Hi!
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Hi! I'm Amanda Sides, and I love pretty paper. I believe it's a reflection of you as a person and especially sets the tone for any wedding, event or party.
I also love red wine, hot coffee, fresh flowers, and good shoes. You can usually find me wearing great fitting blue jeans, a white tee (or something equally as basic) and always good shoes. Okay and probably a good bag... but lately I just carry my diaper bag... but you know it's a stylish one. Before kids you never would have found me without a perfect at-home manicure. We won't talk about how that's going now that I have three tiny dragons... 
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I'm a mom of three working to build a beautiful, happy and healthy family as well as this business.
I designed my own wedding invitations almost six years ago and it sparked something in me that just won't quit. I feel like your invitation is ultimately the start of how you present yourselves to the world, and should never be an afterthought.  Photo by Katie Wilson Photography
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The Calligraphy Bar was a long time in the making, starting out with a love of paper and print from growing up in my dad’s print shop (and let's be honest, that's where my perfectionism comes from, too), having an appreciation for good handwriting and creativity from my mom, and fueling the need for a creative outlet from working for years in a data-centric field.
Fun tip: I wanted to include my family in the business name somehow and BAR in The Calligraphy Bar actually stands for Bryan Amanda and Raleigh (our little fam at the time I started this little biz).
A little background on lil' ole me:
I was born and raised in Sutherlin, Virginia then Danville, Virginia, literally picking blackberries on the side of a dirt road. I ventured off to JMU for college, found a job in Search Engine Marketing in Charlottesville, VA, which... led me down to Charleston, SC for a few years opening and managing our office there. We moved back to Virginia for my husband to take a job at Quantico, and my dream of opening a stationery shop led me to turn my calligraphy hobby into a business, which has evolved from a product shop, envelope calligraphy and wedding signage services to wedding invitation design.
I'd love to turn my passion into the perfect introduction to your wedding for your guests. Let me help set the tone and get them excited to come celebrate the happiest day of your life (unless you decide to have kids, then... well, you'll see.).
Fun tip: I wanted to include my family in the business name somehow and BAR in The Calligraphy Bar actually stands for Bryan Amanda and Raleigh (our little fam at the time I started this little biz).
A little background on lil' ole me:
I was born and raised in Sutherlin, Virginia then Danville, Virginia, literally picking blackberries on the side of a dirt road. I ventured off to JMU for college, found a job in Search Engine Marketing in Charlottesville, VA, which... led me down to Charleston, SC for a few years opening and managing our office there. We moved back to Virginia for my husband to take a job at Quantico, and my dream of opening a stationery shop led me to turn my calligraphy hobby into a business, which has evolved from a product shop, envelope calligraphy and wedding signage services to wedding invitation design.
I'd love to turn my passion into the perfect introduction to your wedding for your guests. Let me help set the tone and get them excited to come celebrate the happiest day of your life (unless you decide to have kids, then... well, you'll see.).