Rockstar Workshop: Day 1

Hi, Amber again! It's Wednesday, and we've been so busy with learning and relationship building, that I am just now getting around to posting a few images from Monday!

Corey spent most of Monday morning and early afternoon discussing Sales and Marketing with the attendees. He had an incredible amount of information to share, and it was awesome to get a bit more insight on how he runs that portion of his business.

After the teaching portion of the day, we went out to the Asheville Botanical Gardens to do a model shoot. Corey wanted to take the opportunity to observe the attendees in action, and it was really fun to see everyone at work. I love these images that Corey captured of the action.











And here's one that I grabbed of Corey with his sweet 200 2.0!



And of course, here are a couple of Corey's images of our beautiful couple, John and Anna .









After the shoot, most of us went out for a bit of dinner at Carrabba's. Good times! A huge thanks to Larry Crandall with White Glove Books for his generosity in picking up most of dinner, and thanks to Corey for picking up the rest!

We were too busy chatting and dining to take any pictures, but thankfully, our buddy Adam Linke took a few great ones, and shared them with us.







More soon!

Rockstar Wedding Workshop has begun!

I (Amber) am sitting here at the end of Day One of the Rockstar Wedding Workshop, and my head is spinning just a bit from all of the excitement. There has already been so much information to digest in addition to super fun relationship building. I am so excited for what the rest of the week will most certainly hold for us. I think I might be the official blogger for the workshop, so check back in daily, I should have updates for you.

Sunday was the official kick-off, and we began in the early afternoon with a gorgeous drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I can't express just how much I love Asheville in the fall, and these images that Corey grabbed while we were up there completely describe why I love it so much. The color is spectacular!











The group who hung out in the afternoon was the perfect size. Corey and I had the opportunity to hang out for several hours with photographers Tom Flint and Zac Thomas. As is standard in a group filled with photographers, there were many pictures of photographers taking pictures...









A fun image of Tom... hanging out behind the Lexus.



One of my favorite self portraits ever. I love this! Brilliant execution, Corey.



After a relaxing afternoon on the parkway, we headed back to the house to freshen up a bit, and then immediately went over to the studio for the meet and greet.

I must say that Tara with Weddings with Tara completely outdid herself for this party. We were blown away by how beautiful the studio looked. I wish I had a camera on Corey when he came into the studio and saw the surprise ice sculpture... his face was priceless!

I grabbed a quick self-portrait with Tara... is it amazing that she is this beautiful AND incredibly talented? I say it's completely unfair!



A few details:







The festivities:







Parker, who will be guest speaking later this week.



The beautiful hostess, Jill McNabb. I must say that I truly love this woman.



And of course, I had to have a picture with the rockstar himself... the one and only Corey McNabb!



I think that's it for tonight, but will post more about the official first day sometime soon!

In other news...

I read stories like this one and it makes me so thankful for how fantastic and nice every one of my brides has been... and I just want to say again "Thank you!" to you all. Some people seem to just have an odd way of prioritizing their lives....

Fuming NYC bride sues florist over flower color:
Lawsuit seeks more than $400,000 over color of hydrangeas...

Associated Press; Updated: 10:07 a.m. ET Oct 16, 2007
NEW YORK - The wedding was lovely, except for the flowers: They were the wrong color.

So says the bride, Elana Glatt, who was so upset that she sued the florist and alleged breach of contract.

She says Posy Floral Design in Manhattan substituted pastel pink and green hydrangeas for the dark rust and green ones she had specified for 22 centerpieces.

Not only that, she alleges that the hydrangeas were wilted and brown, and arranged in dusty vases without enough water.

“The use of predominantly pastel centerpieces had a significant impact on the look of the room and was entirely inconsistent with the vision the plaintiffs had bargained for,” Glatt, a lawyer, said in the lawsuit, filed on behalf of herself, her husband, David, and her mother-in-law, Tobi Glatt, who paid for the flowers.

The flowers cost $27,435.14. The lawsuit asks for more than $400,000 in restitution and damages.

Stamos Arakas, the florist, said that he and his wife, Paula, tried to match the color of the hydrangeas with a picture Glatt had given them, but explained to her that the colors might not look the same.

“My father used to tell me, ‘Don’t deal with the lawyers,” Arakas said. “Maybe he was right, God bless his soul.”

Manna Empty Bowl luncheon

I always like to support charities when I can, and Jill and I are at a fund-raising lunch right now supporting Manna foodbank. Tasty! And we'll each get to pick out a hand-crafted bowl donated by local pottery artists! The event is almost over, but check out http://www.emptybowls.net and we'll see you here next year!

Sent from my iPhone

Speaking at OSP!

I've recently been added to the great line-up of speakers at the upcoming national Open Source Photo convention to be held in New Orleans. I'm really looking forward it! I've only been to New Orleans twice and had bad experiences both times (remind me later and I'll tell you those fun stories!) and aim to have a great time this trip.

LaCour and LeCoultre

I have to send out a big "thank you" to the gang at LaCour: Rachel, Andrew, Mark and Erin! Knowing my love for all things radio controlled, and even more so, my absolute obsession with Aston Martins, as a thank you gift for my speaking at their workshop in July, they sent me... you guessed it: an r/c Aston Martin! It's so cool! With the super intense and crazy schedule we are following right now and how much time we spend in front of the computer, 7 days a week, the car is the perfect distraction around the studio. The real deal, the new 2008 DBS, also has the coolest accessory: a fine Jaeger LeCoultre wrist watch that not only unlocks the car, but starts it as well! And if buying the $330,000 DBS is in your budget, you might as well pick up the watch too since it's a mere $35,000. (Christmas is right around the corner, y'all!)
























Thanks again LaCour! I'll stick to my r/c version.... for now!

Here's a little silly video we made:



And another video, this one is of the real deal... with a little better cinemaphotography than our version. ;)



Outtake: Thanks to Jeremy for "filming" me "drive" poorly:

Readers' #1 choice....

I recently learned that I was recognized with The Bride's Book magazine's readers' First
Choice Award in Photography! Check out the new issue on newsstands now. Thank you readers, for making me your number one choice!

Champion Hills wedding...

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of shooting the beautiful wedding of Sheila and John at Champion Hills. Tara Jordan once again proved herself as wedding planner extraordinaire!