In March I marked a HUGE goal off my list for 2015, teaching! As a wedding photographer with over 100 weddings photographed, I’ve come to realize that I have so much to share with other photographers just starting out. This business can eat you up and kick you out before you even get started, so if I can help just one awesome photographer avoid some of the business mistakes I’ve made in the past, well then it’s worth the time and energy these things take to host!

The Wedding Retreat was an idea that myself and Ashely Fisher Photography brought to life last month! It was honestly more exciting, inspriational, and down right exhausting than we could have ever imagined it would be! Ten amazing women from all over the US joined us in St. Louis to learn and grow as photographers and business women!

The Wedding Retreat spanned two days and was filled with more information than I think Ashley and I could have even planned on sharing. The first day we discussed the wedding day itself, photographing all the key moments and thinking quickly on your feet when things don’t go as planned. At the end of the day we put that knowledge to use with a day time shoot with Catherine Rhodes Photography and a night time shoot with Ashley Fisher Photography!

The second day we dove into business! We discussed marketing, pricing, and so much more!

During my shoot with the attendees we walked through the start of a wedding day and then a quick portrait session on the docks! Stu and Kat are an amazing couple who are actually getting married in a few short months, so the real life experience of posing and working with a couple like this was priceless! A big thank you goes out to Whitney Reynolds, BHLD, and Tiffany Rose Designs for creating this gorgeous bridal look!

We also had a STUNNING table scape created by Madison Sanders Events and Addie Jane’s Originals! I mean it was truly a beautiful set, something I’m sure any bride would just love to have on her wedding day!

All in all, I can’t even begin to imagine a more beautiful and perfect start to Ashley and I’s first workshop together! We both have a love for education that I’m sure each and every one of our workshop attendees noticed. They all walked away with pages and pages of information to help their business grow and photography flourish!

A special thank you to our sponsors, the amazing people in our industry who not only donated their products but believed in our idea and energy of The Wedding Retreat : HH Boogie, ProDPI, Kelly Moore Bags, and many more we’ll be saying thank you to over on our page : The Wedding Retreat with Ashley and Catherine!

And finally a BIG thank you so much to all the attendees who jumped on board for our first retreat! It’s going to be hard to beat this amazing group of women/photographers for round two and we truly can’t wait to see where everyone takes their business in the near future!

If you’d like more information about The Wedding Retreat and future educational opportunities, simply sign up HERE!

And here’s the full list of vendors who helped make those beautiful styled shoots happen, THANK YOU!!!

Table Rentals : The Aries Company – http://www.ariesco.com/
Cake: Simone Faure, La Patisserie Chouquette http://www.simonefaure.com

© Catherine Rhodes Photography 2015 | Destination Wedding Photographer | Columbia, Kansas city, St. Louis and Destinations World Wide