Wow what a week!  My husband and I just got back from an amazing 4 days at the 2011 Wedding and Portrait Photographers International convention.  This years event was held at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.  This convention gives us the opportunity to share and learn with the top wedding and portrait photographers in the world, plus have a little fun too. J

The trip began with a snowy adventure from Orange County.  We had been watching the weather report all week and we were concerned it would interrupt our drive, but we ended up lucking out.  We drove through a little bit of snow, but mainly we were provided with beautiful scenic views like the one you see below.  We never see snow in Southern California so what a treat.

I have spent my whole life immersed in the photography business and I gain much inspiration by viewing others work.  This week gave me the opportunity to interact with photographers I have looked up to my entire life.  Chriss and I learned new skills from top photographers, such as Jerry Gihonis, Tamara Lackey, Sarah Petty, JP Elario, and many more.  We look forward to implementing these skills and providing even better images and experiences to our clients.

WPPI also provided an awesome trade show.  We got to connect with many of our vendors such as The Knot, Pictage, Design Revolution, Leather Craftsman, and Finao.  We also met some great new vendors that we look forward to partnering with in the future.

While the trip was for business, Chriss and I were able to enjoy some of Vegas’s treats.  We dinned at amazing restaurants such as Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill, where I had an excellent Filet Mignon.  Above is a picture of us at Mesa with our good friends, Brian and Jennifer.  We also enjoyed a great meal at Wolfgang Puck, where I ordered a unique meatloaf that was wrapped in Prosciuto…yummy.  But now for our life lesson that we want to pass on to you for your next trip to Vegas…BYOW.  Bring Your Own Wine.  Chriss and I were not so sure Las Vegas restaurants embraced the same corkage policies that we have in California, but we gave it a try.  Much to our surprise, every restaurant welcomed our wine.  A special shout out to Oyster Bay Seafood & Wine Bar at the Miracle Mile Shops in Planet Hollywood who waived the corkage fee for us.

Well that is enough for today.  I am off to San Francisco for the weekend where there is a chance of snow n the city (I have never heard of such a thing), so my next post may include some more snow pics ;)