I had a feeling that I would be overwhelmed by the whole thing, and yepppp…. overwhelmed is an understatement. It was so surreal to be wandering the trade show floor, rubbing elbows IN PERSON with the photographers I’ve only been able to admire from a distance. I either met or saw Doug and Chenin Boutwell, Sarah and Chris Rhoads, Mark and Candice Brooke, Kelly Moore, Lauren Clark, Millie Holloman, Jose Villa, and sooo many others. The only person I never saw that I wish I could have met was Jamie Delaine. Boo. Next year perhaps? It was crazy. And we got to see so many amazing new products. We were given samples and flyers and tote bags and gifts galore. At first it was kinda cool, and then we were lugging around 50-lb. bags full of random papers and whatnot and that got kinda old. So we were a little more selective after that. :) One of my biggest missions for the trip was to make a definite decision about which album company I want to work with, and I’m happy to say I have! I was leaning toward VisionArt before, but seeing and holding their ridiculously gorgeous albums in person completely solidified it for me. I can’t wait to order my first sample album from them.

As far as parties go…. There were a LOT of them, but we passed. For one, we’re not really party people and the idea of staying out past midnight gives us the twitches. We also just wanted to focus on learning and soaking up as much as we could, so we put a priority on sleep so we could make it to the 8:00 am classes every day. I’m sure in the future, once we’ve better found our place in this industry, that might change. We’ll see….

So here are a bunch of shots first off of non-WPPI-related things. Keep in mind that about half of them were taken with my handy point-and-shoot (because nobody wants to be the dork carrying around their massive DSLR at a photography convention, for pete’s sake), so they may not all be up-to-snuff. But hey, they help tell the story, and that’s all that matters. :)

This was taken on my very first trip to Trader Joes! It was everything I dreamed it would be and then some.

The M&M factory! And yes, I played the classic tourist, spending $8 on a half-pound bag of M&M’s, just because I could make a custom bag with my favorite colors. (Betcha can’t guess based on what I’m wearing and which ones I’m standing in front of what my favorites were! ;)

Vegas is a great place to visit, but four days of it was about my limit. I had forgotten what stale cigarette smoke trapped indoors smelled like. And after living in Utah for the past year, seeing people walk around with 64 oz alcohol containers, drinking out of them, on the sidewalk (which was, by the way, littered with flyers with pictures of half-naked women)…. well, it was interesting to say the least. Made for some amazing people watching though. I guess in my mind I like the Rat Pack Vegas, the Ocean’s Eleven Vegas, even the Vegas Vacation Vegas. In reality it’s all more like The Hangover Vegas, which could be a good or bad thing, depending on how you feel about chapel weddings, Mike Tyson, and baby Carlos.

The most lovely Starbucks I’ve seen, located in the Bellagio. Mmmmmm….

The window display of the Carolina Herrera store. Gorgeous.

Mike and Sam in front of New York New York.

One thing that can get depressing about Vegas is having to walk through all the casinos and see so many sad, isolated, depressed people at the slot machines. You look at their faces in the glow of the machine, their eyes completely glazed over, and it’s almost disturbing. In the photo below, I had only been at the slots for maybe 5 minutes and had this lovely expression on my face. I was almost too disturbed by it to post it!

On Tuesday AND Wednesday night, we ate at this adorable restaurant called Serendipity, which has a really famous location in New York that was the basis for the John Cusack movie of the same name. We were enamored by this place. Everything from the decor to the music to the food was just so different, and just makes you feel so happy. I ate literally the best grilled cheese and tomato soup of my LIFE there. This is no understatement.

This is how happy Serendipity made us feel:

Sooo…. back to the convention. Here’s a shot of Dane Sanders (author of Fast Track Photographer, which I rave about all the time) interviewing Jessica Claire. I admit, I had a moment of I-might-pee-myself weakness in the presence of these greats.

And amidst all of the junk we accumulated at the tradeshow, we did score some pretty sweet finds. Below, clockwise: The Trader Joe’s-inspired totes that the Kelly Moore Bag booth was giving away (I will most definitely be using and reusing this one). A mini canvas by Simply Canvas that does double duty as a sample of their amazing work and a souvenir of the trip (brilliant!). Okay, this awesome Shootsac cover wasn’t free, but Mike and Sam bought it for me for my birthday, and that was pretty awesome. And finally, some sample materials from VisionArt, my new fave album company.

And finally, I just wanted to do a quick rundown of the platform presentations and classes Mike and I were able to attend. The amount of information and inspiration we took away from this week as a whole is completely overwhelming. I’m STILL trying to process it all. But here were some of the highlights:

The first class we went to was Jesh de Rox’s. Let’s just say he had me weeping, literally, for about half the presentation. He is such an amazing person, and his passion for photography and for the couples he shoots is infectious. He shared a movement he has started called “Beloved,” which is a name for a specific type of session he does, which is typically for couples who have been married for a few years or more. He uses his sessions not only as a means of providing his couples with beautiful artistic portraits of themselves, but also as a way to rekindle the love between them. He invites them into “experiences” which help break down barriers and bring out the truth and beauty of relationships. Highly recommend checking out his work, his Photoshop actions (which are my personal favorites), and his workshops. [photo by Jerry Ghionis]

And Jasmine Star. Oh Jasmine. Is there a soul on earth who doesn’t love this woman? She is such an inspiration, from her writing to her photography to her love for life…. Just go read her blog if you haven’t already. Do it. You will fall in love with her, guaranteed. Her presentation was on “ghetto-fabulous marketing.” She gave so much helpful advice for establishing relationships with clients and getting your name out there when you’re struggling from day to day to keep your business above water. I adore her openness and willingness to share literally everything she has learned, because she isn’t just out for herself. Love. Love. Love. [photo by Jessica Claire]

Tuesday morning, we rolled in to John Michael Cooper’s class at 7:30 am. And what did we find? A mariachi band to wake us up, of course! And that sums up everything that IS John. He’s off the wall and edgy. He does the unexpected. He doesn’t conform to expectations and trends. In fact, he SETS trends. You know the whole trash the dress movement that’s made its way through the world of wedding photography the past few years? This guy STARTED it. He does things like Dexter-inspired engagement sessions. Seriously. But he also had a lot to share about his workflow, which he has minimized and simplified to an ART. His workflow for an entire wedding? ONE DAY. Ya heard. Suffice it to say, this guy is awesome. [photo by Becker at Burning Man 2009... naturally]

We also saw Jessica Claire speak at the WHCC booth about marketing and branding. The biggest things I took away from her presentation were that I need to get my tail moving on establishing relationships with local vendors and collaborate with them on styled shoots that reflect my aesthetic and my brand. I’ve been drooling over the styled sessions she’s posted on her blog the past few months, and I know that I need to do stuff like this to push myself creatively and to have portfolio images that represent the type of work I want to be PAID to shoot. [photo from Jessica's wedding last fall by Jose Villa]

We saw the incomparable bobbi+mike speak at the MPixPro booth as well. They are EXACTLY the same in real life as you would imagine them to be by following their blog. I love that they are 100% themselves, no matter how inappropriate that might be, ALL THE TIME. I’m so drawn to the vibrancy and life of their images and constantly reference them for inspiration or for just a good laugh. They talked about keeping it real with clients, and how they establish trust and give direction in their sessions. I think it’s great that they keep their post-processing so consistent and minimal too… you can always pick out a “bobbi+mike” image from the crowd. Basically, they rock. [photo by themselves]

And finally…. oh, finally. Justin and Mary Marantz. I think when it was all said and done, they gave the most inspiring, informative, encouraging, emotional presentation of them all. I took so many notes it’s INSANE. They packed more stuff into their two hours than I expected to get out of the entire week at WPPI. I laughed, I cried, I sympathized. But most of all, I was encouraged. They gave me a newfound confidence that I didn’t know I had. And they presented a business model completely unlike many that I’ve seen and read about. There’s no way to go over it all here, but basically I realized that I’ve been going about “getting business” ALL WRONG. And I intend to change that immediately. I would HIGHLY recommend reading through their blog and watching THIS VIDEO that they premiered to us at WPPI. It is wonderful. Really. [photo taken from their blog, photographer unknown]

This is a crazy long post and my eyes are about to bug out of my head, but the crazy thing is that I feel like this doesn’t even BEGIN to do my experience justice. If you find yourself on the fence about attending next year, do yourself a favor: start saving NOW so you will be able to afford it. Take the plunge. You won’t regret it.

Now, as a wedding photographer, I get to see weddings from the other side, the vendor side. And it’s awesome because I have been able to continue indulging all of my color-coordinating, detail-designing, wedding planning whims. I don’t think our wedding could have been any more perfectly “us,” but it’s still so much fun and so inspiring to wander around the Internet and bookstores, searching for all things wedding. So today I really just wanted to share a little bit of what we went through while we were planning our wedding, and what I have learned since then as a wedding photographer, so that maybe I can provide a little help and inspiration for all you fiancees out there who are in the thick of it right now. By no means am I an expert, but I do speak from experience, and I know that when I was in the midst of planning, I was a sponge for any information and advice I could find.  So if it helps even one bride just a little bit, it’s totally worth it.

Here are my biggest pieces of advice:

1) Do it your way. It sounds cliche, I know, but if you don’t, you’ll regret it. For instance, I knew strapless dresses were the most popular, but I wanted no part of that, because strapless does NOT do anything for me and I just personally didn’t like the look. When I scoured bridal shops and couldn’t find anything I liked, I asked my mom to make my dress for me. I wanted something short and vintage-y and not strapless, and here’s what we came up with:

(all wedding images copyright Andy Armstrong Photography)

And I looooved it! Since then, I’ve found that there are a lot of great resources for buying actual vintage dresses, and more dress designers are waking up to the fact that not everyone wants to wear a floor-length strapless gown, so it’s easier to find more options. Take advantage of that!

We didn’t want a formal, traditional wedding. So we used every opportunity to make it our own. From the dress, to the music choices (I walked down the aisle to Ben Folds’s “The Luckiest”, we recessed to The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights,” we played Dolly Parton’s “Marry Me” in between the ceremony and reception, and our first dance was to Bright Eyes’s “First Day of My Life”), to the food (a Southern-style buffet, with fried chicken and homemade pies and sweet potatoes and all that), to our DIY-ing the crap out of all the decorative elements…. it was all US. And people could see that, and they appreciated it. It was special and meaningful and memorable. So don’t be afraid to break tradition, because honestly, most of us don’t even know where the traditions came from or what they mean anymore. Instead, make every detail mean something. You won’t be sorry.

2) DIY as much as you can, and get your community involved. One of the things I loved about our wedding was the amount of help we received from all our friends and family members. My mom and I designed all the table decorations, which were composed of tons of found candlestick holders, bird figurines (which we spray-painted white for uniformity), Ball jars, and table overlays in various colors and patterns sewn by my grandmother. One family friend made the cake, another baked all the pies, another did the flower arrangements and bouquets (which were all composed of tons of daisies bought in bulk at a local grocery store), another directed the rehearsal and ceremony, another was in charge of the music, and even more helped set up, tear down, and serve throughout the entire day. I was overwhelmed with emotion and thankfulness for all that had been done for us. So not only will you save some money, but the involvement of people you love will make your wedding day all the more memorable.

3) Plan for everything. I can’t emphasize this one enough. I know, it seems redundant, but so many things can happen on the day of that it’s best to have a plan and a backup plan for everything. Make a timeline. Delegate tasks to responsible and willing friends and family members. Keep your guests in mind at all times, because even though it IS your day, you want your guests to be comfortable and have a good time. So prioritize with that in mind. And this, I realize, is a little biased, but plan for your photographs. They will be all you have left to remember the day by, so give them priority too. Allow for plenty of time to take photographs. Consider seeing each other before the ceremony to allow for more time for photographs than you might have if you were to squeeze them between the ceremony and reception. Want beautiful natural light photographs? Think about the time of day when the light will be best- usually early in the morning or the hour before sunset, when the light is golden. We planned our entire wedding around this, actually, and I’m so glad now, because we have photographs with so much gorgeous, golden light. Trust me, your photographer will love you for this. :)

And finally, just be inspired and have fun with it! And to help with that, I would suggest visiting some of these sites for loads of daily inspiration. (Oh, how I wish I had discovered wedding blogs when I was planning!)

Love and Lavender

Snippet and Ink

Grey Likes Weddings

Southern Weddings

IndieBride

Green Wedding Shoes

Style Me Pretty

Brooklyn Bride

Rock ‘n Roll Bride

And OF COURSE, you have to check out all the amazing handmade wedding goods on Etsy:

And there are way, way, waaaaay more resources out there. Just do a little research and you’ll hit a goldmine! Also, I just wanted to share three of my favorite real weddings I’ve seen on the Internet this past year:

Josh & Jude, photographed by DixiePixel

Brian & Carrie, also photographed by DixiePixel

Ross & Rachel (not of Friends!), photographed by Kelly Moore Clark

So I hope all this helps a little! If you geek out about weddings as much as I do, I have a feeling it might….. :)