Last week I hopped on a plane and traveled to Fredericksburg, Virginia in the States to attend the Hope Taylor Workshop, a 2-day Wedding and Senior Photography Workshop run by a Virginia based Photographer named Hope Taylor! I have always believed in the importance of investing in education. At the beginning of my business I took Wedding and Portrait photography courses at Ryerson University, and, even though I have been doing Photography professionally for a few years now, I believe you should never stop learning!

Hope is a photographer that I have always admired, as, similar to myself, she started her business at a very young age and grew to make it her full time job. I have always been inspired by not only her photography style and business strategy, but also by her positivity, energy, and love! So a few months ago when I heard about her Workshop, I registered right away! I am so happy that I made that decision as, after the workshop, I came home with a heart so full of knowledge as well as love for Hope and the other 15 attendees! You can check out Hope’s Recap of the workshop here!

Below I will be recapping my trip to Virginia and everything about the workshop from the Meet and Greet to the 2-Day Workshop and Styled Shoots! These photos are a mix of photos from my iPhone, some behind the scenes photos from Hope, and some photos from my camera! Keep scrolling to see all of the prettiness!

The Meet & Greet

On Sunday I took a flight from Billy Bishop Airport to Washington and then a taxi to my hotel in Fredericksburg, Virginia. As soon as I got to the hotel I took a nap then got ready for the Meet and Greet at Hope’s Studio! For all three days, I wore outfits from Kabayare Fashion which sells the most beautiful and comfortable modest dresses. They are a US based company but they ship to Canada, so would definitely check them out!

Hope has the cutest studio in the heart of Downtown Fredericksburg, and for the Meet and Greet, Hope’s mom prepared a stunning dessert table full of home made strawberry shortcakes, pecan tartlets, chess squares and hand decorated cookies! Be warned, you might drool after seeing the photos below. The Meet and Greet consisted of getting to know everyone, eating the yummy desserts, playing Heads Up, and of course, taking photos! Then everyone headed back to rest for Day 1 of the workshop!

Day 1

When we arrived at Hope’s studio for Day 1, we were surprised with a bag full of goodies including a necklace, bathbomb, notebook, and lots of vouchers and coupons! Thank you to all of these vendors for those!

TWILA & CO. |CHALKFULL OF LOVE | LADYBURG | VICI DOLLS

We spent the morning at the Studio discussing everything about photographing a wedding day, and the Wedding Client Experience!

After lunch, we mad our way to the Riddick House at Stevenson Ridge for a full Wedding Day Styled Shoot! The photos from this shoot will be coming to the blog later this week, but here are a few sneak peaks and behind the scenes photos!

I can’t wait to share more from this Romantic Blush Wedding on the blog later this week! Also, thank you to my friend Caitlin for taking this headshot of me in between the styled shoot!

Day 2

Day 2 started off in the studio with more education, then we headed back to Stevenson Ridge for another beautiful styled shoot! We also took a group photo and Hope took individual headshots of all of the 16 attendees!

We then made our way back to the studio for a Pizza Party from Benny’s, which is a pizza place that specializes in HUGE pizzas that take 2 whole plates to fit one slice! After dinner it was time for Q&A’s and our final goodbyes. It was so hard saying goodbye, because, even though it had only been two days, I had made such amazing friendships! I feel so blessed to have met Hope and the other 15 attendees and cannot wait to implement the things I’ve learned into my business!