I can’t say enough about Melissa! Not only is she the most important vendor, she is your one stop shop! She was so helpful throughout the entire wedding process whether it was photography questions or literally anything else! She was the backbone of the wedding and kept things moving effortlessly. Naturally every photo she takes is exceptional and perfectly captures the day. I’ll be forever grateful that we had Melissa for our wedding day!! We’ll treasure our photos forever!

I can’t say enough about Melissa! She went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable throughout the whole process and answered any and all questions we had. Her choice on the second photographer for our wedding was amazing too! That being said we had double the most gorgeous pictures! Melissa went out of her way to get the best shots...even crawling on the ground in her pregnant state! Lol She made sure I was calm and happy throughout the whole day! Our day was the Best Day Ever because of Melissa! Cheers!

Melissa was recommended to us through one of my best friends who used her. She immediately felt like a best friend to me. She met with my mother and me to get to know me and my vision and understand the background of our love story. She truely wanted to capture the happiness and love we have for one another. I had told her I wanted to do our engagement photos downtown and had made some suggestions on where. I did not even consider going to North Ave beach and she convinced me it would be beautiful. NOt only did the photos come out amazing but my finace and I got to spend an amazing day in July on the beach in the city. We were so comfortable with her. My finace (who hates taking pictures) even enjoyed himself.
What I loved most about her is she felt like a friend we have had for a long time, not just a random person taking our photos. She talked with us about our lives and her own! She also has been great about recommending other vendors (video, floral, hair, makeup.) I can't wait for her to be by my side on our wedding day!!
Engagement photos were included in the package! IT was great to get to know her during this session.

Absolutely LOVE Melissa!!! She was very professional and made everything run smoothly. She took our engagement pictures as well as our Wedding day pictures. She has great ideas and also includes your ideas too. One of the biggest things I loved about her is how comfortable she makes you feel while taking pictures. My husband can't stand taking pictures and is very uncomfortable taking multiple pictures. She made him feel such at ease that he Shockingly didn't complain once through the engagement pictures and only once (at the very end) of our wedding day portraits. I couldn't believe it! I'm forever grateful to her for making him feel so comfortable that we ended up with so many amazing photos. Working with Melissa is so easy it takes so much stress away. Plus you don't have to worry about getting sub-par photos, quality guaranteed! I will most definitely be using her for future photos and highly recommend her.

Melissa Marie Photography was hands-down the best decision we made out of our entire wedding planning experience. Right from the beginning, Melissa was so sincere in trying to understand our vision in its entirety so that she could capture this chapter of our lives exactly how we imagined. Melissa took this vision and created photos that went so far above and beyond what we could have ever hoped for or dreamed of ourselves. Even our engagement photos, which were taken in the middle of a rainstorm despite Melissa offering to reschedule, were the dreamiest pictures that felt like they belonged in a magazine. Fast forward to our wedding day where Melissa went above and beyond just your typical photographer. From the second she walked into the room, she was half-therapist, half-photographer, as she made sure I was completely calm and felt at ease so I could enjoy the best day of my life. There were also plenty of times throughout the day that Melissa made sure we were staying on track and where we needed to be at the right time, and really stepped up into a wedding coordinator role at times. The photos that Melissa took of our wedding day were absolutely breathtaking. As my husband and I went through them together, we were completely speechless. Melissa took photos that have the ability to put us right back into that moment of our wedding day, and with a level of beauty that we could not believe. There is not a single photo that we were disappointed with and now have the most precious wedding gift and keepsake that we could have ever asked for. If you are looking for a photographer who goes above and beyond to make sure your wedding day is perfect, both through photos and through anything else you need to make your day special, Melissa Maria Photography is a no-brainer.

Melissa is amazing at what she does! The quality of the pictures of my wedding were outstanding! Many friends and family commented on how beautiful they were. Plus, Melissa is amazing. She is such a kind person and does a great job blending into the day and being there to catch the moments and offering a kind smile and being supportive through out the day! I would highly recommend her for any of your photography needs, not just wedding. She has done my friends children's pictures and they are wonderful as well.

Melissa took photos for my engagement and wedding and did an amazing job. She takes the time to get to know you in ways other photographers do not, and she strives to see your vision for the photos she will take. She is driven, kind, and extremely talented at what she does. She is incredibly helpful with anything that may need to get done the day of the wedding, and was protective of my husband and I's precious time together. On top of all of that, we will cherish the photos she took for our whole lives. We absolutely LOVE them and we love Melissa, too!

Absolutely amazing service! Missy took our engagement pictures and photographed our wedding. Having Missy there was a blessing because not only did she capture all of the special moments of our day including the raw emotion that we were feeling, but she provided support and helped make sure our day went as smooth as it possibly could! I could not have asked for a better photographer and I could not be happier with how our wedding photos turned out.

Melissa is THE BEST. When I was looking for a photographer I knew that I wanted someone who understood how important the pictures that I will keep forever were to me. I made a list of about 45 photographers in the Chicagoland area, from there spoke with just under 20. I met three in person and easily decided Melissa was the best there was. Every single picture she took was creative/original and there was the perfect mix of candid shots and posed shots. We had "Design sessions" prior to both the engagement photos and the wedding so that she could understand what I was hoping to capture. She did an amazing job. The day of your wedding the last thing you want to worry about was getting enough or the right pictures. Melissa took care of everything. The girl stayed throughout the night and was holding my drink/fixing my dress more than my MOH or bridesmaids! Shes incredible.

I cannot find the words to say how incredible our experience with Melissa was for our wedding. From the beginning, she was so supportive. She would send us e-mails with general information about wedding planning, to help us in the overwhelming process. She was very helpful and flexible in planning our Engagement photography session, and during our entire wedding day. She had an amazing rapport with our venue - there was a point when we were taking pictures with our bridal party prior to the start of the reception where I realized that we were running late, quickly approaching the time we were supposed to begin the reception. Melissa had anticipated this before I even realized we were late and had already worked with the venue to adjust the timing of the events. She worked in such an amazing, cheerful, and understanding manner with my very large, loud family and bridal party. She had profound patience while working with the crowds and the children in the group. And in the end, we were speechless in seeing the beauty and love that she captured throughout our wedding day. Her photos were beyond beautiful! We would absolutely recommend her - we had such a wonderful experience with her as our wedding photographer!!