“This review is so overdue it makes me sick, but the reason I've put it off for so long is because I've struggled to come up with the words to fully capture how I feel about Mel and what she contributed to making our special day E V E R Y T H I N G I could have ever asked for. If you don't want to read my whole novel, here's all you need to know: Mel is incredible. As a human being, a woman, a friend, a professional, a photographer - all of it. She will take care of you. I would've paid 10x as much as we did for the memories Mel gave us -- both actual memories WITH Mel and the memories she captured in her photos. From the very beginning I knew I wanted Mel in my corner. I find it SO admirable and refreshing that she takes seriously whether she meshes with her prospective clients or not. She KNOWS that the photos are going to pop off that much more if the vibes between client & photographer are *chef's kiss* -- she's not just chasing anyone down for the money or the exposure. To me, this made Mel really stand out. Vibing with Mel also meant I felt comfortable (because she allowed me the space to) text her with questions/concerns or for advice during the planning and she ALWAYS made me feel better about whatever I was worrying about. Mel is a friend, a sidekick, a bada**, ready-for-anything, go-with-the-flow-but-also-command-the-flow hype woman professional. I'm not kidding when I say that a large portion of my core memories from wedding day are with Mel. And I don't mean because she was following me around with a camera all day, I mean because of the actual hilarious, heartwarming, lifesaving interactions with Mel that stick out to me more than conversations I had with our own wedding guests. Imagine spending all day with someone who isn't making you laugh, providing you relief from the stress, tending to you and just making you feel like an absolute prize all day!!?! Couldn't be me. Wouldn't be Mel. She's d*mn good company. We had a large wedding party which can be annoying for any vendor but especially a photographer. Mel never made us feel bad about that. She stated the facts, made clear what she needed and then made. it. happen. The groomsmen in our party were not great listeners and Mel dominated in getting everyone's attention back. My bridesmaids were basically crushing over how much of a boss she is. And because of how much of a boss she is, she kept ALL things on track, even things she wasn't originally responsible for. She is THE ultimate wedding expert and has an answer for everything. Not every photographer could do what she does, so thank god for Mel knowing her strengths and positioning herself to share the power of those strengths with all of us. Nothing could've prepared me for the emotions I would feel looking through the gallery Mel delivered. Utter shock and awe -- our photos were uniquely ours but still dazzled with that same Mel magic I fell in love with when I found her on IG. After our wedding, I looked back on our day and felt sad thinking about moments I missed or wish I could redo. Her photos completely took all of that away. It was all accounted for. You can trust her to have listened to your needs/wants, to have taken any unique or awkward circumstances into consideration and to have captured moments you'd probably be sad about missing (even the really small, less obviously-important ones). Book her. Book her for the max duration that you can. She's the best in the biz and nothing could convince me otherwise.”
