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Weddings

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Pristine quality
Capturing memories
Seasoned with weddings
Photographer

About

Weddings are the ultimate celebration of love, community, and personal style. You spend hours choosing the right shade of eucalyptus green, crafting the most entertaining series of events, and sifting through racks of dresses for that perfect lace pattern just so you can say, "I love this person," while your friends and family bear witness. Your wedding photos document every ounce of energy that you put into planning your big day and preserve them for years to come.

Melissa utilizes a combination of photojournalism and artistic direction to capture both candid emotional moments and artistically composed "wall-worthy" editorial portraits. She strives to pose her couples in a way that reflects their true nature as a couple and equally as individuals. Melissa provides gentle posing guidance that is both easy to follow and adds to an enjoyable session experience. You will never be left wondering what to do with your hands because Melissa will guide you at every step. She crafts her artistic direction and posing style around her clients, so the images feel authentic. Melissa believes that the experience of taking your photos is just as important as the photos themselves.

Services Offered

Melissa Palka Photography maintains that no two weddings are the same, and so Melissa's wedding packages are entirely customizable to suit your needs. You can expect a tailored service that blends seamlessly with your vision, building on a foundation of expert coverage, timeline assistance, and wedding planning education. Optional extras include additional coverage, portrait sessions, and a range of professional prints. Melissa prefers to capture natural, unposed interactions during your photo session but will offer gentle guidance so that you feel comfortable and relaxed throughout. Reach out to Melissa Palka Photography to begin your photographic legacy.

  • Woman-owned
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Frequently asked questions

What is the starting price for your wedding photography services?

$2,800

Which of the following are included in the starting price?

High-Res Images
One Event / Day
Digital Files

What is the price of your most popular wedding package?

$3,500

Which of the following are included in the price of your most popular wedding package?

2nd Shooter
Engagement Shoot
High-Res Images
One Event / Day
Digital Files

What primary photographic style do you identify with?

Film
Natural
Photojournalism

What photography services do you offer?

Additional Hours
Destination / Travel
Engagement Shoot
High-Res Images
One Event / Day
Second Shooter
Wedding Portraits

What photography items do you offer?

Albums
Canvas
Digital Files
Matted Prints
Prints
Save the Date
Thank You Cards
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Reviews of Melissa Palka Photography

5.0 out of 5 rating
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2024 Winner
5.0 out of 5 rating
14 Reviews
100% recommend it
  • Quality of service
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Average response time
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Professionalism
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Value
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    5 out of 5 rating
This AI-generated summary gives you a snapshot of the overall ratings and feedback from the reviews this vendor has received.

Review summary

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Melissa is highly recommended by multiple reviewers for both engagement and wedding photography. She is described as knowledgeable, professional, and committed to the customer experience. Reviewers appreciate her ability to make them feel comfortable and at ease during the photoshoots. Melissa is praised for her attention to detail, organization, and ability to capture cherished moments. She is commended for her communication, flexibility, and ability to work with challenging situations. Overall, customers are extremely happy with their experience working with Melissa and highly recommend her for wedding photography.

Review summary

Powered by AI
This AI-generated summary gives you a snapshot of the overall ratings and feedback from the reviews this vendor has received.

Melissa is highly recommended by multiple reviewers for both engagement and wedding photography. She is described as knowledgeable, professional, and committed to the customer experience. Reviewers appreciate her ability to make them feel comfortable and at ease during the photoshoots. Melissa is praised for her attention to detail, organization, and ability to capture cherished moments. She is commended for her communication, flexibility, and ability to work with challenging situations. Overall, customers are extremely happy with their experience working with Melissa and highly recommend her for wedding photography.

E
Ethan Sent on 03/13/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Very highly recommend!

I booked Melissa for a surprise proposal. She was incredible from start to finish! Melissa was both helpful and insightful about planning which was much appreciated. She made several suggestions that truly helped make this a success. The images themselves are beautiful -- they blew us and our families away. Melissa made the portraits following the engagement absolutely seamless and definitely fun! I am so glad to have been able to work with Melissa through this process and now, as a newly engaged couple, we are very excited to continue working with Melissa for more events milestones to come.
Lana
Lana M. Sent on 10/03/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Melissa was the best start to our wedding planning!

My fiance and I got engagement photos with Melissa here in DC for our destination wedding. We were very specific in what we wanted (sunrise at the monuments in DC) but for everything else, Melissa was a wealth of knowledge. During our meet and greet, she asked purposeful questions about our wedding planning, what we envisioned for the photos, what we were planning on using the engagement photos for, and so on. After the meet and greet, she had us sign a straight-forward contract (no googling if something was weird in the contract or not) and then sent us a very long questionnaire to get to know us better and know what we wanted (and didn't!) with our photos.

Prior to our shoot, there were hiccups - the park service permitting system is An Experience to Deal With, there were forecasted storms, there was a surprise event being set up that completely hid the Lincoln Memorial with scaffolding, and there were more runners than you ever expect at 6:30am. But Melissa made us feel cool and comfortable; she told us exactly what to do, where to look, what to do with our hands; she even asked permission each time before going over and adjusting my hair or fingers or something. I appreciated that she respected my autonomy and made us look great without feeling like dolls being moved around. She is great to talk with, and she made the shoot go by so fast.

The only things I would improve upon are things I didn't know to mention until we got our photos back - most of the photos are vertical, when our website (where we're hosting most of the images) wants horizontal; most of the photos one of us is gazing away, and so there's only so many photos of us posed looking straight on; and there are a LOT of kissing photos (which I'm less likely to use for a Save the Date to send to my granny). Those aside, all of which I didn't even know to mention until after I got the photos back, I'm sure she would have adjusted prior to the shoot had I mentioned in the questionnaire. I know this because there were things I mentioned in the questionnaire I didn't like, and she never even brought them up.

All in all, I'm really happy with our engagement photos and I would certainly use Melissa if I was getting married locally. She made us look great and feel great, and after our shoot with her it made being engaged feel Actually Real.
Hye
Hye Y. Sent on 04/17/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Hire Melissa for your special day! You will not regret it.

Melissa was such a joy to work with for our engagement photos and our courthouse wedding. I am not very comfortable with taking photos (I don't take pictures of myself often), but Melissa made it so comfortable that I thought I was good at posing for photos! Haha. Melissa always comes prepared, knowing all the best spots to take the photos. And the pictures came out BEAUTIFUL! We took our engagement and courthouse wedding photos in Maryland, but we are having our wedding ceremony in New York City. We booked Melissa instead of going with a local NYC photographer because we love working with her so much. We will definitely reach out to Melissa for any other photo needs in the future!
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Awards

14
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2024 Winner

Deals

Team

Melissa Palka
Melissa Palka
Photographer/Owner

I grew up in a home with bookcases packed full of family photo albums. On rainy days, my parents and I would sit down and go through all of our photos. I listened as my parents told stories from the past, and we grew closer with every tale. We laughed over shared experiences and embarrassing memories. We felt the strange combination of joy, love, and grief while remembering passed loved ones. I became a photographer so that I could give others the gift of a photographic legacy for themselves and their families.

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