"What is a Real Wedding Workshop?" is a question we get asked frequently. Well, it's basically when an engaged couple asks us to photograph their "very real and incredibly beautiful" wedding and make it a workshop where up to 15 photographers can be educated on how to shoot a wedding, while second shooting alongside Bob. This type of workshop is designed to be educational on Day 1 and Day 3. Wedding day is all about the wedding and capturing the moments for our couples. All photographers are considered 2nd shooters. We encourage them to team up with another photographer to make sure they are covered so they can get all the images they need to complete a fine art book of the wedding. It's a pretty amazing way to add a beautiful destination wedding to their portfolio. Everyone is very respectful on wedding day and we all work together beautifully. That's the technical answer... now for the emotional, overly gushy, girlie answer...
Our 1st real wedding + workshop was in Las Vegas in 2008. The 2nd one was in St. Simons Island, Georgia in 2009. The 3rd one was in Nashville, TN in 2011. The 4th one was in the Umbria region of Italy in 2012. This past May 2013 was the 5th wedding Real Wedding Workshop we've hosted, where 15 photographers, and our 2 second shooters, photographed Jenni and Stevn's wedding alongside Bob, in Charleston, South Carolina. Yes, you read that right.... 18 photographers total at this wedding! And yes, we are absolutely crazy!
I can't even begin to tell you how incredibly amazing these experiences have been on so many levels. Lifelong friendships have been made throughout this journey. Life changing moments have occurred. Long nights of talking into the wee hours and even some night swimming, not to mention, some fun moments that will.... well, let's just stay, what happens at a Davis Love Story Workshop stays at a Davis Love Story Workshop! You know who you are!
Stevn's mom,
Pam Bell, is a very dear friend of ours. We met Pam at our St. Simon's Island workshop in 2009. I'll never forget when she called me about attending the workshop. She was the last one to sign up. We talked for quite awhile, as she wasn't sure this was the right workshop for her. Well, since then, she and her sweet husband, Wade, have attended our Real Wedding + Workshop in Italy last year, and also asked us if we would be interested in making her son's wedding a workshop, of course with their approval. Their family has become our family, we just love them so very much. When she shared the details of their wedding with us and sent us photos of Jenni and Stevn, we knew immediately this was the perfect fit.
We had the most amazing photographers join us for this adventure as Jenni and Stevn said "I Do!". Thank you so very much,
Raul Castro,
Courtney Clouse,
Kristi Coil,
Melissa Del Vecchio,
Randy Dickson,
Davis Macias,
Samantha Oulavong,
Jeni Rone,
Crystal Schmidt,
Tiffany and Miles Stelzig,
Vivian Strayer,
Mary Wessner,
Becky Williamson,
Julie Wooldridge for believing in us and trusting Bob and I to provide you with an educational and fun experience! Please remember to keep in touch with us. We know that we provided a ton of information and if you ever have questions, always know that we are here for you!!! We want to see you succeed!
A huge thank you to our Operations Manager, Michele, for helping us along with every step of the way with this workshop. We don't know what we'd do without her.... truly, everyone needs a Michele! And a huge thank you to
Arlene and Doug Beets who 2nd shoot this wedding with Bob. Also, major contributors were their daughter and son-in-law, Tiffany and Miles. And, Stevn's mom, Pam and his sister,
Katrin who shared some photos with us as well. We love you all so very much!!! Thank you for contributing as our 2nd shooters! You are the best of the best!
We hosted our workshop at the
Charleston Center For Photography which was a fantastic location! Andy and his team were amazing and so gracious with us. We were also blessed to have Brandon Heiss from
Westcott Westcott join us to help with lighting setups. Thank you Brandon!!!
Day one, we all headed to
Battery Park in Charleston with everyone, which is famous for its beautiful cobblestone walkways and Antebellum homes. As you can see in the photo above, there were a lot of light stands! Jenni and Stevn were amazing as they were being photographed like celebrities! I really loved the gazebo at White Point Gardens and all the . Their love for each other is undeniable! And every photographer there was taken in by not only their beauty on the outside but their kindness on the inside too!
After Battery Park, we were off to cover the red carpet entrance to the rehearsal dinner at the 1940's deco
American Theater. Look familiar? In my all-time favorite movie "The Notebook" Noah and Allie go to see Buster Keaton in Li’l Abner at this theather. Pam & Wade were hosting the rehearsal dinner and wanted to do a red carpet entrance. Bob thought it would be fun to have a paparazzi style entrance. And Jenni looked amazing in her
BCBG Maxazria dress!
So, this is Part 1 of a 4 part blog post of our last Davis Love Story Real Wedding + Workshop. We hope that you can experience how incredible this adventure was for us all through our photos! Enjoy!
Much love everyone!
~ Dawn and Bob
