What Happens in Vegas doesn't always Stay in Vegas

So last week we flew across the country (literally) to the Wedding and Portrait Professionals International annual convention. I got the opportunity to meet and learn from some of the country's top wedding photographers. Dennis Reggie, Tom Munoz, and Rocco Ancora (a little name dropping) were just three of the photographers I had the chance to meet and learn from. Each is considered to be among the best wedding photographers in the world. I learned so many new things that I will be incorporating in my wedding photography. Every photographer has their own unique style, but I am always looking for ways to improve what I do. This convention has renewed my creative energies and given me a springboard for the 2008 wedding season.

We also got to be tourists while in Vegas. The convention was at Bally's and our stay there was fabulous! I swear, I think we rode that little escalator out of the hotel a million times.

The view from our room wasn't too bad either:


And, the south view from the front of our hotel:

We were next door to the famous Paris hotel, which is just gorgeous at night.




And, this explains lots that we saw! Margaritas sold by the Yard!

We visited all the little wedding chapels on the end of the strip. But.... NO they did not!

We did lots of shopping at the Fashion Show mall, which is amazing. You literally do need the mall map to find your way in and out!

Scented oxygen is really BIG in Vegas. There was at least one bar in every mall. 20 bucks for 15 minutes, and you get to pick the scent! Who knew?

Apparently aliens are the way to sell tatoos and piercings... (and it's conveniently located next to the Hemp Saves the Planet store!)

And, even though the line was way too long to ride the roller coaster, we visited New York, New York to see the Statute of Liberty, which was pretty impressive. But, that walk back was brutal!

I was really excited to visit the Beatles memorabilia store at the Mirage. I could have spent all day in there.



And, you can see that Britt and Alex were excited about the Beatles, too!

Wow, Shaq has big hands!

One of the most fun afternoons was our trip to the wax museum. We had a blast! It was fun to play for the afternoon.

Which one is the real Rock?



We were disappointed that we did not see any Elvis impersonators out on the Strip. Oh wait, we did see one:

One thing I will not miss....the traffic! We got honked at a lot! There are lots of angry cab drivers in Vegas!

Doesn't this just say it all?

And, of course my gambling winnings for the week....NOT!