Day Of
Practices
Grab yourself a glass of wine OR your favorite beer and... CLINK!
Here We Go Ya'll
Cheers to this-ish, you made it through all of the wedding planning. Now is literally the time to start taking it all in and enjoying the upcoming memories to come. I have a few favorite tips I would love to share with you to maximize the beauty of your portraits. Hope they are helpful!
Tips For The Wise
+ Bring real hangers for apparel - If you love the look of nice wire or wooden hangars over anything plastic.
+ Bring along an invitation - Go now, grab it...set it aside! I love to take a photo of the invitation suite for your records on the wedding day amongst the rest of your details.
+ Make sure you drink out of REAL glassware. Class it up by subbing plastic bottles and drinkware with real glasses provided by your hotel or bring something along.
+ Pro-actively reduce clutter! Ask your wedding party to put all of their belongings in one space when they come into your getting ready areas. A room without a bunch of bags in the background and piles of clothes is going to make your photos look even more special and better yet you will have good spacial juju without having bags strewn about your floor.
+ Find that good light - Ask your hair and makeup person to put their station by the best source of natural light like a big window or sliding door. Your skin will look great and you will be thankful to not have yellow hotel lighting in your getting ready photos.
love is many splendid thing
it lifts us where we belong
Cellphones
Unplugged Wedding Signage
I want to capture you and your love in the most beautiful and organic way possible! I understand and love that your guests want to share in this moment with you too, but respectfully ask that they let me do the shooting during the ceremony! Now read this part carefully cause the details are the important things here. Have your officiant make an announcement before the ceremony starts (LIKE...BEFORE PEOPLE WALK DOWN THE AISLE KINDA BEFORE) asking guests to please keep their cell phones tucked away for the duration of the ceremony. Other important moments too - such as your first dance, or cutting the cake - should follow suit.
A friendly reminder when people walk into the ceremony will help reinforce your vision of having guests there and present with their own eyes. Consider some of this inspiration when you are making your signage.
i never want to stop
making memories wit you
Family Photos
You're definitely going to want to have a super organized family photo list. The last thing you're going to want to worry about on your wedding day is "Did we get the shot with cousin Joe? Did we get one with Karen?" A detailed family photo shot list will help ALL OF THAT! I will keep a copy on hand (your wedding coordinator will too) to make sure we've got everyone nearest and dearest to you accounted for.
Remember - anyone who you would like a formal photo with needs to be on this list! Since I don't know everyone's family dynamics, I can't even assume that "obvious". I mean, there are some people who don't want photos with their parents on wedding day!
Designate a "family photo helper" - this person will be my point person and go to for photos on your wedding day - you can even connect us via email before the big day if you prefer. The ideal candidate will be one part sassy, one part fun, and one part organized! They will help me wrangle in everyone on the list so we can breeze through your photos and get you and your love off to very important events - like your cocktail hour!
BE SPECIFIC: Make sure you list if you would like the photo with you and your spouse or just one of you.
Here is an example of a family photo list - feel free to make this your own!
all i know
is that i was made
for loving you
Before Ceremony
Bride, Bride's mother, sister Kara, brother Ivan
Bride, Bride's Grandma, Bride's Grandpa, Uncle Ken, Aunt Jessica, cousin Jody
Bride, Bride's mother, Bride's father, brother Joe, sister Kara
you will forever be
my always
Bride's Side
Bride, Groom, Groom's mother, Groom's father, sister Joanne, sister Melissa
Groom, Groom's mother, Groom's father
Bride, Groom, Groom's Grandma, Groom's Grandpa
Groom, Groom's mother, Groom's father, uncle Caleb, aunt Erika, cousin Jared
Groom's Side
After Ceremony
Nice Things
People Said
Her work tells a
rich, tactile story.
It captures an intimacy and energy between people, nature and environment in a way I haven't seen other photographers do. There were a lot of unknowns for us in planning a destination wedding, but we knew for sure Melissa was our photographer before we had even contacted her.
this never gets old for me. this work
is like a bolt of lightening.
Her work told our unique story
in an effortless way.
Working with Melissa was fun, easy and felt completely organic
you can see it in our photos. I think a lot of that has to do with her natural talent, but I also think a lot of it has to do with her spirit and who she is as a person. She put everyone at ease, went with the flow and was truly with us through the joyful, quirky and emotional moments.
take trips and travel more deeply.
take trips and travel
more deeply.
I can actually feel the memories in my body.
Not only is Melissa crazy talented, and her photography / perspective incredibly beautiful but her bubbly and positive energy is seriously contagious! You can’t help but want to be around her (making her so easy to bring along on any projects)! She makes you feel completely yourself and at ease in front of the camera
focus on fresh, wild, and adventurous
