When all is said and done, you are left with your memories and your wedding photos. Luckily we worked with Melissa and Casey and they did the most amazing job capturing all the little and big moments that made our wedding day so special. From the moment we looked at Melissa's website we knew we loved her work, from the moment we first talked with her we became fast friends, and when we had our engagement photoshoot we were certain we picked the right photographer. Not only is Melissa able to capture the moment in a thoughtful and creative way, she also made us feel completely at ease when we were nervous (and kind of awkward!) during our engagement shoot. Melissa and Casey were a total pleasure to work with before, during and after our wedding, I could not recommend them highly enough. They are fun to be around, professional and so very talented. There are so many details that go into planning a wedding it's easy to get caught up, but a good photographer that is both talented and easy to work with is so important. Melissa and Casey are both those things and so much more!

We would absolutely recommend Melissa to anyone looking for a wedding photographer, especially if you are looking for someone who is willing to think outside the box and get creative. Her work is truly a work of art. In addition to being incredibly talented, Melissa and Casey were an absolute delight to work with. We had a large wedding, wedding party, and families with a very tight timeline to take photos before and after our ceremony. Melissa was able to keep us on schedule and capture the photos we were looking for. She helped us select our locations and we are so pleased with the end product. The photos from Melissa captured the beauty of the day and also all of the details we in the decor at our reception. Melissa was very easy to work with and flexible. She also helped me create a timeline for the day of and was very responsive leading up to the wedding.

Melissa and her husband Casey did a wonderful job shooting our engagement and wedding photos! The pictures came out beautiful, and they managed to capture tons of special moments in the artistic manner that I had requested. Melissa is super sweet and easy to work with, yet very professional. I highly recommend Melissa Hayes Photography!

I found melissa from Style Me Pretty and The Knot. I fell in love with her pictures. I know the vintage/instagram look is "in" right now, but I wanted pictures that were timeless and that were able to capture intimate moments. Melissa made us feel at ease, and her pictures of our wedding came out so beautiful!!!!!!!! I am happy to say that our pictures were featured in the blog Style Me Pretty. Melissa and her husband are super sweet, easy going and very professional. I feel so lucky to have found her!!

Melissa is wonderful to work with, talented and professional. We clicked with her immediately upon our first meeting and knew she was the right fit. Her work is absolutely stunning - gorgeous photos! She has a great eye and was able to capture all those key moments and details throughout the day. We were very surprised at the quick turnaround in getting our photos back and even the CD was beautifully presented in a fabric folio. We had a huge wedding party and Melissa was able to keep everyone on task in a calm and courteous manner. She was very efficient and captured all the photos on our must have list. We even had a sample of preview pictures posted to her site within a day of the wedding. Perfect mix of artistic and documentary shots. We were extremely happy with her work and all our interactions with her.

I cannot say enough good things about Melissa Hayes as a wedding photographer! During the planning process, Melissa was quick to respond to emails and phone calls and never seemed to be bothered by my endless questions. Her input for our wedding day timeline was invaluable. She was truly great to work with and super flexible. Most importantly, our wedding photos are FABULOUS! I relive the entire day every time I look at her gorgeous photos. She captured tiny details I had forgotten about and managed to deliver photos that were a true representation of our day and our personalities (something we tried hard to incorporate into our ceremony and reception). Her eye for interesting angles and unique backdrops guarantees you won’t get the run-of-the-mill photos. I am having such a hard time picking which are my favorite for my album!

I really cannot say enough about Melissa and Casey's work. Not only are they a warm and wonderful couple, but the photos that they produce together are truly a form of art and perfectly captured the joy of our day. I couldn't have been more pleased with every print.

The first time we met with Melissa, I hired her immediately - it only took a preview of some of her work and talking to her for a couple minutes. She then offered to come out to our venue a few weeks in advance to get the lay of the land and talk about ideas and options for shots. Once the big day came, she and Casey fit right in with our guests, slid into the background and caught some great candids unobtrusively.

After our formal celebration, we decided we wanted another post-wedding photo shoot (we had not done an engagement session) and they were super flexible with the date and location. We switched it up a couple times - even at the last minute.

For both sessions, she turned around a preview in a matter of days and followed with the full set shortly thereafter - and they were all beautiful. Melissa and Casey have talent.. a talent that needs to be shared!

I would have them back in a heartbeat for any worthy event!

I started my wedding planning 6 months before our wedding date. I was extremely fortunate to stumble upon Melissa's vendor review on Style Me Pretty. Her work was exactly what I was looking for which, was a perfect mix between photojournalism and artistic photography. We met with her and immediately felt that she would be right for our wedding. Hiring her was the single best decision we made. For our engagement session (included in our package), Melissa and her husband Casey met us at our favorite bar in Chicago. This was a good idea because a drink (or 2) helped loosen me up for the photo session. She had previously scouted out several locations and the photos came out great, so we were even more optimistic about our upcoming wedding photos. The day of our wedding both her and Casey took photos of each wedding party getting ready. They were natural and unique. Throughout the day she kept everyone on schedule (politely but firmly) and had again scouted out several nearby locations for wedding party photos. Throughout the day her and Casey took photos of every unique and important detail that we were not always able to see ourselves. She caught emotion in everyone from the tears to the laugher. The photos were amazing. We got a taste of them in a blog post a few days after the wedding. I was so blown away by them, I submitted them to the knot magazine. I know that thousands of entries are submitted monthly, so i didn't even put much time or effort into the submission form. A couple days later, I found out we are going to be featured in the knot magazine chicago edition spring 2012 (released sometime in Feb 2012). Nothing more needed to be said. Thank you Melissa!!!!

Melissa and Casey were wonderful to work with! We could not have asked for a better team to capture all the special moments of our wedding. They went out of their way to make us feel comfortable and accommodate all of our needs. Most importantly, the photos were of the highest quality. Melissa captured all the details we had worked so hard on, and she made the sounds and emotions as real as the sights. We have since referred them to all of our friends and family! Melissa is truly an artist!

Melissa and her husband, Casey, were an absolute joy to work with. They made us feel comfortable and took incredible pictures. I highly recommend them for engagement shoots and weddings!