Welcome to the Ashton Kelley Photography Retreat in Deep Creek, Maryland! Attendees of this super fun educational experience were greeted by this pretty display of welcome bags and tons of hugs inside by Ashton! Lara-Jill of Simply Gorgeous Events by Lara-Jill had the vision to use this beautiful bookshelf as a statement piece for welcoming the girls! What a warm welcome!

Inside each bag were sponsored goodies from many other creative entrepreneurs! Ashton had a lot of connections and we were able to gift some great items to photographers attending the retreat. These jute bags worked well for everyone to tote all the fun loot received throughout the weekend! I used different shades of pink ribbon to match the retreat aesthetic and Ashton’s brand.

Each attendee’s name-tag lanyard served as a gift tag! Aren’t they pretty?! Pictured below is just some of the goodies inside each welcome bag!

I spoke about Client Experience at this retreat so I got to join, too! On the first night, Ashton hosted a 90s party complete with rad shades, slap-wraps, Pop Rocks, cool playlist, neon decorations, and lots of other 90s details. It was tons of fun and a great way to “break the ice.”

Lara-Jill Reynolds of Simply Gorgeous Events planned this stunning styled shoot for attendees to capture. What a great way for them to build their portfolio and learn beside the pros! I was lucky enough to end up having Lara-Jill as a roommate. She is so sweet and I cannot recommend her enough as a wedding planner!

One of the things I love most about Ashton is that she is an includer. She makes everyone feel important and welcome. It was amazing to me as I watched all the girls arrive. They were all hugging each other and sharing stories. Some had met before, but even those who hadn’t were scooped up and loved upon immediately. Ashton has built a loving community where she leads other photographers to become their best selves. They keep in touch through a Facebook group, so if some of the attendees didn’t meet in person before this retreat, they had connected online.

Ashton, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of this retreat! You are such a fun-loving person and I’m so happy to now call you a friend!

All of these photos are courtesy of Ashton Kelley Photography.