all that good stuff.

Candice (25:18.843)

Do you feel like you had to be in a certain era of your business or at a certain time period in your life to sort of unlock?

This aha moment, like with experience and some wisdom and and age, you were able to define your style a little bit more clearer? Or do you feel like this was just one of those universe things, one of those God things where you just had like an aha moment and it all just started to click?

Syd (25:48.665)

Yeah. I feel like it's kind of a combination of things, but not necessarily for the good of it. There's a piece of me, you know, it's like we talk about this all the time with imposter syndrome. And it's like who are who are you Sid to be newer to this industry and to be able to have a point of view when it comes to design and to be able to like give hot takes on social media and not just fit the mold that's already there? Because, you know, there's so much sameness in the world. And so

I think that was a struggle point for me. but I think that once I started becoming exhausted by that, and I think that's where just feeling that intuition that something needs to change. I wouldn't say that I set out and I said, like, I wanna switch things up and I wanna do things Sid's way. I think that my body actually said, Sid, you have to switch this up because your nervous system isn't able to keep up with the clients that you're currently working with and that you are feeling burnt out and you're feeling

Creatively depleted. I was even feeling that way like in my home design at the time. I was feeling that way when I was looking at my closet. and I felt that I wasn't taking the time to look inward from myself. And again, once my body said, Sid, you guys, slow down. We gotta look around us and figure things out. That's what happened for me. So yeah. Mm-hmm.

Candice (27:09.603)

Yeah, it was a mix mix of things. And so your br rebrand journey, you go on this quest, you make the decision, you have this light bulb moment, messy luxury, which is now trademarked and is now a signature part of your design experience, your branding, your messaging. You

Syd (27:21.867)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (27:29.409)

Start the process of new logo, new website, new imagery, brand shoot, like all of those natural pieces come into place. Copywriter, like all these things. But something still wasn't working. Like you hit an a couple of obstacles. And so I would love it if you'd be willing to share a little bit of what this last rebranding process, getting to messy luxury, which it was definitely messy, embracing the messy part, but share with us some of the messiness.

Syd (27:55.279)

Yes.

Candice (27:59.335)

because I think people see it from the outside and they see this gorgeous polished brand, great brand voice. You're showing up so authentically. They're like, wow, she's really stepping it up. But it wasn't as easy as maybe you and thought it would be or that people think it it is.

Syd (28:04.845)

Mm-hmm.

Syd (28:13.263)

Yeah, absolutely. And this this goes back to like, you know, if you could sit down with me, have a cup of coffee, the person that you see on Instagram, like, I am that person, but the level of beauty is a lot more messy in real life. So just to disclaim that. but so

Candice (28:30.063)

Yeah. Yeah.

Syd (28:35.795)

I relaunched my brand in July of last year. And it was so exciting. Like people were thrilled about it. They're like, yes, this is the complete reflection of Sid. I start getting inquiry. I was getting inquiries for people that aligned with it. And it was, there's so much excitement. I'm like, okay, we finally did this. Like, let's hit the ball right, like hit the ground running. And so that was July. And then come September when like that's when weddings are starting to pick back up again.

I remember I was on the couch and I somehow was scrolling on my phone for seven hours that day. And I was just like feeling this big heavy cloud of depression. I'm like, I can't get up. I can't do my work. And I I felt like I couldn't take care of myself. And it is that moment of I'm like, all right, time to burn down the business. I just went through this beautiful rebrand, but now I don't.

It anymore. So what do we do next? And I was putting in my resume, different put different places. And I'm like, I'm gonna go work at a ski resort, or I'm gonna go be a wildlife ranger. Like, you know, trying to be so grounded in nature and just out of this industry as like to get as far away from it as I could. And I remember reaching out to you saying, like, this is how I'm feeling. You're like, Sid, take a step back.

I want you to take a complete like week off of socials, off screens, like I want you to go touch the grass. And I'm so glad that you said that because I needed that desperately. but in those moments of just feeling this weight, feeling this dysfunctional freeze that we've been talking about, and deciding to give myself a moment to sit and breathe, that's when I started to recognize that.

I still didn't create a business that was for me. I was still creating a business that was for everyone else, you know, looking like looking outward. And as I got to sit down and ask myself, it's like, how, like, what how do I create presence over perfection? And that's something that I talk about with my clients in every inquiry call. And I'm like, I have to be able to find space for me to.

Syd (30:50.177)

still travel to get out in nature to be able to dream and think creatively, but still host these like beautiful events. and I think a big part of that was I have to get more specific on my inquiry calls. I have to know how to repel the wrong clients better. I have to know when to say no to the people I don't think fit for me. And I can recommend them to other planners. I think it'd be great. But I had to start

saying like what what does Sid actually want? Not what is what do these couples want? What do not what the vendors want, not what the venues want. And that's when everything started to change for me. And so, you know, I had my messaging, my branding, but once I actually started listening to it of like, if I do value presence over perfection, then I will start

agreeing to clients that actually say, Sid, I trust you. I want you to blow this design out of the water. I'll tell you what I like and what I don't like, but I want you to lead the way for this. I wanted I started accepting the clients that stopped questioning every single thing on my contract. I'm like, do you trust me or do you not trust me? Like, do you want to do this or do you not? And it's funny too. I

On my ink rate calls, I always tell people, I'm like, this is kind of like this is like our first date, you know? If we work out, this is great. But I'm like, we might be spending the next 12 to 18 months together. And we have to make sure that we are emotionally aligned with one another to be able to bring together this incredible day. So there is that piece of that. but then the other part is just me recognizing like I have to manage my time better. You know, we live in corporate America, we're working 60 hours a week, is you know, that's

Great, like look at you go. You're such a powerhouse. And I have recognized that for my mental health, I cannot do that. And so for me, I've tried so hard to start implementing in that on Mondays, that's my CEO day, that's time for creative rest. And then Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, that's like we are in the paint, we're going hard, we're doing these design decks. And then Friday is another like we all slowly taper off where we're planning on going into the event weekend.

Syd (32:53.753)

So even just structuring my day, choosing to go on a walk in the morning before I opened up my laptop, choosing to eat well, choosing to be with my dog at lunchtime, I had to look inward and say, Sid, you have to take care of yourself before you can take care of this business. And once I started giving myself grace, that's when everything was falling into place. I think sometimes we think that we have to do this, this, this, and this.

But sometimes like less less can be more, I have found. And so and it's still a muscle that I continue to work and I have to be mindful of. But I will say hitting that ground zero of that rock bottom of like I can't do this anymore, forced me to be like, all right, well, what are we gonna switch up? And again, it's like I have I have great clients and like some things can be challenging, but at the end of the day, like

Candice (33:24.539)

Good time.

Syd (33:50.137)

Like I have one of my clients, her name is Chelsea, and she she's so good about keeping me on my like my time off. Like I remember I told her I'm like, Hey, I'm gonna be out of town for the weekend. And I messaged her on a Friday. She's like, Why are you messaging me right now? Like you you are with your friends, like quit quit talking to me. And it's just that picture of that I have found the clients that respect boundaries and that respect mental health and that again, they're they're human.

It's such a gift that I can have that now with my people. So

Candice (34:20.665)

Yeah, a a huge gift, probably the greatest gift. I mean, it's great to design cool weddings and to be featured in things and to be asked to participate in things and you to have accolades and all the things that you have acquired over the years, but it is also maybe more cool to work with people who are genuine, who are kind by default. That's not not performatively kind, but genuinely kind.

Syd (34:29.804)

Mm-hmm.

Syd (34:39.119)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (34:44.345)

And who live life like you do? There's time for being digital, there's time for analog, and there's a balance between those two things. And I've I love that through this, it was it for watching you as your coach, it was really like a journey of discovering yourself and also coming back to who you truly are. Over the last six years, you have built something really impactful and you have worked with great people and you have served people really well, and you've also grown and changed.

Syd (34:59.735)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (35:14.363)

And you've also kind of found your way back to the core of who you are, like what makes Sid Sid, the things that you genuinely like and that you genuinely value. And instead of trying to fit a mold that the wedding industry presents to everyone, like be like me, be this type of wedding planner, fit in this box, use this template, have a business just like this, which you tried and some things maybe you carried with you, but some things you didn't.

Syd (35:18.991)

Mm-hmm.

Syd (35:31.074)

Mm.

Syd (35:38.67)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (35:43.205)

And you came back to yourself and what you want and who you are and where you like to spend your time. And you embraced being weird and loving SpongeBob. No, but I think it's charming. Like these are things that are part of your personality.

Syd (35:56.055)

Yes. my gosh, I feel like I am relentless on some of my stories. I'm like, you know what? If this doesn't land with people, then unfollow me. That's okay.

Candice (36:10.137)

And you don't shy away from it. You're very confident. Even in the moments where you don't feel confident, you exude confidence. And that's also very contagious. And I like to say: like, if you want high-end clients, if you want any client to book you, you need to have confidence first in yourself that you are bookable and that you have got whatever it is you're offering: photography, invitations, planning, whatever, that you are capable of.

Syd (36:27.907)

Mm-hmm.

Syd (36:34.5)

Yeah.

Candice (36:36.345)

Delivering on what they're asking. And that confidence of which you have is very contagious. And I think it's in a large part of why your business has been able to evolve and you have been successful. But I wonder, is there a moment in your business where maybe you didn't have the confidence that you have now?

Syd (37:00.449)

Yeah, I can say that sometimes I it's definitely gone down a lot, but I remember I'd feel a lot of nervousness whenever I present mood boards and design decks. I'm like, what if the what if these people don't like it or they're not for this design? And over the years, like in my love language is words of affirmation, which I know you know this very well, and I like need to feed off of that from people.

Candice (37:14.831)

Right.

Candice (37:23.279)

Yeah.

Syd (37:27.233)

And so there came a moment where I just had to like learn to trust. Like, Sid, do you not see like all these thank you cards you've gotten for your p past clients? Do you not see like all these great reviews that people have left you or like the screenshots I have, text messages just being like, Holy shit, Sid, I can't believe we did this. This is amazing. And again, it's a muscle that I've had to work with. Like I have to choose to recognize that like people, like people love you, Sid, and they love you for like

being relentlessly you and they don't want this other weird, like polished version of you. And once I I feel like once I started leaning into that, like that's where that confidence started coming out. Because whenever yourself, whenever you are yourself, that's easy, right? Trying to be this fake person, like that's where the confidence is lost because you can't confidently be someone that you're not. and

Candice (38:10.181)

Right.

Syd (38:18.637)

Yeah, I think that's just compounded compounded over the years. Again, seeing it's too hard to be someone that you're not, but if you can be you and like it's so cliche. Like this was like on your second grade teacher's poster with an eagle of like, be yourself or like

Candice (38:30.139)

We need one of those shirts like for WP, like one of those eighties like voice the be yourself with an eagle on it. Yeah. my god, I love a wolf t-shirt. Yeah.

Syd (38:39.167)

Yeah, or like a wolf howling at the moon.

Syd (38:45.487)

Right. So and the times that people didn't appreciate that confidence, like again, I'm a people pleaser. That's why I'm in this industry, apparently. but I've had to learn to be okay to let that go. And just now, like, yeah, we don't align there, and that's okay. So

Candice (38:56.132)

Yes.

Candice (39:01.635)

Right.

Okay. And it's a practice. It's like yoga. You've got to practice it. And you you have to remind yourself of it. And it is not something that I think you ever master per se, but it's something that you definitely become more attuned to. And it's funny because sometimes the negative voices, whether it's your own negative voice or maybe a competitor, a client, somebody gives feedback and it's not positive.

Syd (39:16.567)

Mm-hmm.

Syd (39:20.815)

Yeah.

Candice (39:33.739)

or it interpreted negative, that we let that become the loudest voice in the room. And we don't often pivot to the mountains of positive feedback we get or affirmations that we have from first of all the people in our inner circle who know us best and can actually attest to us, but then also the clients who love working with us and really appreciate the work that we do. And it's always nice when you can

Syd (39:38.34)

Mm-hmm.

Syd (39:56.345)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (40:00.921)

reorient yourself by looking at how the positives always outweigh the one negative voice in your head or the one negative piece of feedback you might have gotten from from someone who wasn't aligned, you know?

Syd (40:10.617)

Mm-hmm.

Syd (40:15.713)

Yeah. And another big lesson that I've learned that I've shared with you too is that, you know, we can see like all these other planners in the industry that do stunning work or I don't know, they have like a really cool sense of style. And I've been trying to, you know, reframe my mindset quite a bit. And whenever I see something that I'm like, I wish I could look like that, or like, I wish my designs would look like that, instead of

letting myself sit in that jealousy or that want or like I'm not good enough. I've started encouraging myself, like get curious about that. If you want that, like go go investigate. Like what are they doing to get that sense of style? What are they doing to implement this into their design? And I have found that curiosity has been such an incredi, like an incredible catalyst to taking me to the next level, opposed to just doing it like, I can't be like them or I can't put this together like them. And huh, so

If you're feeling some type of way about someone today, I want you to get curious about them because it'll change your perspective. And some like even going to like some of my best friends, I didn't think I'd actually be friends with them because I'm like, we're completely different. And I got curious about them, like, we do align. We're completely different, but we align different ways. And so that's been an incredible piece of my business growth as well and the confidence that has come of it.

Candice (41:12.113)

Yeah.

Candice (41:33.955)

Yeah, I love that lesson. It's an important one because we can stew in jealousy or contempt or feeling less than an imposter syndrome. And instead of allowing that negativity to be the loudest voice.

Syd (41:49.167)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (41:49.273)

Curiosity is such a cure to that because it makes you question, like, well, how do they do that? And like, good for them. How do they do that? Can I do that too? And how would I do that differently? And then suddenly now those feelings of imposter syndrome or that.

Syd (41:54.991)

Mm.

Candice (42:04.383)

I'll never be able to get a client like that dissipate. And then you actually do the work necessary to manifest those things for yourself or your own version of those things. I mean, it really is all about mindset. And so my question, my next question to you is what advice would you give somebody who maybe is just starting in the wedding industry or who is at a crossroads that you were at?

Syd (42:11.757)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (42:27.713)

And now they want to build a business like yours, something that is bold, that is authentic to who they are and embraces maybe the bit of weirdness that they have about them, and their own version of messy luxury. What would you say?

Syd (42:46.563)

Yeah, absolutely. So I think that, you know, when it comes to inspiration, it's not just on Pinterest. It is all around us. It's in that the weird bathroom at your favorite, like, you speakeasy bar. It's, you know, a concert design set. It is in I was watching the Swan Princess the other day. And I got, I don't know if you've seen that movie, but it's from early, early two thousands. But I c I got

There's like inspiration for my colors in there. And what I think is important and that was helpful for me is anything, anytime I saw something that like made me light up or maybe feel something, take a picture of it or like, you know, save it and just start creating this montage of like, these are the things that I see beauty and inspiration in. and as you begin to collect that, you start to see a trend of things of like, is it

Certain motifs, is it certain colors, is it certain feelings? And with that information, you're able to start defining your brand point of view. I found that to be incredibly helpful. and sorry, I lost my train of thought there. but

Candice (44:00.003)

No, it makes so no, it makes so much sense because I think we look outward for inspiration and we're like, well, should I do this with my business? Should I do that? Should my website look like this? Should my brand look like this? And you're saying actually look at see what delights your eye and look inward and ask yourself why. And like trust your own self and your own style and your own way that you're seeing the world and like cultivate that more instead of trying to fit in a box or trying to cut maybe.

Syd (44:11.447)

Yeah.

Syd (44:15.362)

Uh-huh.

Syd (44:23.278)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (44:28.655)

Copy's like a strong word, but like emulate what you think you're supposed to be.

Syd (44:30.971)

Mm-hmm. Exactly. And you know, every like the way that I lead my design process with my clients is that we're not leading off with like, okay, what color should this be? Or like, what's the trend? Like, we're leading off with what does your wedding day feel like to you? And I think that your brand should be a picture of that too. Like I even create a Spotify playlist of like what my brand should should feel like. and so I

Candice (44:55.513)

Love that idea actually. That's so fun. I know Machine Gun Kelly will make an appearance on that playbook. And maybe Sponge, maybe SpongeBob Slight song.

Syd (44:59.471)

He was in there. So even asking yourself asking yourself that, like in the creation of your brand, because if you're able to create this the sense of self that is a reflection of you into your own branding, then other people are gonna feed off of that and they're going to want that. And again, that's just going back to you're getting you're getting your people, you're getting your crowd, that align with you and your style.

So yeah, I find that very powerful. And you'll not only will that be impactful for your business, you'll start seeing that how you approach fashion. You'll start seeing that how you approach your home design, how you like to travel, and how you show up for events as well, I found.

Candice (45:42.873)

Yeah, I agree. A strong sense of self is something is a journey that you take in life. And when you're younger, you may not have that muscle quite yet. It's very normal. Some young people do from an early age, which is so inspiring. but it's something you develop over time. And your sense of style, your personal sense of taste and what you like, it also evolves as you age into and it gets richer. It's like wine or cheese, you know? It's like you the the the more you age, the more depth you bring to things.

Syd (45:51.119)

Mm-hmm.

Syd (45:55.022)

Mm-hmm.

Syd (46:03.151)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Syd (46:11.607)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (46:11.695)

Which is like a really exciting part of aging. There's lot of unexciting parts to it. But that's a really exciting part is that your style evolves. And I think people often feel like they have to be a certain style for life, or like they the brand that they created, like they have to stick with it, even though they're being kind of pulled in a different direction. And your story is so inspiring because as much as you resisted that pull to start.

Syd (46:16.228)

Yeah.

Syd (46:25.475)

Mm-hmm.

Syd (46:33.347)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (46:38.105)

And as your coach, I would say rightfully so, because I'm like, do we need to do this, Sid? Like, is that the answer to the problem? A lot of people rebrand, they think that's the answer and it's not. But for you, it actually was. but you you you when you when you start to cultivate your sense of style and you start to trust yourself, amazing things begin to happen in your business. And so for anybody listening who's like, Yeah, the business I'm building doesn't feel like me anymore.

Syd (46:43.375)

Yeah.

Candice (47:04.147)

Or I'm I'm noticing that my style is evolving as I age in this industry. And as a person, like since saying, you know, see what that's all about. Like, get curious about that. Yeah. Start paying attention. Yeah. I love it. I do want to ask you a question we ask all of our guests here. Well, too, actually. What makes an in-ink wedding? We talked about messy luxury. So if we have a handle on that, but when you think about

Syd (47:14.111)

Yeah, get curious, yeah. Kill the cat won't kill you, promise.

Syd (47:29.571)

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Candice (47:32.313)

What how your business has now is positioned now? You're totally full service. You're working with higher budget clients. You've increased your fee into a very handsome territory. So what makes an in-ink wedding? What's the vibe? What's the aesthetic?

Syd (47:49.133)

Yeah. So I will say and to that point too, something I love is when I can scroll Instagram and I can see a photo that I instantly know like it was that florist that did it really. That was that photographer that took that image without even have to seeing without having to see who is tagged in that. And that's something I think about whenever I create my designs. Like, could someone look at this and say that right there was Sid? And so, you know, going back to how I said

with the design process, we always lead with feeling and experience. And then that's where everything else will fall into place. And so as I create something, you know, I I love to be able to like go and sit down with my clients at the start of the design process. And I even I offer to I'm like, can I come into your home? And so far everyone said has said yes to it. And I get to see like the surroundings, the things that they might forget to put on the questionnaire or not even think to put on there. so I'm getting to see

their personal Easter eggs in their home. So whenever I put together the design deck, you know, we'll have the base. And then I'm starting to work in their Easter eggs. And now I have to ask myself, do I see the weird Sid touch in any of this? And if I don't, it's not complete. and a great example of that is I have a couple of clients and their design theme was inspired by the movie Saltburn. And

Candice (48:46.629)

Yeah.

Candice (49:00.602)

Right.

Syd (49:12.281)

For anyone that hasn't watched this movie yet, it's great. It's fantastic, but I would not watch with a parent or anyone that you we're on a plane. my gosh, we're on a plane. Great storyline. Stylistically, it's amazing. so we wanted to implement a bit of that feeling of the messy luxury of like these elevated, beautiful architectural homes, but then having the party, the glitter and all this and whatnot. So that's part of the design.

Candice (49:18.747)

We're on a plane. I was like, I'll watch it on the plane. And the girls are like, Don't do that.

Syd (49:41.607)

And we've added in fun layers that are represented of my couple like bringing in karaoke or like bringing in touches like their cat in different places. but again, like what is the weird part about this? And again, if you guys have seen the movie, there is a very odd bathtub scene that you do not want to be seen watching on the airplane. But I'm like, if you've seen this, you know what this is from.

And so I was excited to implement into our design that we have like a cloud foot bathtub that's filled with like champagne and other like bubbles for that to be the first thing that people see when they walk into the wedding when they're getting like their pre-ceremony drinks. And that's the weird thing of if you know, you know. And so yeah, and I think that's the fun piece of this too. I was like, not everything needs to be obvious, things can be subtle, and I think that's even like a better.

Candice (50:23.107)

Yes. You know, you know, yes.

Syd (50:36.347)

a testament, you know, to you as the designer. Cause like if we don't have to be like if you can be subtle and still get your point across, like like Taylor Swift, like that's how like she's become so iconic with her Easter eggs. And that's what I try to think about whenever I'm working with my designs. And so it's challenging at time. And sometimes yeah. And it's funny too because I'll like

Candice (50:47.984)

Yeah.

Candice (50:54.201)

Yeah, I love that you've embraced Yes. It is challenging. But I love that you've embraced that.

Syd (51:02.703)

I'll be stuck on this. I'm like, this doesn't feel like Sid yet. And I'll just be like falling asleep and it'll be like one AM, like, I got it. This is what I have to put into the design. So it's almost like having a rubric for for myself, you know.

Candice (51:13.243)

I love it. Yeah. Yeah, I love that. What do you think makes an iconic brand in the wedding industry that people can instantly recognize? What do you think is like one of the secret ingredients?

Syd (51:18.927)

Yeah.

Syd (51:32.483)

Yeah, I love this question so much. So when I think about the people that inspire me, they their brand is them. So, Kelly Worsler, I love her interior designs. I love her fashion sense too. And while I know that she has a huge team behind her, she is marketing herself as Kelly Worsler. Or,

Let's see again. I'm talking way too much about Machine Gun Kelly. But like that is him. He has a band, but his sense of style and the way that he shows up for like his fans and on socials, like you get that picture of him. some of my friends in the wedding industry too may like, you know, their names aren't necessarily in their brand name, but the way that they show up on socials is that we're seeing this person.

And so I'll just say I think the secret sauce for your own personal branding is that people don't want your company. People want you specifically. And you know, after I book clients, I have on my onboarding questionnaires like, why did you decide to go with me? And like who are the other companies that you interviewed? And it's it's very flattering because I will see some extravagant designers that were that I was up against. I'm like, how did how did I beat them? Like this does not make sense.

But then on the why part they hired me is that they say we felt like we were sitting down with a friend. We could feel your calmness and your presence and that you genuinely are invested in our wedding day. It's like we know you can do the design and everything, but this is the different piece of it. And so all to say they're wanting sin. They don't want another version of anyone else. And so all to say, in your brand, I want you to show up as you and sell yourself.

And like I know that some of us in the industry too, like we have we have big teams. and it might not always be you showing up for it, but that's where you get to like, you know, train your teams to be that reflection of you of like, here is my secret Easter egg. I want you to be able to work this in. So it still feels like your clients are getting an extension of you in this. but yeah, that's the that's the big point right there. And how you said the at the intro.

Syd (53:54.841)

too of like I'm setting out I'm like how do I make just Sid known? Like we got Twiggy, we got Beyonce, we have Diana. It's like, how can I do that? Right?

Candice (54:03.449)

Yeah. We're just did fit in all this. And the and the the beautiful part of that story was at our retreat last year, you were here and you were in my bathroom as one goes to the restroom and there's a book in my bathroom. It's called icons, right? And so you picked up that book and in it are, you know, one name icons. Yeah.

Syd (54:17.956)

Ha ha ha.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Syd (54:27.223)

Yep, yep, exactly.

Candice (54:30.039)

It sparked this like, well, how can I be one of those? And look at you now, a year later. Sid from In Inc. So Sid, this has been such a inspiring story. I want to thank you for sharing your journey and being vulnerable, especially around the messy parts, because we can't have luxury without a little bit of messiness, or at least not in your worlds. I love, love, love that you trademark that slogan. And I'll say to anybody here who is looking for maybe advice or connection on that piece, reach out to Sid.

Syd (54:48.185)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (54:59.331)

Ask her a question. I think that's part of what makes her brand so unique is that she was able to think about her business and how she approaches design and life slightly differently. And she coined this great term. It's actually blown up since she coined it. And I'm seeing messy luxury play out in my feed in really thoughtful and interesting ways.

I guarantee you're probably doing a little messy luxury in some of your designs or working with some of your clients as well in some way. and so reach out to Sid and talk to her because I think part of the magic is the fact that she was able to sort of come up with an idea that is compelling and like makes sense to us. And we're like, yeah, that's like, you know, French fries and caviar, or that's like, you know, machine gun Kelly and Megan Fox. Like it just

Syd (55:51.823)

Yeah. It's putting the breakfast taco in your Ferragamo bag. It's listening to trap music on the way to your C-suite meeting. I mean.

Candice (55:52.537)

That's grunty.

That's right.

Right. Right. I mean, then we could just like have so much fun finding that balance between messy and luxury. I love it. Well, Sid, where can somebody listening see your work, connect with you, and it get to see messy luxury in action?

Syd (56:17.507)

Yeah, so mainly on Instagram. You'll see all my fun little behind-the-scenes stories. But you can find me there on TikTok and a little bit of Reddit as well. and if you're ever down in Austin, specifically the New Bronfels area, I will likely be on the river. So that's where you will find me.

Candice (56:33.775)

Nice. Love it. I'll link to all Sid's socials and her website in the show notes so you can go and check her out. Please give her a follow. She's a very inspiring follow and a very joyful follow on Instagram, I will say. You'll be really you'll f every time Sid pops up on your Instagram feed, you will know it's her. And you will also feel a sense of joy because everything she shares and posts is fun and light and enjoyable.

Syd (56:54.019)

Yeah.

Candice (57:03.417)

So she's a great follow. Sid, thank you so much for sharing your story. I love, I could never tire of hearing of your journey and I can't wait to see what's next for you.

Syd (57:12.217)

Yeah, thank you, Candace. It's been a blast chatting today.