Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sydney Meyer. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sydney, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

In Ink’s name is two-fold. It took some wrestling to come up with a name because I wanted it to mean something and to represent myself. Nothing too girly, nothing generic. ⁠I thought about the permanence of marriage and how your wedding day is one of the biggest events in your life! Something we should put… in ink! ⁠For those who know me well, I also go by Squid. (Sydney -> Syd -> Squid. You do the math.) What do squids make best? Ink!

Sydney, 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?

In Ink Weddings + Events provides full-service wedding planning and event management to couples in the Austin/San Antonio area and is known for planning bright, whimsical weddings. My goal is to curate an experience that is just as unique as the smitten couple I’m serving.

What sets me apart from others is my mindset isn’t just on the wedding day. I want to set my couples up for success by ensuring they’ve done their relationship homework – set expectations, learn each other’s love languages, talk about the hard stuff – making them stronger than ever before the sweetness of forever begins!

I’m also a huge advocate for talking about body image while engaged. Culturally, there is so much pressure to look a certain way or this idea to lose weight before the wedding. I want my brides and grooms to learn it’s okay to want to look amazing for your wedding day, but we need to analyze where is that “want” coming from. Are you celebrating and cherishing your body or trying to conform it to a standard? I want them to love themselves just as much as they do their beloved.

I am proud that my brand is true to my personality. For a while, I struggled to identify my ideal client because I felt the need to conform to a certain prim and proper look. Once I realized I wanted whimsy, oddity, and enchantment from my clients, I figured it only made sense it let my playful personality shine through. That’s the beauty of running your own gig – there’s no holding back!

To my future clients, there is no such thing as too “out there.” I like to describe my design style as beautifully curated organized chaos. Tell me your wild vision. The bigger and bolder, the more excited I am to work with you!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Do you remember the golden question every adult loved to ask you at age five?

“What would you like to be when you grow up?”

At that ripe age, I created masterpieces with pristine paints (mom’s nail polish) that were fit for The Louvre (the fridge). Of course, I’d one day be an artist.

By age twenty, “artist” evolved to dentist, to teacher, to gynecologist, to news anchor (no doubt I’d make a great Veronica Corningstone), to in reality working for a non-profit that served former nuclear workers from the Cold War era.

WHAT happened to the original plan?

I later became a personal trainer, property assistant, and at one point had a quarter-life crisis and was DETERMINED I’d become an FBI agent to combat human trafficking while also keeping bees on the side.

Are you keeping up?

I struggled for a long time because I thought all this job-hopping meant I was inconsistent, wishy-washy, and in general couldn’t be satisfied with anything I pursued. At first, hopping around felt like I was being a free spirit. After a while, this brought a lot of self-doubt to the point I became embarrassed to share what “Syd’s new venture is” this time.

January 2021, my husband and I found out we’d be relocating to the Austin area from Dallas for his job. We were making a big change and I dreaded the idea of trying to find another paycheck. Really, is this the extent of life? Find something to get by and entertain me for a while then move on once I get bored?

I think we’ve all had that moment when you pull up Indeed and have no idea what to type in the search. Not knowing where to start, I sat down and made a list. I asked myself:

– What are my greatest skills? Organization, communication, creating out-of-the-box ideas.

– What do people affirm in me? Curator of fun get-togethers, someone who listens well, someone who remembers all the details.

– What truly brings me joy? I love making people feel seen, loved, and heard. Celebrating birthdays and milestones, sending random affirmations, surprising loved ones with silly gifts… seeing someone else beam makes my heart so happy.

I vividly remember the “aha moment” and exclaiming, “Syd, you should be a wedding planner!” after reviewing my scribbles. Things have never been the same since.

I had interned with a wedding planner back in college and absolutely loved the gig. As fun as it was, I remember thinking then I could never be like JLo from The Wedding Planner because… well… that’s just silly as saying I wanted to be an astronaut or a rockstar! It’s so out of my league.

Friends, we don’t give ourselves enough credit sometimes.

Fast forward from that moment, eight years later, I am sharing this message with you as the owner and lead planner of In Ink Weddings + Events. After much prayer, re-analyzing what I place my identity in, and seeking a career for the sake of ME and not the money… things changed. And let me tell you, I don’t intend to ever turn back!

Not only am I now working with clients that I adore and meeting new vendors every day that champion me, but I also wake up knowing my work directly brings so many brides, grooms, and families lasting joy.

As long and daunting as it can be, sometimes we have to rule out all options until we truly find where we belong. Because of my “inconsistencies”, my “inability to keep a job”, and my “erratic searching”… my heart now feels so full!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

To be honest, I felt like all odds were against me when I first launched In Ink. I was a brand new business owner and moved to a new city not knowing a soul. How would I get my name out there?

If I can offer any piece of advice to a business owner, new or seasoned, it is to get yourself a business coach/mentor. I give all my credit to them for building up my reputation in a new market.

Building the reputation included:
– Ditching the big networking events and interacting with vendors on Instagram that I wanted to work with. After creating an online presence with them, I asked them to coffee to build a personal relationship. Because of these relationships, I now receive so many warm leads!
– Show up to places where you want to be known. I started attending venue open houses and interacting with owners and sharing why I felt we aligned with one another. This has later led to being on preferred vendor lists and hosting open houses.
– Showing up on social media with my face was a game changer. I think we often get scared to do this or feel that it doesn’t look elevated or professional. This is far from the truth – people WANT to see your face and know that you’re a real human being with a fun personality. You’re creating a know, like, trust factor which will make people want to purchase your products/services.

Moral of the story – ditch paid advertising and start building personal relationships with your business community and customers.

Contact Info:

• Website: ininkweddings.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ininkweddings/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydneyrenameyer
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/ininkweddings/

Image Credits
Kaitlin Rodgers Photography Paisley Layne Photography