It’s the perfect day to introduce you to our beautiful and brilliant friend, Sarah Ingram! We can’t help but swoon when we see her work, whether it’s her poignant photography, superb styling skills or classic calligraphy. (Watch out – she’s a triple threat!) Her services intermingle well together, cater to clients of all tastes and, ultimately, provide a tailor-made look-and-feel for each bride’s big day. Learn more about Sarah, what inspires her and how she helps brides stylize their weddings through photography and pretty paper.

 

In a nutshell, how did your business come about?
The only way I can explain my start is what I like to call an intentional accident. While in college about seven years ago, I launched a blog when I felt the call to a creative escape from school. Artistic all my life, I chickened out at 18 and pushed creative wishes aside when planning for adulthood. This meant taking a “safe” career route – obtaining a science-based degree and license as a dental hygienist. The blog satisfied my craving to create during that time, at least temporarily. But then, something amazing happened. Shortly after people began to see my images and lettering on the blog, I began to get requests for hired creative work. I let it grow slowly for a couple of years before finally taking a confident dive into the deep end at the end of 2015. I eventually left the dental world and surrendered to my artist heart. It’s hard work and grit and joy and elation every.single.day. I’ve never felt so fulfilled!

What types of products and/or services do you offer your brides?
The meat of my services lies in photography, with a focus in weddings. But sometimes I get to have fun with families, food and spaces in front of my lens, too! I’m enthralled with all subjects, human or otherwise. I am a hybrid photographer with a jovial love for shooting film.

My other main service is calligraphy, which breaks down further into things like invitation design, envelope addressing and event signage lettering.

If variety is the spice of life, there is a lot of flavor around here!

How did you take on both photography and calligraphy, and how do the two “play” together in your work?
When calligraphy entered my life, it was just for fun. Initially, I had no intention of taking on as much as I do now, especially while running a photography business. However, as time went by, the two began to marry beautifully and allowed me some freedoms that I would not have by being “boxed in” to one service. So I began booking strategically to work in both arenas harmoniously.

Photography and calligraphy play together well and often!

I believe the boldest manner in which I feel them intertwine is when I am in the thick of constructing images. I see in lines, color and texture. You have to choose all of these things carefully when working with paper, as well as framing a photo.

What are three words you’d use to describe your style, and what inspires it?
Intimate, soulful, classic

Though I am continually inspired by new things, at the core I am influenced by simplicity coupled with rawness and how that translates to a timeless outcome. Though at times trends are unavoidable, I strive to fabricate things that clients and myself can still love years from now without saying “Whoa, hey 2015!” Clean, airy spaces, soft shades of earth and unexpected slices of light feed me, too.

Your portfolio is GORGEOUS – and very diverse. How do you help a bride customize a wedding suite to her vision?
Well first of all I must say thank you! As an artist I do strive to be diverse.

No. 1: Cull. cull.cull.
The digital age we are living in can be awesome. I mean LOOK at all this online inspiration! It can also be detrimental to honing in on a design vision that is a true reflection of your tastes. So the biggest thing I do when planning a suite design is help brides get to the core of what has influenced their vision, then we strip down their inspiration and seek out the root of what is really speaking to them. Often times, I find a pattern that my client did not even realize they were drawn to, and when that happens we usually anchor in this recurring facet and grow from there.

No. 2: Don’t go too far off message
Having an autumn fête in the Virginia countryside? Pastel tulips splashed over the paper goods is probably not the best call. An invitation suite is the doorway to a wedding, a peek at what’s to come. So naturally, it should whisper hints at your color palette, level of event formality and the location.

How would you suggest a bride gather inspiration for her own wedding suite?
First and foremost, don’t start with the internet. Textures and colors of nature, fabric swatches, inspiring cinematography, a place you love to visit – all of these can easily give you direction for a suite design that is a true reflection of the wedding day and tastes of the couple. You don’t actually need to focus on photos of any kind of invitation! I find it best to gather from non-specific visuals, memories and tactile pieces.

Thank you, Sarah, for providing a glimpse into your fabulous and imaginative world! We can’t wait to work with you this year in creating some unforgettable weddings.