Happy Memorial Day!

From Tom Paule Photography,  we hope that all of you are wrapping up a wonderful weekend, enjoying your family, resting and relaxing with friends and loved ones.

We also hope that you remember the WHY of Memorial Day, that you stop and remember with praise and gratitude those who represented our country with valor and humility.

Enjoy, but remember.

Give thanks for our freedom.

We give particular thanks to our clients and their families who have fought for our country, we appreciate you deeply!

Memorial Day Weekend Kick-Off

It seems almost impossible that is is Memorial Day Weekend! Schools out (or about to be), graduations are happening everywhere and summer is upon us. You wouldn't know it with the chilly and wet weather we've had lately but it looks like next week things are about to change and summer will be here in with some punch.

Of course, it will seem like no time that we're all lamenting the fact that it is Labor Day, school is starting and summer has flown by. Why does summer zip by and winter seems like it lasts forever?

I hope you're kicking off Memorial Day in a BIG WAY, but in case, here are some ideas of things you can do:


The Riverfront Times is a favorite resource for what's happening in STL---- and they've said that this summer should be the summer we all stop complaining about (heat/humidity/nothing to do/etc) and dive right in to the many things that make St.Louis such a great town, especially in the summer. I like that----- Dive Right In. St. Louis is a winter weary/bad weather weary town, we are ready to enjoy a fantastic summer!

This weekend has a few rescheduled graduations thanks to the displays of Mother Nature this week, besides that there is a ton of great activities to choose from! Some of the favorites on our radar:

• How about the Spring to Dance Festival at the Touhill? 
• Or The Taming of the Shrew in Forest Park? 
• How about seeing the City Museum by Flashlight tonight and Friday nights this summer? 
• A favorite St. Louis event on Memorial Day weekend is the Rib Festival at Soldier's Memorial, doesn't the thought of it make your mouth water? 
• If you wander over to Maplewood, Schlafly's is hosting the World Pork Steak Championship! Should you have attempted to purchase a pork steak anywhere else in the world you know that St. Louis is the ONLY place for this sure to be tough competition. 
• On Monday, the 30th----- the much anticipated and cult classic Gypsy Caravan rolls into town bringing some of the best shopping all year long. Find it at UMSL and earlybirds can get in as early as 7 a.m. with many lining up hours earlier.
• If you or kids you know are not playing in a ball tournament this weekend, just about any and every field in town is hosting one! Drop by, see what's happening, grab a hot dog and have some fun. 

No matter what you choose to do this weekend, even if it is nothing (heaven forbid)---- 

be safe, 

relax, 

eat some Q, 

have fun 

and kick off your summer!!

Vegan Chic?

The latest wave of chic seems to be vegan chic. And weddings, parties and even commercial accounts all tip their hats (non-animal of course) to the vegan movement. Well, except for McDonald's where my kids would be very disappointed if there were no burgers or chicken on the menu!

St. Louis often seems like a small town but is definitely riding this popular wave. The recent seasons craft shows as well as local boutiques all seem to be "veganish".

Even "everyday people" are becoming vegan or "leaning into" the practice. It is not something my household embraces however! The shoes above show the trend in vegan wedding chic. These are handmade, totally vegan- sporting vinyl soles and uppers from upcycled satin. They're $60 at Etsy, by seller Hydraheart.

Vintage is beyond huge when it comes to trend and not only in St. Louis. The trend is definitely vintage. In that theme:

From 13Bees on Etsy comes this vintage 50's dress----- $398.

For those of us trend watching, or looking at weddings in the next year or so both vintage and vegan promise to play a big role.

Dodged the Rain!

There was not a bride in St. Louis not dancing for joy last Saturday ===== we did NOT get the forecasted buckets of rain! (With more to come this week!)

Our bride was smiling from ear to ear, how wonderful, sunshine and blue skies! It turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day! Thank you Mother Nature!

All the Rain Fear running rampant around town on Friday means it's time for a Wedding Day Rain Survival Guide! Things you need to know JUST IN CASE. As with most things, with some advance preparation and thought, if it does rain on your big day you might not hit the panic button. [as hard].

Talk to your photographer about Rain Plans. We have a LOT of great tried and true ideas for rain, we hate it when it happens but trust me, we're prepared.

• Make sure you have purchased enough umbrellas for everyone in the wedding party. Here at Tom Paule Photography, we always carry them but you might need them at some other time when we're not together. You can always purchase cute umbrellas in your wedding colors, or with a monogram, etc. 
• Your emergency bag should contain an extra roll of paper towels and a hand towel for everyone in your wedding party. Think inexpensive, they have a way of disappearing after the wedding. 
• Makeup touch-ups should be expected more frequently.
• Hair Spray. Hair Spray. Hair Spray. It is a great idea to discuss the possibility of rain with your stylist. He/She can give you ideas about a last minute changeup if necessary. 
• Tuck a few large gallon size trash bags into your transportation. They're always useful in covering a muddy step, or a million other uses.

Lastly, don't panic. In many cultures around the world, rain on your wedding day is good luck! It might mean:

• stronger bonds in marriage
• excellent fertility
• money, money, money
• a long happy marriage

It all boils down to your outlook----- carry with you optomism on this (and every) day, the glass is half full not empty and with a great attitude and smile on your face good things will come!

Preserving the Dress

One of the questions we get asked a LOT is about wedding gowns and the preservation thereof! It really breaks down into two camps, those that have a dress cleaned and boxed for posterity and those that could care less and in the past have been eager participants of a "Trash The Dress" session.


Those that DO:

• Find a reputable company to take care of cleaning your dress BEFORE the wedding
• Ask your friends and your bridal salon for recommendations
• Interview the cleaners on the short list
• make sure they have a track record, check them out with the BBB, ask for recommendations they have received
• Do NOT choose someone based purely on PRICE!!!!  This is not good when purchasing anything!
• Ask the cleaner if they make any repairs before cleaning
• Do they store the dress in archival/acid free boxes or containers?
• Be sure to inquire how many years a dress can be stored until it needs to be taken out and the process repeated. The answer "never" is not a good one. 
• Ask about things you need to do before dropping off your gown to them after the reception is over.
• Make sure you have someone that will deliver your gown to the cleaning company for you if you are leaving immediately on your honeymoon. TIME MATTERS. Just as you want to soak white dinner napkins that have lipstick or red wine on them as soon as possible, the same goes with your wedding gown. 

Those that DON'T:

• Really? You're not going to clean your dress in any way?
• Totally up to you------ but even if you don't want it for any future anything------ we doubt you'll toss it in the trash. 
• Find a cleaner that will take your dress and CLEAN it----- even if you are not going to the ritual of having it boxed, etc. 
• You can have a dress professionally cleaned and returned to you on a hanger---
• If you go this route take the plastic off the dress as soon as possible. Drape the gown with a clean, white sheet that completely covers the dress. Don't jam it in the closet. Store out of the light.

The main thing is to really think about this BEFORE you walk down the aisle! Investigate, discuss---- make a good decision.

78%  of brides have their dress cleaned and boxed
8%  of brides have their dress professionally cleaned
5%    of brides re-sell their dress online or at consignment shops
6%    of brides don't do anything to their dress
the remaining percentage either don't remember or don't care (!)

Make a decision you can live with now--------------- AND later!

Sneak Peek: Kelly & Jeremy

The wedding day of Kelly & Jeremy was a bit rainy, okay a lot rainy. And chilly. But despite the threat from Mother Nature, the day was great for these newlyweds!

Just a sneak peek of their photos, with more to come!

Kelly and the ladies, bright smiles despite the less than bright day!

Jeremy &; the guys:

And a trio from the location shoot, the bricks outside the stadium in honor of the grooms grandfather-

Thanks Kelly & Jeremy, 

may you have a long and happy life together!

Commercially Yours

It is always a privilege to photograph for commercial clients and I have many. I consider each commercial entity valuable and all are very different with needs that run the spectrum---- which means I'm always tapped in to the client and things that are going on around St. Louis! In a city this large with so many things going on, new properties, revitalized properties, complete renovations as well as small facelifts, it's so much fun to see what is happening in STL!

Last week I photographed for the Hilton Ballpark as well as for Proctor & Gamble.

The Hilton Ballpark features:

• Cardinals Home Field Advantage Ticket Packages Available
• Hotel Video Tour
• Come experience all that St. Louis has to offer
• St. Louis Gateway Arch

• Coming Summer 2011 360 Rooftop Bar
• Expedia Insiders' Select 2010 - Chosen As One of the World's Top 1% of Hotels
• Voted Best St. Louis Hotel 2009 by RFT
• Seen in the George Clooney movie "Up In The Air" 

 Now (above) that's a view!

There is quite a bit of buzz being generated currently about the new rooftop bar and so many in town will take advantage of thin unique and fantastic place.

Proctor & Gamble----- what can you say?  Cincinatti based P&G makes brand favorites Cascade, Febreze, Swiffer and Mr. Clean products in St. Louis.  With more than $79 billion in 2009, P& G has owned the property north of the city for almost a hundred years. Proctor and Gamble is in the process of a 40 million dollar construction project for a new administration building at 25.000 square feet and adding a new converter for the Cascade brand Action Pac in 2010. "To keep pace with demand, the construction of additional Cascade Gel Action Pac lines is necessary, along with new high-speed packing lines." Additionally new employees will be added to the already high level working at the facility. An additional $35 million dollars in upgrades is slated to be implemented this year.

 

The video was shot by Eric Habert of Lifetime Media, it was great to work with him!

Happy Wedding Kelly & Jeremy!

Crazy weather but not a crazy day! I love to photograph people, period. But to be able to photograph a couple on their wedding day? The day a new life together begins? Magic, just magic.

It's a gift to be able to watch first glances,
sparkling eyes
perhaps a tear or two
a fathers pride
a mothers joy
kids laughing
friends joking
Happiness is about as pure as it gets.

If you were to ask anyone what the top 3 happiest days in their lives were, a wedding day would be in that mix. Statistics tell us that 94% of men list their wedding day as the top 3 happiest days and 97% of women rank this day in the list somewhere. (What that tells you about men and women and how they rank happiness is certainly fuel for another conversation. Maybe.)

The bottom line today is that it is the wedding day of Kelly & Jeremy and Tom Paule Photography is absolutely thrilled to be able to share in the joy.

Excitement in the Paule Household-- Emily's First Communion

 

With tremendous excitement our family celebrated a very big day---- Emily's First Communion! That's Debbie and I along with our son Evan and beautiful daughter Emily.

The beautiful communion girl and her brother had a great day!

 Emily and her friend Grace------ they look angelic, I'm sure they never EVER get into trouble, are the light of their families, get good grades always and never fight with their siblings! Right?

Lovely ladies each and every one of them!

Of course the very proud Dad also gets to work his craft, to photograph these children on a day they will remember forever is both an honor and a privilege.

What a wonderful day------ congratulations to all who celebrated their First Communions and to their happy families. It's the first in many memorable and exciting days to come in their lives.

Post Mothers Day

It was a crazy busy weekend personally, just so much going on! My daughter had her First Communion and Mother's Day was yesterday.

Before I share another thing---- this guy wants to wish his wife Debbie a Happy Day After Mothers Day!

Here's hoping you all had a fabulous day yesterday either as a mother, or in loving support of one!

It's going to be a hot one this week in St. Louis------ time for all good photographers to remember their hot weather tricks and to remind those scheduled to be in front of the lens:

• Stay hydrated
• Dress cool! Bring along layers if you want to change up your look and that way you can keep a cool and breathable inner layer going---
• Think Eastern----- an umbrella (light colored) can be used as both a prop AND a sun block!

We've gone from a cold wet spring to summer in the blink of an eye. It'll moderate again but when the weather takes a crazy turn sometimes we forget the basics of hot weather session survival!

 Oh Oh------- look out---- that umbrella for hot weather? Looks like we will be needing it.

AGAIN!

Sneak Peek: Katie & Eric

We were all really excited to see the photos from Katie and Eric's wedding day. It was one of those emotionally charged days all the way around!

A Sneak Peek for you:

More to Come! 

Thanks to this great couple for letting us share their day!

Flowers: Spring 2011

With the subject of flowers for the spring season comes the nod to color trends, they go hand in hand most times but not necessarily ALWAYS for bridal flowers.

Experts tell us this is because brides carry with them ideas and images they've carried with them for many years. New and old ideas are stuffed into wedding binders along with color cards and other ephemera.

The hardest thing is sorting it all through and marrying (no pun intended) the flowers of dreams with the real flowers to be used---- all based in the reality of color, budget, style and many other particulars.

Some starting points:

• what are your colors
• determine your style (classic, country, casual, glamour, contemporary, minimalist, etc.)
• who is your florist?
• Set up an appointment to discuss your ideas and their answers
• Be OPEN, listen. A good florist is your very best ally in getting your look right!
• Once decided, trust your florist. What will be will be!

If you don't have a florist, we have several whose work we admire and professional ethics we treasure.

One Reason Why

It is GREAT to be busy-----

Great to be many things, all leading to busy. There is always a down side.

I give you exhibit A:

Thumb. Sliced. Mess.

What are the lessons learned? Quite a few actually!

Ask my staff about trader cards.

Go ahead! :)