We survived... and are fired up!

Wow.

Wow.

Really. Wow.

I can't even begin to tell you how amazing this past weekend was for us. Just when you think you know everything in the world (well almost everything... I'm not that vain), something like this DWF Convention rolls along and rocks you to the core. We took classes in design, business, marketing, and yes, even a few courses on shooting. But some of the most profound were two seminars that weren't so much about photography, but dealt with being just a better person and re-wiring your way of being. DEEP!

We got to listen to and meet and mingle with some of the biggest rockstars in the wedding photography world. Topping the list for Danielle and I was a mentoring session we had with the Wiebners. Joel and Rita are a husband and wife team that have gone down a very similar path that D and I are on. We bounced ideas off them and they gave us honest feedback as well as just chatting about what it's like to work with the one you love. The funny thing is that Joel and are almost the same size so it was easy to spot each other above all the shorter shooters in the crowd.

And we made some friends too. I posted before that our friend Jason Davis joined us on our journey to his home state. He introduced us to Sandra Johnson and Chris Brown, a husband and wife team from Orlando who were kind enough to let us tag along on a few meals (since they had a car with them). And since they're so close to Disney, we've got a place to stay next time we take the family. Right guys???

We also meet a fellow Tennessean, Lisa Thomas from Kiralisa Photography in Memphis. We couldn't believe how well we all hit it off with Lisa. It was like we'd been friends forever. The four of us hung out Sunday night during the big party and ran around the Florida Aquarium having little mini-photo shoots. I guess we were a little anti-social, but we were having a party of our own.

I had every intention of updated the blog over the weekend, but they didn't have free wifi at the Grand Hyatt and I can be a cheap you-know-what sometimes. Although this time, it was more of a matter of principal. They had bottles of water waiting for us in the room... at $8 a bottle (if opened)! I'm sorry, but for I can eat a meal for $8 dollars. Our water bill at home is only about $20 a month. (Can you tell by this rant that we'd don't normally stay in such swanky digs?)

As a teaser until I post the rest of the pics tomorrow, I'll share one of D and I being our goofy selves on the bus to somewhere at some point over the weekend.



Off to bed... so far I haven't really touched my stinking resolutions.

-Wes