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This is it! You've found it! This is the place to grab up your Spread the Love seat!!
But first, we wanted to answer a few of the frequently asked questions that we've been getting:
How long is Spread the Love? How many hours do I need a babysitter? :)
Great question! We'll aim to start all of the sessions at 3pm (but the time may vary if we have any location restrictions) and then will go til around 7pm. Although I tend to keep going once you get me started, so plan on 8pm just in case!! :)
Spread the Love sounds AWESOME! What is it again? :)
:) :) Spread the Love is not a photography specific workshop. It's a LIFE workshop. So anyone in a service based industry or who works for themselves could attend!! The whole idea is to show you how to build a business that works for you (rather than always the other way around) so you can get back to having a life again. Seriously, when was the last time you felt like you had a life outside of your business? So we focus a lot on building up your business, but we'll also dig into things like building your financial house, taking care of yourself and your relationships with the people you love, and giving back to the bigger picture. It's the feel good movie of the year!!
I'm just getting started....is Spread the Love for me?
Absolutely!! Oh what I would have given for Justin & I to start out with this information rather than having to learn it the hard way. It was a long, hard road for us which is a big reason why we wanted to start these workshops. We figured if we could help just one person avoid some of the pitfalls we fell in to, it would be worth it!!
What are the dates again??
Spread the Love Boston: January 5th
Spread the Love NYC: January 6th
Spread the Love DC: January 7th
Spread the Love Richmond: January 8th
Spread the Love Nashville: January 14th
Spread the Love Charlotte: January 15th
Spread the Love Atlanta: January 18th
Spread the Love Jacksonville: January 19th
Spread the Love Houston: January 22nd
Spread the Love Austin: January 25th
Spread the Love Dallas: January 26th
Spread the Love Phoenix: February 2nd
Spread the Love San Diego: February 4th
Spread the Love LA: February 5th
Spread the Love San Fran: February 8th
Spread the Love Seattle: February 11th
Spread the Love Salt Lake City: February 15th
Spread the Love Denver: February 17th
Spread the Love Kansas City: February 19th
Spread the Love Chicago: February 22nd
Spread the Love Maine: March 24th
Ok, ok.....so how do I sign up again?
Just head down to the drop down menu below, pick your city and click buy now. (You will need to sign up for a free Google account if you don't already have one)
We can't wait to see you there!!
***The not-so-small-print: Since this is your basic homegrown operation and we're paying for everything ourselves :), we won't be able to offer refunds for anyone if you end up having to cancel for a reason on your part. However, if we end up having to cancel a stop either because that city didn't make it to 50 sign ups or because of illness/inclement weather then we will give you the option of receiving a refund, attending another city on the tour or attending the re-scheduled stop. So you'll be all set there!
Today was the kind of day you just want to live over and over again so that you always remember how it felt in that moment. To all of you who came and packed out our room and filled it with more love than we could ever imagine, from the bottom of our hearts thank you for that. Thank you for being there to share this day with us and thank you for being the best part of this dream come true.
To all of you amazing folks who came and stood in line but didn't make it in to the room, we are SO sorry about that! But we are very happy to announce that we will be doing a repeat performance tomorrow from 11-1 in one of the third floor ballrooms (exact room # tbd!) and would LOVE to see and meet all of you there. So that we can hug you in person for waiting so long!
Eyes wide open, I stare up at a beige-y sky and I breathe. Shallow, quick desperate breaths. And it strikes me how very much I feel like a gold fish right now, gulping toward the hand that feeds me. Beside me Justin rests. Not so much sleeps, as rests his eyes. And I'm going to be honest with you, he's snoring. And in the deepest part of my heart, I ache for that because... he never snores.
Only when he is most exhausted.
And exhausted is a pretty good word to describe it. For the past week and a half we've been working around the clock on this talk. And there is of course still work to be done. Today, in about 12 hours, we will stand up on a stage that I have been dreaming about for the last three and a half years. Since I first picked up a camera. And I can't help feeling that I just need a little more time.
Three and a half years... and one day. Yea, that would work.
Tonight on the way back to the room, I stopped to pick up a penny. I figured we could use all the luck we could get. And hey if any of you out there today happen to find a penny, maybe you'll pick it up and hold on to it for us too. And send us those good luck vibes. Because honestly we can use all of them we can get.
Today when we walk into that room and step on that stage, I wish for only one thing. That my eyes will be as wide open as they are right now. That I will take a second to look all around me and soak it all in. And that no matter what happens today or which lines I forget or whether or not I trip and fall off the stage altogether...that I will keep my eyes open to what's happening right in front of me. Because this is a moment that was three and a half years in the making.
And I don't want to miss a thing.
For those of you who will be there today, first of all thank you. From the bottom of my heart thank you. And here's a little preview of what's in store.
We are on our way Vegas bound for the biggest photography conference of the year, WPPI!! We were up until 2 in the morning wrapping everything up (and trying to fit everything in our bags!!), but now it's go time and I'm as giddy as a school girl. Just give me a Scooby Doo lunch box and some yellow #2 pencils and call it a day! While we're dodging in and out of airports, here are some morning announcements for you:
First up, we were just interviewed for WPPI radio with the incredible Scott Sheppard and you can check that out (and sign up for the podcasts!) by going HERE!
Next, we just launched our first ever shooting workshop!! We pre-released it to our newsletter peeps first over the weekend and it completely sold out. That workshop will be on April 8th, and because it filled up so quickly we're thinking about opening up another one the following day on April 9th. Shoot us an email at justin@justinmarantz.com if you want to get on the waitlist so you can be the first to know if we do open up a second date. We'll go on a first come, first serve basis from who emails us, so send it fast!
Speaking of workshops, if you're looking for a KILLER workshop all about lighting and nailing your exposure you HAVE to check out Zach & Jody Gray!! They are bringing their "IN-Camera Workshop" to Connecticut on April 18th & 19th and they only have a few seats left, so hit them up HERE if you want to go! And trust me, you wanna go! :)
And finally, thank you SO much for all the re-tweeting love for our Platform talk on Tuesday, March 9th at 3:30! We have picked one of you to be the very lucky winner of the TRA Lightroom Presets, and that lucky person is.......drumroll please......Erin Cady!!! Hit us up with an email Erin & we'll get you the goods!
Well....this is it. The final chapter in our Spread the Love Saga.
I can't. believe. it's. over.
These past two months were just a blink....a blur...a blip on the great tortilla burrito that is the time-space continuum. And yet somehow, an entire lifetime was lived in them. All of us that were along for the ride came out of it slightly different people. Hopefully slightly better people. Better for the ride. Better for the reality. Better for getting out of our own little bubbles and out into the great expanse of the horizon beyond. I cannot say thank you enough to those of you who joined us on this great adventure. I know this is a story that I will be telling my great-great grandchildren for years to come (because I fully intend on living that long) and all of you will be the characters. Thank you for sharing your hearts with us. Thank you for being so raw, so honest. For never being afraid to look weak, for never caring if you were vulnerable. You are the real heroes of this story.
And I just want to say thank you for letting us read along.
So much love,
J&M
From hanging out with Harrison & Calista over Valentine's Day....we cruised on down to Vail in search of some famous hot chocolate we'd been hearing about from Sarah & Shyla for over a year.
Rrrrrrrimini!!!
Let me just tell you this. It was worth every last mile without wireless signal to get there and every last minute on the treadmill after. In my heaven, the clouds will be made from this hot cocoa.
Play it cool. Play it cool.
We didn't get any pictures from our time in Denver because our personal photographer (Miss Julia G, who did a ROCKIN job documenting the whole trip, was back home that week). But we did have an amazing time with a group of amazing people AND we got to sample the world's best margaritas and fish tacos ever courtesy of Miss Rene Tate and her BFF Jessie. Good times were had by all!
From Denver there is a whole lotta NOTHIN until you get to Kansas City. See this shot below? This was the highlight of the drive! Add to that fact that I only had about 1/8th of a bar the whole 10 hours and I came very close to losing my mind. Where are we now? Oh yea, we're at that place that has fields on both sides. Shoot me!
Kansas City just stole my heart. We had people there all the way from Arkansas (wat up Beaty's?!) and with their sweet southern/midwestern accents I just wanted to gobble each and every one of them up. But I didn't.....that would be weird.
HUGE thanks to Digital Labrador for hosting us!!
And finally from Kansas City we made our way up to Chicago, where Bob & Dawn Davis hooked us up with this awesome space at Calumet. If Chicago were going to win a "Lovey" it would be for best group to go out with a bang with!! We still have one more stop to go in Maine later this month, but Chicago wrapped up this crazy road trip for us and they did it in style!
I think Justin is demonstrating his mad marionette skills here. :)
And that's it. Two of the most life changing months of our lives are over. But like I said, I know I'll be talking about them for years and YEARS to come!
ETA: Here's a fun shot Rene sent us of our fish taco dinner!
Spread the Love
