Our first workshop was probably my favorite thing since having our business. It was rewarding. It was terrifying. It was freeing. It was humbling. It was nerve-wracking. It was encouraging.

I had been asked about teaching workshops before and I always shrugged it off  because I hadn’t even done one before. I wondered who would ever want to take one from me. But finally I thought, it can’t hurt… I’ll just offer one and if enough people sign up it’ll happen and if not, no big deal, I’ll try again next year. Well, I was HUMBLED at how many people showed interest. I literally couldn’t have felt more blessed and honored. Truly and from the bottom of my soul… so honored that other people found my work special enough to want to learn from me. I just couldn’t believe it!

The night before the workshop I was up late… of course. I had butterflies in my stomach and I was driving myself crazy. Did I remember everything? What if I say something stupid? What if there is too much time and not enough to talk about? What if they all know what I have to say? The terror and the nerves started settling in… I knew I had a handful of photographers that were currently running successful businesses, a few that were just starting out and a few that just wanted to understand their DSLR camera. I had a plan, but I was afraid that not everyone would get enough out of this because there were so many different levels.  I was literally thinking of everything that could possibly go wrong…

The morning of the workshop came quick. We left the house around 5:30am and began the trek out to (freezing) Ramona to begin set up. The butterflies had finally started to mellow out as we all worked to make sure everything was set up beautifully for the attendees. The time FLEW by and soon it was 9am… time to start.

I looked around as I saw faces I didn’t know filter in… and then a few familiar faces as well. I was more nervous than I probably have ever been in my life and then like magic the nerves vanished. I saw all of these amazing photographers out there who were SO ready to learn, hungry for information and creativity. I was inspired by them! I wanted to tell them EVERYTHING I knew… save them from any mistake I made and encourage them to do want they want to do. Every single person was amazing. The group was encouraging to each other, friendly, loving and kind. I felt like we had all been friends… like I somehow knew them all from before. It was so amazing.

I had arranged to have two models so that there was an option to go slower and learn more about camera settings and shooting manual and the other option to go faster and get right into posing/shooting and working with clients. My husband took the beginners and I took the seasoned photographers and we began to photograph our stunning models and the INCREDIBLE details that were styled by the amazing girls of Linen, Lace & Love.

I have to brag about my husband… he had EVERYONE shooting manual. Some people didn’t know how to use their camera at all and they left knowing how to work it manually… amazing!

And the images that everyone captured… amazing. I seriously couldn’t have been more blown away and proud and again HUMBLED. Humbled that these incredibly talented and inspiring people came to learn from me. I still can’t contain the joy.

Thank you all for making this workshop one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. You are all SO amazing. You are all capable of growing your businesses and going to the next levels and I cannot wait to see what is in store for each and every one of you. I know you will all do so many wonderful things! Thank you for making my world just a little bit more lovely!

A HUGE thank you goes out to my husband who is amazing in every way. Thank you to Elise and my mom who are the reason we all had food… and of course thank you to our INCREDIBLE vendors who gave us such beauty to photograph… especially Jen and Jess who worked their tails off in the freezing cold! I’m so blessed.

We also were lucky enough to have this shoot featured on Green Wedding Shoes! You can see that here!

Be sure to go here to see the attendees reviews!

 

Here is a slideshow of our day! Be sure and watch so you can see the attendees photographs!

 

 

 

Photography// Brooke Aliceon Photography 

Styling & Coordination// Linen, Lace & Love

Venue// Hidden Oaks: Private Weddings & Events

Baked Goods// Kuba Kreations

Florals// Bloem Hill

Paper Goods// Lulubee Design

Rentals (tables, chairs, and linens)// Concepts Event Design

Now for some photos!

Love this gorgeous set up!

Love these geometric cake pops!!

This is the incredibly stunning Lexi. She braved 30-40 degree weather and never once complained.

This is Ted, he is engaged to Lexi and is an amazing photographer. You can see his work here!

The gorgeous Regina!

It’s not even fair to be this gorgeous.

My favorite photo of the day! I adore you all so much!