Happy Monday, my friends! I was SO excited to get into the office today- I had an amazing weekend behind me, and a HUGE week ahead of me! Firstly, Courtney & Will got married this past weekend. You’ll hear me wax on about them enough on Insta & their blog post (coming some time next week), but trust me when I say that their day was one of my favorites of my entire career. Not because of the details or the venue or anything like that, but because of the people. And it was SUCH a sweet reminder of moments over miscellany. That genuine joy and human interaction will always matter more and for longer than just taking pretty detail photos (which I tend to stress out over).

And then as for the week ahead of me, I’m leaving on Thursday for two weeks in Paris!! After so many months of planning, Skyping, and late night texting, the Signature Atelier is finally happening! AHHHH!! Katherine departed last night and my flight leaves late on Thursday, so we’ll spend Friday & Saturday getting ready for our 10 photographers (joining us from all over) to arrive on Sunday afternoon for a schedule chock full of education, inspiration, and Parisian goodness. In true Abby style, I’m still prepping my in-class sessions, but you guys. I’m so dang excited.

As always, lessons learned/events that transpired over the past week:

• Last Monday, we drove into DC before heading up to Philly because the Washington Nationals (our baseball team) was advertising a pre-game event where you could meet some of the Nats wives! And as an avid follower of a few of the Nats wives/girlfriends/fiancées on Insta, I was ALL about it.
• But then I totally clammed up when it came time to meet them, and I finally understood how introverts feel when they’re at photography conferences and their favorite photo idol walks by. And I spent the rest of the drive up to Philly berating myself for asking such basic questions. GET IT TOGETHER, ABBY.
• Where did Philadelphia get the nickname “the city of brotherly love?” Because I witnessed at least two people flipping each other the middle finger when we were there for an engagement session last Tuesday.
• I caught onto the La Croix sparkling water train and sheeeew child, I’m in love! I’m going through 2-3 cans a day right now, and it’s become my favorite way to stay hydrated! See, I’m one of those people who never remembers to drink water, which is a problem when you get two miles into a six mile run and wonder why your tongue feels like sandpaper.
• Matt and I had a meeting at the church where we were married this past week, and on our way out, we stopped by the main sanctuary. And then Matt said “this is where our forever began!” and I burst into tears. I love him so much!

Previews from this weekend, because LOOK HOW SENSATIONAL THEY ARE TOGETHER! Also, let’s talk about the fact that Courtney has flawless bridal taste.