Meet Sydney McCloud | Travel Influencer & Event Planner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sydney McCloud and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sydney, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I have always known for sure that I had two passions: a love for travel and a love for event planning. From a very young age, my parents always took my sisters & I on family trips in the states and abroad as well. I grew up being able to gain exposure to different cultures, backgrounds, and people at such a young age that traveling to different locations incorporated a very curious mindset as I started to grow up. Traveling is what fueled my soul which led me in creating my travel Instagram page, @sydneyjulia.travels. Whether it’s local or abroad travels, I know I am the happiest when experiencing new things and sharing my experiences through my lens on my page.

As far as event planning, I come from a large, close-knit, Jamaican-Panamanian family on my mother’s side where any type of gatherings/holidays were celebrated in our family. Birthday parties, graduations, cookouts, Christmas… you name it, it was celebrated as a family. Growing up with so many core memories of my cousins and I getting together for these celebrations has always been something very close to my heart. I loved the idea of bringing people together for memories that would last a lifetime through different events. That is where the idea of my event planning business, S Luxe Events LLC, was born (@sluxe.events on Instagram). Based in the NJ- PA area, I loved the idea of planning the little details, serving friends and family through helping out coordinate fun, social events and honestly just seeing everything come together! Event planning is something that fuels my spirit in the best way possible and I cannot wait to continue to plan more events for clients as the years go on.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I would say what sets me apart is how authentic I am on both of my pages. In this age of social media, it is so easy to ‘fake it’ online. By that I mean, making sure all of your content / business looks aesthetically good and perfect online all the time without sharing the full story. On both of my pages, I try to share the most real experiences that I go through, to make sure I am providing honest content to my follower base. For instance, on my travel page, if a place I’ve traveled to didn’t give the best experience meaning maybe the Airbnb wasn’t how it looked online or the service wasn’t great, I will let my followers know that. I don’t like to sugar coat anything and I feel that my followers truly appreciate that. I always try to put myself in their shoes and ask myself, ‘Why would I follow this travel page if there’s so many others out there?’ ‘What sets her apart?’. I think that is definitely one of my strengths… being blatantly honest with both pages and showing some of my most vulnerable moments with the world through my business pages.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is a good one! Since I recently visited Denver and took a day trip to Boulder and Canon City, I have a full list! I would start with booking a train ride on the Royal Gorge Route Railroad Train in Canon City. Although, it’s about 2.5 hours from Denver driving, it’s totally worth it. It was probably the highlight of my trip to Colorado. I am all for experiences so this 2 hour train ride was everything and more! It is a spectacular train ride through the Colorado Rockies in comfort and style. The exceptional scenery and breathtaking views is a must when traveling to Colorado. You can also order delicious food and drinks with your ticket upon booking.

Additionally, in Denver, I would visit some local food spots that were delicious. One of the best Ramen places I’ve ever had is this place called UNCLE. It has a 4.5 Google rating and a few locations! I’d also check out either Sweet Cow or The Little Man for ice cream afterwards. We went hiking in Boulder at one of the most difficult hikes (as they say) called Mount Sanitas. I am not an avid hiker, so this was a pretty challenging hike for me but the views at the top were so worth it. The hike is about 2.5 hour and I’d make sure to bring water! We explored Boulder downtown afterwards and went to Avanti which is a cool, international fare served in a modern food court with a rooftop terrace, plus cocktails & beer. We ate on the rooftop, hung out and were able to soak in all of Boulder’s beautiful views and mountains.

The locals were so welcoming and Denver and Boulder have lots of young professionals around town which we enjoyed too!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would love to give a shoutout to my two older sisters, Ashlee and Candice. I have been telling them for a few years that I have always had a passion for traveling and event planning and wanted to do something with both but didn’t really know where to start. They have continuously encouraged me to start my pages and my business and have been such great support systems as I’m navigating this new chapter in my life. Huge S/O to my Mijas (Inside sister joke)!

Instagram: sydneyjulia.travels and sluxe.events

Image Credits
Photographer: @capturedby_ds (Instagram page)