Family seems to be the theme lately with our most recent photo shoots. I, Erica, have had the pleasure of taking photos of two absolutely fun families! If you are a fan of Tomme Hilton Gallery’s Facebook page, you might have already seen the images. But, I wanted to post this blog to inform those who follow us, that family is F-U-N.

I come from a close knit kind of family. One that privacy does not exist. Of course all families have their fights, the annoying moments that make us all want to run for the hills… or to the next town… or a few states away… But in reality, we love our family no matter what. Take a glance at a few family photos that just make me smile. And will hopefully do the same to you.

As always, stay tuned.

*One thing that is ALWAYS on our wish list: blog more…

Why is it so darn hard to keep up with? If you want to stay tuned to our most current work, please follow us on Facebook.

If you are interested in photography by Tomme Hilton Gallery, please contact us at gallery.tommehilton@gmail.com for more information.

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Having planned the wedding on my own, I was very conscious of what I could spend my money on and what I needed to cut back on:  The dress (a must!), the food (of course), drinks (a given) and location, décor, flowers…it all adds up.  Photography ranked up there in the top 5 must haves but as a young girl I never dreamt of what I wanted out of my wedding pictures…until I saw Tomme Hilton’s work.  I fell in love with the photography at first sight.  She has a touch of class, a bit of edginess and an artsy feel to her pictures that I did not see in other photographers.  I had no hesitation in hiring her.

Having been only an attendee at weddings a handful of times over the years, I had no idea what I was in for when I decided to plan this wedding on my own.  EVERYTHING went wrong.  The dress didn’t fit, the caterers cancelled, my flowers were the wrong color AND…the limo broke down.  Everything that could go wrong…did.  Except for the photography.   Tomme was on time…and prepared.  She had hangers and backdrops, lighting, everything ready to go.  I didn’t realize how much I would appreciate this except that everything else was wrong…she was the one thing I did not have to micromanage and ‘fix’ that night.

I remember when first meeting Tomme, her words were “We will spend a lot of time together on that day, you need to make sure you like me because I will be in your face all day”.  Of course I liked Tomme immediately, her bubbly personality and persona are so charismatic, you can’t help but feel at ease.  And as for the day of the event… she was right, she was following me all day!  To this day I cannot thank her more!  Tomme and her team worked hard.  My wedding was on a hot, balmy June evening and Tomme worked her butt off.  She was covered in sweat and still had the ability to catch the scenery of the event and angles in the evening light.  The pictures are gorgeous and will live forever.  She captured scenes throughout the night that show the elegance, the romance and the love that is so often felt, but rarely seen in the pictures.  The photography is GORGEOUS.  She captured the details of the wedding day, but more importantly, she captured the romance around it.  I will continue to recommend her to my newly engaged friends and to rehire her when the time comes.

Ultimately, the wedding dress was custom altered and delivered to me the day before the wedding,  a friend recommended Iverson catering who worked their schedule to fit me in on a busy Saturday in June (did I mention ONE week before the event!! – and the food was wonderful!) and the limo service ultimately had a similar car they offered for a portion of the night.

In looking back at all of the stress and commotion of the day…I can only remember the words of one of my friends when reminiscing of the pictures.  To quote “ She captured the moment of the wedding, not just the pictures”.

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We are so thankful to have had such a wonderful daring couple! After a little over 5 years in the business, I finally got to see a couple JUMP into a pool at the end of the night! I must say, it was HOT and a wonderful way to cool down!

Thanks Kelly and Jay! We cannot wait to see you two grow as a couple! Hope to see you again down the road!

xo,

tomme and erica.

STAY TUNED for more weddings!

If you have not entered for the FREE wedding package, do so now!!

We are now accepting emails describing to us the reasons you should receive free wedding photography. Emails shall include the following:

• Name of the Couple entering

• at least 1000 words describing you two as a couple

• 3 or more photographs that show who you are as a couple

To be considered for our contest, each applicant must blog, tweet and facebook about Tomme Hilton Gallery! When you email your entry please send us your links to prove you have done all three!

DEADLINE: August 31, 2010

*Your wedding should be scheduled in the off season of November thru February.

*Valued at 4500.

*Please email all entries to gallery.tommehilton@gmail.com

Thank you for applying! Best of luck to each of you. We look forward to our next FREE wedding couple!

RENATE & BRAIN

Married on June 5th! (wow, it’s been that long… eeekk!)

If you don’t remember Renate and Brian, check out their engagement photos… they were awesome! Despite the rain… We made it happen! AND, not to forget her bridals!! Sigh. Love, love, love them! She is the reason I can’t stand bridals! They turn out so great… yet ‘you’ cannot post them until AFTER the wedding! Ugh… the beauty of secrets right?

Renate and Brian’s wedding day started out with no parking at the hotel, wind that made your hair a whirlwind and humidity that that made you question if it was sweat or not. Ahem, It was a wonderful day to get married… ON THE BEACH! But let me just say… Renate and Brain… YOU ROCKED IT!  They were amazing. And let me drag them EVERYWHERE to get that extra shot… or as I call it, the ‘One more’ shot!

Take a look at their wedding photos. Let us know what you think!

For the contestants… swing by D’lish and grab you something sweet to eat anyways! You all had wonderful weddings and deserve a little sweet treat every now and again!

Thanks everyone for participating in our contest and a huge THANK YOU to D’lish for donating the Gift Certificate!

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Stay tuned! Lots of weddings to blog about, all coming in the next week!

We have selected a few of our couples to be entered into our {Best Cake Shove} Contest for 2010!

To Vote:  Comment at the bottom of our post for who you think gave the BEST SHOVE!

Our WINNER will receive a $25 Gift Certificate from D’lish!

The Contest will be closed on July 11th! So, make sure you spread the word!

**One comment per accnt please!**

Lets rewind, to 2007, The Day I met Tomme for the first time:  I had emailed Tomme in August of 2007 to shoot my wedding. We made a ‘date’ to meet at Starbucks that September — her signature meeting spot — still hasnt changed. I booked her and did my engagements that November. And it was love at first sight… of my first session, that is! Wink.

For those of you who has never met Tomme, she is one of those people that makes you feel all special and warm and fuzzy. She assures you that her product is the best — which, lets face it — it is!! Insert the fireworks — sparkle sparkle — our personalities meshed! Like an old movie romance. Pshh, who am I kidding. We had discussed work, swapped work and discussed work some more. We decided we liked working with each other. AND it just so happened to be that she was in need of an assistant! So, I asked for the position. Luckily, I was considered! Whoop Whoop.

A year ago this time, we met to stuff our faces in sushi at Wasabi — ahem, I mean — discuss job duties.  She gave me the ‘low down’ on what she was to expect out of me, told me more about her Gallery and what she aspires to be in the future. On my way home from meeting with her, I ended up with a flat tire. Great. Thinking to myself… is this the right decision? Is this a sign? Should I take the ‘position’? What will I gain? etc. All these questions began to run thru my head… all because a flat tire was a sign!? Ugh. BUT, luckily, I did not let the tire sway my decision. I signed the contract and sent it back to her with all smiles. And, since that day… I have loved every minute of it.  Never regretting my decision.
Tomme develops friendships with her clients that last. Our three year relationship has made us great friends and co-workers. I have thourghly enjoyed working for and with her. Tomme has taught me so much as a professional and as a friend. I would not trade my time with her or my learning experiences.

I love you TomTom! Thank you for hiring me on as a part of  your Gallery. I appreciate the time and effort you have put into teaching me become a better assistant to you. Cannot wait to see what we have instore for another year!

Smoooooooch.

xo,

erica

SO, sit back and enjoy the ride! We have lots of things coming to you in the next couple of weeks — from weddings to baby bumps to babies… sigh. The circle of life!

Tonight, I shall blog about my experience with my recent baby affairs. They were a while back, BUT I never got the chance to blog about them on here! So, catch up step one: START.

First: Master Griffin

Mr. Precious Griffin was SUCH a trooper… from the carpet to Mama and Daddy’s arms to kitchen bowls to snuggle time to pianos and fire pits… I think we maxed out on our limit! Griffin was a little over a week old when his mama and daddy decided to do his photo shoot! And lets just say… AMAZING! Griffin was a GREAT baby during his shoot. As we all came to notice, He can just about sleep ANYWHERE!

Last: Miss Lilly (starting with the glass sink bowl)

Baby Lilly was two weeks old and a tiny lil’ thing too! She was only a little over 6lbs. That’s right. Two weeks and 6+lbs! Can you believe it! Sigh. A tiny bundle of joy that did not want to give up her paci! AND her house was just amazing! I could spend days taking photos of Baby Lilly! I sure do hope I get the privilege of taking her 3 month photos! I did get the privilege of designing her baby announcements.

If you are interested in Tomme or I taking photos of your ‘wee wittle won’ — let us know. We would love to be an addition to your new addition! ha. Just email us at gallery.tommehilton@gmail.com

*Please stay tuned as we blog about our recent JUNE wedding extravaganza’s and post our {GUEST BLOGS}

Till next time,

erica.

Enjoy keeping up with us and don’t forget to view our new site if you haven’t already done so!!

xo,
Erica, Tomme’s Assistant