I’m not going to say much about this über fun wedding, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

While I can’t begin to go into great detail of what each innovator shared (most spoke for well over 2 hours each) I will share at least one take away from each…maybe a few but understand that kinda like when we are in church, we hear exactly what we need to hear and I heard a lot. My vision is clear, my dreaming is taking on a new part in my business and I’m excited to start some personal projects.

Sarah and Chris Rhodes from We are the Rhodes were incredibly inspiring. What they’ve accomplished in a relatively short amount of time is impressive and the best part is, there was no magic involved, only hours and hours of work.   Thank God I’ve never been afraid to work hard!   Aside from driving home the “anything is possible” concept they really challenged us to dream audaciously and so I have been marinating on those two words and I’ll be writing in my little journal those crazy ideas that I come up with. I will continue to dream audaciously…thank you Sarah and Chris for sharing!

Jesh de Rox whew, just trying to sum up what I got our of his talk is exhausting. Jesh is one of the most sincere speakers out there. (check your judgement at the door since I won’t hear them)  He is real and while he is an incredibly gifted speaker, he is also a brilliant business mind, someone I want to listen to and did. I took pages of notes during his talk but my biggest take away is I’m going to be working on finding my big star..(you had to be there)  and also finding the clients that want to be a part of my story because this story is going to be a great one.  Thank you Jesh for your sincerity and especially for sharing your music with us on the beach…How great was sitting on the beach, the only light source the constellations! Perfect.

Dan O’Day was the only innovator I wasn’t familiar with and turns out he is now my favorite!  It’s true. His photography is pure art. This passionate artist from Australia rocked my world. He gave me tons to think about along with very practical ideas and so much inspiration. Best part is he sent us home with homework. Literally a project to be completed by March 1st, one of many personal projects that I will be taking on this year.  Thanks Dan for being you, completely raw and for sharing so many inspiring avenues/ideas to spur my creativity. I’m excited to +1 many images this year!

Whitney and Jesse Chamberlain were a fascinating treat. They are the ever so talented couple behind Our Labor of Love. First let me say that Whitney is a crazy kind of smart that leaves us regular minds at a disadvantage, that said, I got so much out of their talk. The biggest being not to get caught up in doing something different just for the sake of doing something different. I will continue to tell my couples stories with my personal style since each and every one of them is different and exciting in and of themselves. Whit and Jesse, thank you for that!  I’m looking forward to partying with you guys at Airplanes and Blazers 2!

Justin Lyon was not what I expected. He was so much more. Let me say that of all the innovators at What If I was most excited to hear what he had to say. That was strictly because I’m a huge fan of the work Amelia Lyon does. It turns out he was the most inspiring, in a very personal way. He shared his missions work, and his faith and I was moved.  I will only say that I hope to be able to credit him with some upcoming projects. Thank you Justin for sharing your story and especially for sharing Credenda with us, I’ve re-read it 3 times now and I may actually memorize it but especially the final paragraph: “Above all, remember that very little is needed to make a happy life. Look up. Reach out. Cling simply to God and journey quietly on your pathway to forever with charity and a smile. When you depart, it will be said that your legacy was a better world than the one you found” -Og Mandino. Brilliant!

Jen and Steve Bebb closed our time together by giving us tons of challenges. Challenges I’m ready to take on.  Thank you for making this amazing conference happen, and I can’t wait for the next one. Jen, thank you thank you thank you…I am blessed to call you friend!

Now, what would a blog post be without some images right? Keep in mind I only had my iPhone with me, so I hope you will enjoy my instagrams from those 4 days in Mexico.

In 2011 I read 40 books.  I keep track of what I’ve read and what I’d like to read with Goodreads.  It’s a wonderful site for folks with a passion for reading. Out of those 40 books, I read five 5 star novels, this meaning they were amazing and I want all my friends to read them. I read thirteen 4 star novels, which are very good books and worth reading if you like that particular genre. Then came all the OK and crappy reads which I wont bother bringing your attention to in this post. For now I’ll link the top 11 books that I loved in 2011

I can not say enough about The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. It’s this crazy good drama set on a Virginia Plantation. For all those fans of The Help, you should try this one.

I read The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simmons in only 6 days, not a big deal for a regular sized book, but this one has 800+ pages.  It was just too good to put down. It’s got this passionate love story with the scary and sad backdrop of Russia when Germany invaded.  SO GOOD!

The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles was another book that fascinated me.  I actually felt smarter after reading it.  You know those old black and white movies from the 40′s, yeah that’s what I envisioned reading this one.

The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey is one of those books I love because it took me far far away and taught me more about the inception of the IRA.  A topic I knew little about.

I first read Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross 11 years ago and I remember loving it so much, so this year I re-read it with the Literal Hotties and I loved it just as much this time around and so did all the other ladies who read it.  If you enjoy Historical Fiction try this one!

The Book of Bright Ideas by Sandra Kring is one of those books where you’ll find yourself crying out of nowhere.  The story is told by a 9 year old and I just love this kind of coming of age genre.

The Sweet Gum Tree by Katherine Allred surprised me by being so great.  It’s totally a chick-lit but I loved every minute of it.

I enjoyed both The Soldiers Wife by Margaret Leroy and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows. The are totally different books that cover the same horrible chunk of history for the Island. I highly recommend these to all WW2 Historical Fiction lovers.

Along with most of America I read The Hunger Games trilogy and I can recommend this book to EVERYONE.

You don’t have to be interested in flowers to enjoy The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.  This is another coming of age along the vein of White Oleander.  It’s got it’s flaws but in the end you are so happy you read this girls story.  I would say if you enjoy the coming of age genre then it’s a must.

I’ve often been asked how I find the time to read with my busy life and in reality it’s really not that hard.  I don’t watch TV at night so when others are watching TV I’m usually reading.  It’s also easy to get in an extra hour of reading by logging off of Facebook, twitter and pinterest . (requires much discipline) You would be surprised how much reading time you can find.

Please use the leave us a message tab on the home page to share any must reads or to get more information about joining The Literal Hotties.

Thank you Mags and Brian for choosing me to be your wedding photographer, what an honor!