JOURNAL

The

Blog Home

+ Categories

Weddings

portraits

Personal

favorites

Blog Home

Portraits

Personal

Weddings

favorites

Adventures

Showit United Conference 2018

November 12, 2018

Hello, loves!

Here you'll find our latest work, recent travels, our current projects and other fun happenings! We hope you enjoy your visit to our home on the web!

About Us

Currently
Trending

A Downtown Owensboro Wedding

A Downtown Chicago Engagement

The Goedde Family Session

Snuggle in, because this is bound to be a long one, friends! We are home from the BEST WEEK EVER in Phoenix, Arizona. We ventured there for the Showit United Conference 2018. Showit is a website builder for creatives that gives businesses like ours the tools to easily make amazing websites like the one you’re currently on! The team throws one epic conference every year to fill creative entrepreneurs with education, inspiration, and community. Todd and the rest of the Showiteers are changing lives with this experience!  AND we still can’t believe that we had the chance to go!!  As first timers, we went in bright-eyed and ready.  #showitunited2018 was everything and more than we could’ve ever imagined!!

 

United 2018 0001.jpg
United 2018 0002.jpg
United 2018 0003.jpgSunday:

Whew!  Arriving to Phoenix on Sunday was seriously a DREAM!!  As we were driving from the airport towards the hotel, we scored the BEST Uber driver!  Les gave us the low-down on everything, pointing out important landmarks and made us feel oh so welcomed to this stunning city!!  Our jaws dropped and our hearts pounded fast as we explored.  (This was out first time ever in the desert…)  Desert dwellers, count yourselves lucky because you live in a magically beautiful place!!

The hotel was literally built into the mountains and the highest point delivered the MOST INCREDIBLE views of the city.  We were sure we were in heaven, haha!

After registering, getting our first round of ‘Showit Hugs’ and grabbing our awesome swag bags, we were off to the Welcome Reception.  We ran into the arms of SO many of our sweet friends, and actually met several ‘Instagram’ friends, too!!  AHH!! SO MANY HUGS!! I was thankful we were among so many great people.  What a way to kick off the best week ever!!

United 2018 0004.jpg

Monday:

Let the good stuff begin!!!  Our first session started early with an incredible line-up of speakers who were ready to change lives. Many industry leaders stepped up to pour out their hearts and souls!!  Katelyn James, Caroline Logan, and Jasmine Star were at the top of our favs list!!  Our hearts and our notebooks were full and we were already on FIRE!

United 2018 0005.jpg
United 2018 0006.jpg
United 2018 0007.jpg

We were reunited with SO many sweet friends!!  Our hearts were exploding with joy!!  AND we even got a chance to do a group photo with the gals from the Next Level Retreat!  WE WERE PUMPED!!!
United 2018 0008.jpg
United 2018 0009.jpg

That evening the entire group ventured to the Phoenix Zoo for dinner under the stars…AND under all of  the magical Christmas Lights!  We laughed the night away with everyone, filled our bellies with the best food, and explored the Zoo the entire evening! OH, and we officially can mark ‘meet Jasmine Star’ off of our bucket list!!  #fangirling

United 2018 0010.jpg

AND naturally, we were amongst 300 photographers, SO the never-ending photoswap was MY FAV!!  Those creamy, dreamy Arizona sunsets were MAGICAL!!

United 2018 0011.jpg
United 2018 0012.jpg
United 2018 0013.jpg
United 2018 0014.jpg
United 2018 0015.jpg
Tuesday:

We kicked Day 3 off with a BANG!! Again, the lineup of speakers was pretty much mind-blowing…Our notebooks were on fire and full of great info.  We were also lucky enough to be Julie Paisley’s guinea pig during her ‘Posing the Bridal Party’ session!  As you can imagine, we awkwardly giggled our way through Julie’s commands, haha!!

United 2018 0016.jpg
United 2018 0017.jpg

AND then, the most memorable, magical part of the week…

Let’s begin by stating that we are where we are today because of two people. Our business has grown, our lives have changed, and our dreams/goals have been met because of these two.  Amy and Jordan Demos are a husband and wife photography team out of Arizona…Bret and I have looked up to A&J for years.  Officially meeting these sweet mentors for the first time was overwhelming!  We were left speechless (and in tears) at the first hello.  How do you conjure up the words to say ‘thank you’ to someone who has impacted your life/marriage/business in such a HUGE capacity?!  Amy & Jordan, we love you two SO much!!  Those smiles say it all!!

United 2018 0018.jpg

It was time to party!!  We ran back down the mountain to our room, threw on our best outfits, and hiked back up the mountain for a few photos before venturing off to the GALA!!!  Snuggling with Bret on top of that mountain in the desert was something I’ll never forget!!

United 2018 0019.jpg
United 2018 0020.jpg
United 2018 0021.jpg
United 2018 0022.jpg
United 2018 0023.jpg

Photoswapping side-by-side with my sweet friend Quianna!
United 2018 0024.jpg

The gala was a dream come true!  Celebrating with everyone in our fancy clothes was a blast!!  There was a live band, unicorn-llamas, and photo booths! The air was full of giddy giggles all night long.  We danced the night away at the gala before heading to the Tonic After Party!  Bret & I didn’t realize just how out-of-shape we were until we danced for 6-ish hours straight!  Our legs were on fire! WHEW! haha!!

United 2018 0025.jpg
United 2018 0026.jpg
United 2018 0027.jpg
United 2018 0028.jpg
United 2018 0029.jpg
United 2018 0030.jpg

Wednesday:

Our final day of the conference was mind-blowing!  First up on stage was our dear friend Natalie Franke and the closing session was with Amy & Jordan.  With cheers and tears, this amazing week was officially coming to an end.  We couldn’t believe it was over already.  Why are goodbyes SO hard?!
United 2018 0031.jpg
United 2018 0032.jpg
United 2018 0033.jpg

Thankfully we had a day of sitting by the pool with friends & a cold drink to relax!  Can I just live here already?!

United 2018 0034.jpg
United 2018 0035.jpg
United 2018 0036.jpg
United 2018 0037.jpg

And our trip wouldn’t be complete without one more photo swap in the desert at sunset!  We met up with sweet Chelsea and her husband to trade sunset sessions at Papago Park!  (Can you believe that THIS is what their parks look like?!)

United 2018 0038.jpg
United 2018 0039.jpg
United 2018 0040.jpg
United 2018 0041.jpg
United 2018 0042.jpg
United 2018 0043.jpg
United 2018 0044.jpg
United 2018 0045.jpg
United 2018 0046.jpg
United 2018 0047.jpg
United 2018 0048.jpg
United 2018 0049.jpg

Our hearts are SO full as we reflect on our time in Arizona.  Showit United 2018 was definitely INCREDIBLE!!!  Here’s to counting down the days until the next one!

United 2018 0050.jpg

Various Vendor/Photo Credit:

Quianna Marie Photography
Regina K Popova
Chelsea Campbell

Brandie’s Dresses:

Gala Dress:  Borrowed from my sweet sister!
Green & white dress
Pink dress with buttons
Blue and white striped dress
White & black dress with pocket

Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links & we would love if you decided to use them!  

+ Show / Hide Comments

Share to:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

READ        LATEST

the

About Us • About Us • About Us •

MEET THE BLOGGERs

About

Husband & Wife. Creative Entrepreneurs. Photographers. Artists. World Travelers. Coaches. We’re here to take you along with us as we chase our wildest dreams, build big businesses that feed our souls, capture memories for epic humans, and see this beautiful world... together.

BRET & BRANDIE