Christina Rimkus calls St. Louis home.  Jeff Denning is from New York state. The model couple met in San Diego, but Christina’s heart and soul amongst dear family and friends brought this Midwestern girl back to her roots to celebrate her special day.  The group was a wonderful eclectic mixture of northeast sophistication, California beauty and Midwestern warmth and hospitality.

Christina’s theme for her big day was vintage circa 1940s and she represented the theme with grace and beauty as a 1940’s movie star would.

The day began at the Four Seasons downtown where getting ready photographs of the bride were taken and the couple met.  Then a modern twist to the day was sought at the Graffiti Wall.  Representing home, pictures continued in front of the Arch and then the Old Courthouse.  The elegant ceremony and reception followed at the Top of the Met.  The day was seamless and Artistic Soup Wedding Photography is graciously honored to have been a part of it….A Big Thank you!

St. Louis Wedding Photography, St. Louis Wedding Photographers, Destination Wedding Photographers

Bride: Jaime
Wedding date: April 17, 2010

From my first meeting with Artistic Soup, they were amazing. I knew they were right for us, and that proved to be true again and again throughout the entire process. Our lead photographer, Gara, was absolutely amazing, and I would recommend her to any bride, anywhere. I am so happy that I found Gara to be my wedding day photographer – she made everything so great. Here’s a letter I wrote to Gara, so hopefully this gives other brides an idea of how awesome she is!

Dear Gara,
I promise you’ll get your official thank you card in the mail soon,
but I couldn’t let another minute go by without thanking you and
telling you how absolutely wonderful you were on my wedding day!!!
Everyone in the wedding party — my parents included — have been
going on and on about how awesome you were and how hard you were
working the entire day!! Gara, you were truly A JOY to have along for
the ride!! I told you this before, but it’s worth telling you again:
It felt like you were there because you were supposed to be — not
just because you were taking pictures. By that I mean, it felt like we
knew you so well that you were a friend who just happened to be taking
pictures. You are an absolute sweetheart, and you were a big reason
why the day ran so smoothly and was so much fun!! I couldn’t imagine
having a photographer who would have been strict about posing us in
different spots or turning our heads a certain way or something like
that — you merely guided us when we needed direction, but mostly, you
just let us be ourselves and truly captured us in the moments of all
the celebrating! I’m just so overwhelmed and so grateful for you,
Gara…I’m having a hard time even putting it into words. You are an
incredible woman, and you have many gifts. Again, I just want you to
know how special you made everything on my big day — you were the
PERFECT person for the job, and I hope you had as much fun with us as
we did with you! I appreciate all of your hard work that went into the
day — running in front of us, throwing yourself on the ground to get
a cool shot, etc, etc!!!!! Girl, you were workin’ it!!! But seriously,
Gara, you are absolutely wonderful, and I thank you from the bottom of
my heart for making our day everything that it was — and for
capturing the moments we will want to remember our whole lives. I
ca’n’t wait to see the photos!!!!!!!!!

Groom: Jeff
Wedding date: April 17, 2010

Angela is the best. She showed up early and stayed late. She was very gracious and not intrusive. And her pictures are second to none. We got digital copies of our pictures within 4 days of our wedding. If you want a great wedding photographer – look no further.

Bride: Elizabeth
Wedding date: March 6, 2010

We used Artistic Soup, and photographers Angela and Robin, for our wedding photography, and we couldn’t be happier with the results. Angela was very easy to work with, and very responsive to any questions we had. The photos turned out great, and we love the artistic style. My husband does not like to have his picture taken, and Angela kept him smiling for several hours! From talking to other recent brides, I feel that the price was very reasonable for the quality and service we received. Also, as others have noted, the turn-around time was really fast. The photos were up on the website before we returned from our honeymoon. I would highly recommend Artistic Soup to any future bride (and groom).

Every year about this time we receive a desperate phone call from a bride that selected an amateur photographer (have heard similar stories regarding other amateur wedding vendors as well) that has backed out of shooting a wedding (every year the reason is different but the situation is the same) and unfortunately although we would love to help and truly feel for these brides we cannot because we are already fully booked for their peak season date.  This happened yet again yesterday.

Brides….this is your WEDDING DAY.  Wedding photos are the one tangible record you will have.  Please do not do this to yourself.  We have heard many many brides cry in panicked desperation.  If you don’t hire us…hire another pro team that has studied their craft, is experienced, has great customer reviews and offers backup assurances (back up photographers and backup equipment.)

Remember in wedding photography as in life in general, you truly do get what you pay for.  Make your wedding day a happy memory not a disappointing stressful one.  The amount you think you are saving upfront I am sure these desperate brides will tell you do not equal the lack of quality, professionalism and stress they later received.

To a Happy Wedding.

Sincerely, The Artistic Soup Photography Team | http://www.artisticsoup.com/

Artistic Soup Photography had the privilege of photographing Kelly’s Bridal Shower this past Sunday, March 14th, 2010.

Sarah created an amazing tropically themed Bridal Shower for her sister Kelly including a cabanna hut, seashells, palm tree cupcakes and Hawaiian skirts.  The party was clearly cherished by all family and friends invited as they laughed, ate well and played bridal shower games for over two hours.

However, there was one family member near and dear to their hearts that was not present. Grandmother, Sue Tolley, who was diagnosed at age 50 with cancer, went into remission after treatment, but died 7 years ago when the cancer came back.  In addition to honoring her this day they also chose to use this celebration to raise money for cancer research.  Sarah chose artist, Stacey Valle of St. Louis to create a unique bracelet to raise funds for the cause.

The bracelets include four wooden discs with stamped lettering then hand-painted and sprayed with several coats of gloss acrylic varnish. Discs are linked with jump rings and chain with toggle clasp. One side of bracelet says CURE and other side says HOPE. Length of bracelet is 8″. Chain links could be removed or added to adjust length. They come in many color combinations of light and dark pink, white and brown.

There are 20 bracelets still available for sale, anyone interested in purchasing a bracelet can contact Sarah directly at sarah11883@sbcglobal.net.  The price point is $10 but you can give as much or as little as you would like.  100% of the proceeds from the sale of the bracelets will be donated to the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Sarah will be sending a check to the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in September, which is the month of her grandma’s birthday.

Having friends and family members who have survived and lost their lives to cancer Artistic Soup Photography was touched by Sarah’s energy and effort in her cause.  We are happy to assist in Sarah’s fundraising efforts.

Often as we are photographing weddings guests ask us what is with all that stuff attached to you and why?  So here is a full dissection of gear as well as the reasons behind “The Stuff.”

You will see differences amongst professional photographers’ gear.  Every person has their own individual way to work.  Some prefer Nikon to Canon.  And some prefer light brackets to the modern diffuser options.  Either way works, but despite the nuances pro wedding photographers need to have a certain amount of gear to handle all the lighting situations thrown their way throughout the course of the day; have in their possession professional grade equipment as well as back up equipment; and be prepared to work quickly over an extended period of time.  The equipment does not make the photographer.  Talent and creativity make the photographic artist, but a certain amount of tools in the toolbox and a certain amount of investment in gear is needed to insure each wedding goes seamlessly.  Equipment goes down, things malfunction but if properly prepared it does not matter…a beautiful record of the bride and groom’s special day will result regardless.

Artistic Soup Wedding Photography takes its role at your wedding or event very seriously and leaves nothing to chance.  We are experienced professionals with an educational background in photography, extensive hands-on experience, utilize professional equipment with back up equipment and have a long list of happy customers which speaks volumes.

Give us a call for a complimentary consultation to discuss your big day! St. Louis Wedding Photography is our specialty but we also love to serve destination weddings, event, family and lifestyle portraiture.

Come see for yourself the friendly, creative, and skilled services of Artistic Soup Photography. We look forward to meeting you!