A few years ago when I met with my first business mentor, I wrote down lofty goals for 1, 3, 5, and 10 years. One of my ultimate goals was to teach and mentor other photographers. This year kicked off the mentoring program, and a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to teach my first workshop with the fabulous Catherine Rhodes Photography. After months of planning with the best vendors I could ask for, ten incredible attendees joined us for The Wedding Retreat. We’re so sad that Kristina missed out on the first night!

Catherine and I pre-retreat:

Day one was jammed packed of information on shooting the actual wedding day. My awesome clients, Kat & Stu, offered to model for us, and we had the opportunity to demonstrate how we shoot details and natural light portraits before dinner. For the daytime shoot, Kat donned the BHLDN Amelie gown and the Pearly Dreams Halo.

Gah, I can’t wait to shoot Kat & Stu’s actual wedding later this year. She’s going to be a BEAUTIFUL bride!!

You might recognize this cake from my September styled shoot. Simone Faure from La Patisserie Chouquette did an amazing job, and it has been sitting on my table for months! I’m glad it got in front of the camera again before we had to dispose of it.

After dinner, I was able to show the attendees what to do when there is no ambient light and how you can still create amazing details and portraits with off camera flash. For the night shoot, Kat changed into the BHLDN Wisteria gown and Chimera Halo, and Whitney with Beauty By Whitney did a smoky eye.

I even busted out the hose to show off how to turn a rainy wedding day into something incredible.

And then we ended the evening (at like 11pm) with showing the attendees how to create epic groomsmen shots with cigars. We had intended to do sparklers, as well, but the 70 degree drop off to the lake prevented us from being able to do so. Maybe next time!

It was freezing, so we warmed up with a few bottles of wine and a dip in the hot tub. I miss that hot tub! 🙂 Day 2 was jammed packed of the nitty gritty business and marketing materials. We tried to cover absolutely everything we knew about running a successful wedding business, and our attendees left with two huge workbooks that left nothing out. I’m sure they left completely exhausted and overwhelmed, but I hope that this retreat helped them push their businesses forward!

Thank you to all ten of our amazing attendees for having faith in us. It means the world to us that we were able to do this as big as we wanted to! And an extra special thanks to my wonderful couple, Kat & Stu. I’m so thankful that you were able to join us for some playtime, and I’m so excited for your wedding!

We couldn’t have done this without our fabulous vendors:

The Wedding Retreat by Catherine Rhodes Photography & Ashley Fisher Photography – theweddingretreat.ashleyfisherphotography.com

Daytime Stationary – Little Yellow Leaf –www.littleyellowleaf.com

Nighttime Stationary – ANNOUNCE THIS! – www.announcethisdesign.com

Specialty Rentals (Linens, Flatware, Glassware):Ultrapom Event Rental – www.ultrapom.com

Styled Shoot Design: Madison Sanders Events –www.madisonsandersevents.com

Floral Design: Addie Jane Originals, Inc., Inc. –www.addiejane.com

Cigars: Brennan’s – www.cometobrennans.net

Wedding Dresses & Hair Pieces – BHLDN –www.bhldn.com

Ties – Express – www.express.com

Jewelry – Tiffany Rose Designs – www.tiffanyrosedesigns.net

Hair and Makeup – Beauty by Whitney –www.beautybywhitney.com

Cake – La Patisserie Chouquette –www.simonefaure.com

Table Rentals – The Aries Company –www.ariesco.com

 

And an extra special thanks to Catherine. Thank you for offering to do this with me and for helping me cross this big dream off of my to do list. I can’t wait to do it again!!

 

If you want more information on The Wedding Retreat, including being first to know about our next workshop, sign up HERE!