Life & Craft March 2016 Workshop Recap

A few weeks ago we hosted our second Life & Craft Workshop on the ranch. We had 12 photographers join us from all over the United States (even Canada, eh!) for three days of learning and community. This workshop sold out very quickly and early to our waitlist only, so most of the world never even knew we were hosting it. 

Meet our March 2016 community!

Lori, Chloe, Starr, Laura Elizabeth, Savanna, Karen, Tara, Hannah Ruth, Candace, Taylor, Kati, and Chandra!

At our first workshop we were too busy talking and teaching to take any behind the scenes photos. While we were able to snag a few of these photos, this time, we had our thinking caps on and asked our Life & Craft Workshop alum Breanna McKendrick to join us and take behind the scene pictures for us. Thank you, Breanna!

We can't wait to share all of the official photos from each of our shoots! For now, enjoy this look behind the scenes!

Welcome Dinner

Sunday night is our first night together and the first time we meet everyone! After clinking a few glasses of bubbly (everything is better with champagne!) we enjoy a dinner outdoors under the Texas stars in our front yard.

This is Catherine Duffin from Two Be Wed, the designer for our welcome dinner, our styled wedding, and our farewell fiesta. She puts up with us for 3 days and never stops smiling. Somehow, she takes a few of our random ideas, merges them with a ton of her own ideas, and puts them together into something far greater than we could ever imagine. Thank you, Catherine!

Belle Epoque getting set up for the Welcome Dinner as we wait for the attendees to arrive.

This is Starr Mercer, our first Canadian workshop alumni! Thank you Starr for sharing the next two pictures with us!

Monday + Tuesday Daytime: Classroom Time

During the day (and the Texas heat) we spend two full days in the 'classroom' also known as our living room, talking about shooting and all things marketing and business related.

We had two slots for guest speakers in the schedule. Natalie Dawley of Two Be Wed joined us Monday and rocked our world with so much great information from a wedding planner/event designer perspective. Natalie is a legend in the wedding industry throughout Texas and the South, and the 'why' behind our businesses is very similar. We were so honored to have her with us and had so many a-ha moments listening to her speak. Our attendees loved every minute of this, so thank you Natalie!

On Tuesday, one of our past brides Katie, her daughter Willa, and her mom Terri joined us to talk about their experience finding a photographer, what was important to them before they hired someone, what is most important to them looking back after the wedding, and so many other good things. Of course, when we were introducing them, we had to fight a huge lump in our throat because these two are the perfect example of why we love our business so much. 

It wouldn't be a workshop without our famous meat and cheese tray!

And Sprinkles cupcakes of course! Red Velvet for the win.

Monday and Tuesday Evening: Shoots on the Ranch

Every evening we headed out into the pastures of the ranch for shoots at golden hour. On Monday night we photographed an engagement session where our attendees could see how we interact with our couples, learn posing ideas, and see how we shoot everything in camera for minimal editing.

Tuesday night we had the treat of photographing our styled shoot by Two Be Wed, entitled Hill Country Sunsets. There are so many great images from this shoot and we look forward to sharing them soon!

Did we mention how tall our models were? 

Our whole group! Great photographers and friends.

After the engagement shoot, Cat's dad picked us all up for a hayride through the ranch right as the sun dipped below the horizon. Starr grabbed this shot (which is so cool!) of the cows running behind the hayride! They wanted to meet our new friends, too!

And then, our final night of shooting was upon us. 

There she is again, making sure everything is just right. Thank you, Catherine!

Alysha from Ranch House Designs joined us once again to film the workshop. We can't wait to see our video from this one. Check out our past video here!

Tuesday Night - Farewell Fiesta

My favorite time of the entire workshop was our time at the fiesta. First, a mariachi greeted us and led our guests into our backyard where we had a Mexican feast, complete with margaritas, toasts, and wedding cake!

As we were finishing setting up for the fiesta, Cat's sister Rachel (who was and always is such an indispensable help in executing our workshops) busted in on a picture with the mariachis while they were warming up.

The view from the attendees perspective (Starr snagged it) as being led into the fiesta!

So this cute lady on the left is actually a Luke and Cat bride! Chloe is getting married in May and is also building her own photography business. You might wonder, what's it like getting into the nitty gritty of pricing and profit margins with one of your clients sitting right there? Well, we run our business in a way that is honest and that we can be proud of, so we never worried about talking about these things in front of Chloe. Amen for authenticity!

Our farewell toast - one of less than 5 times I've seen Luke get choked up!

This corny cake cutting photo happened because all of our attendees wanted it to!

Abby from Two Be Wed led the charge of the Farewell Fiesta and also served us all the delicious cake. It was such a treat that our cake from our styled shoot was a real cake. Thanks Maple and Love! 

Final group picture!

Our hearts are full! Thank you to each of our attendees and all of our friends and family for helping us pull off yet another Life & Craft Workshop. We are excited to welcome our April workshop attendees to the ranch in just a few weeks, and have even more surprises planned for them! If you'd like more information about our workshops, visit our website or sign up for our waiting list.

Love & Community,

Luke and Cat