When I can I like to write my blog posts a little in advance, just so Im not scrambling to put something together at the last minute. But for this one, there was no way I could even start because I had no idea just what I was getting myself into back in November!

It was Black Friday, the most notorious shopping day of the year. Now I love me some shopping, but I love me some sleep even more! I am not the type of Black Friday shopper who wakes up at ungodly hours of the morning or stands in line all night! Id much rather be snuggled under my down comforter with Piper snoring next to me than deal with shoppers who like the fight. But there are always exceptions. You see Justin and Mary were opening the registration of their Walk Through a Wedding workshop with special Black Friday pricing, and I knew I had to have a seat. I wanted to wake up as close to registration time as possible, buy my ticket, and go back to bed. So I turned on my laptop, plugged it in so the battery wouldnt die, got it to the right web page, and set it next to my bed. When the time came, I wouldnt waste any time. When my alarm went off at 5:30 am the next morning, everything went just like I planned. It was set. Now all I had to do was wait until February. That was almost three months away and I hadnt been this excited about something in I dont know how long. It was going to be a long three months.

But all those interim days on my big generic desk calendar got crossed off this past weekend. As we drove up to their house in Connecticut, I wrote down all the questions I wanted to ask. There were 17 of them and I hadnt even heard what they were going to teach. Surely there would be so many more to ask too!

I set up a Facebook group for everyone who had registered, so we all had been talking in advance. But it was awesome to finally meet everyone! I was so nervous. Not for meeting all these new people, but for what was to come tomorrow. I had been so, so, so excited with anticipation, but the wait was over. The butterflies had kicked in. What if it wasn't what I thought it would be? What if I just don't get it? What if I'm the one in class holding everyone back? What if… But then it was time.

I can't say enough about Justin and Mary! They opened their home and their hearts to 18 fellow photographers and led us through everything and anything that we asked about. We talked about natural lighting, off camera lighting, lens choices, camera settings, posing, business practices, workflow, and I can't even remember what else right now. All I know is that I came away with more than 20 pages of notes and a brain so full and swimming with information that it's taken a few days to digest. The lightning bolt struck, the light bulb when on, things clicked. Some things I've heard them speak about before, but the other information and the chance to just "play" was incredible! I could go on and on, but then I'd sound like an idiot so I'll stop while I'm ahead!

To my fellow Walk Through A Wedding attendees, it was so great to meet and bond with all of you! To Spring, Silas, Julia, and Michelle, thank you for being patient and beautiful models! To Chamard Vineyards, thanks for hosting a bunch of crazy photographers in your perfect space!

I was blessed to capture some amazing images throughout the weekend and can't wait to start implementing everything I've taken in during my time in New Haven!

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