About this vendor
FORMERLY KNOWN AS "MELANIE PRINCIPE PHOTOGRAPHY"
Getting to know my couples is the most important to me. If you’re looking for a photographer to just get the typical “smile at the camera”, super posed photos, I might not be your girl. I use photography to tell the narrative of your wedding day. For years to come, I want you to look back at your photos and feel the same emotions you did on the day of your wedding.
I want to be more than just the photographer at your wedding, I want to be your friend and get to know who you are. I’m all about having genuine connections with my couples, so then on your wedding day I can capture your true personalities and tell the unique story of your love.
Details
Business Attributes
- Woman-owned Business
Destination Weddings
- Destination Wedding Packages
Photo Shoot Types
- Boudoir
- Bridal Portraits
- Day After Session
- Engagement
- Trash The Dress
Photo & Video
- Digital Files
- Photo
- Second Shooter Available
- Social Media Sharing
- Wedding Albums
Photo & Video Styles
- Artistic
- Classic
- Documentary
- Lifestyle
Wedding Activities
- Getting Engaged
- Rehearsals & Parties
- After Party
- Wedding
- After Party
Awards and Affiliations
2-Time 'Best of Weddings'
2022.2019.
Best of Weddings
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this award—it’s never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
Reviews
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5
out of 5.031 reviews
Melanie is an amazing photographer-- very accommodating, personable, and has a wonderful eye. The lighting in her photos were exactly what I was looking for, and I am so thankful t...
hat I found her. She works in a professional manor, and brings her joy of weddings and love into her work with a great attitude. We were very lucky to have found her, and highly recommend her to anyone looking for creative and beautiful photos!
Melanie was amazing to work with at our wedding! She is super professional and brings a fun easy-going personality to the table. Her communication was great and she had an amazing ...
eye for photos. We had a ton of scheduled family and friends photos and she knew exactly how to handle and move that process along efficiently. Before the ceremony, she took the effort to explore our venue and found a bunch of hidden gem spots that would make for great photo backdrops. Throughout the night, she was able to capture so many wonderful candid photos and helped us create a memorable photobook of memories. Highly recommended!
I contacted Melanie via referral to take photos of my proposal and a surprise party for my fiancé where family and friends flew in.
Melanie was extremely personable, detailed and...
diligent. She considered the location, my plan, and who we are as a couple.
The big day came around and she was incredible. She had great ideas for different poses and spots in the area and even took the time to shoot with our dog since he was just upstairs.
She then hurried to the party venue and took photos for a couple hours past her expectation, on a Saturday no less! She was kind and you couldn’t even tell she was there. She told me she wanted it to be that way so we would convey sincere emotions.
She got photos to us that night while friends and family were still in town and they came out great!! Tears of joy run spurt when we look at them and our f&f said that they were some of the best photos ever taken of them.
I highly recommend Melanie if you want a joyous, personable experience.
Update: Just book her already!! We just had our wedding a little over a week ago and again, she is just phenomenal. When she showed up at the hotel where my bridesmaids and I were ...
getting ready, it felt like the final piece of my bridal party had arrived. Melanie's presence puts you at ease - her confidence is present in all that she does. She was so attentive to my dress/veil and made sure our posing was natural and flattering. She really was like a bridesmaid - she anticipated so many of my needs but also didn't monopolize our time with endless pictures. We are so excited to see our wedding photos because we know she absolutely killed it!!
Melanie is phenomenal! When researching wedding photographers, my fiancé and I wanted someone creative who took more than just traditional photos. If you’re looking for that as well, Melanie is your woman! Her photos are so inspired and she makes you feel at ease in front of her camera. She is incredibly personable and takes the time to get to know you as a couple. Throughout our shoot, Melanie was very reassuring and took the time to make sure she got each shot just right. My fiancé and I are thrilled with our engagement photos and so excited for her to shoot our wedding next year!
I can’t say enough about Melanie! Melanie is amazing and personable. She feels like a friend right away and makes you feel confident in front of the camera! Her style is so authent...
ic and romantic. She’s taken all of our photos and each time perfectly captures my vision. Hire her! It will be the best decision you make for your wedding! 💗
WITHOUT A DOUBT HIRE MEL! We can not say enough great things about her as a person or her quality of work- she was the best decision we made for our wedding and will 100% be workin...
g with her in the future. She felt like part of the family the entire time and guided us not only through the most perfect wedding photos but engagement photos also. From agreeing to fly to another state to take our engagement photos, to helping create our day of timeline she went above and beyond in making our day perfect. We loved the surprise sneak peak photos while we waited for her to work her magic, and let me tell you they were worth the wait. We did not have one bad photo and she truly captured every moment. If you are on the fence about who to hire I promise you will not be disappointed with Melanie.
I had a boudoir shoot with Melanie and I have to say the entire process was great. The actual shoot turned out to be super fun because she made me feel very relaxed and comfortable...
! Since I had never done a boudoir shoot I was worried about how to pose and she guided me through everything. It was a really quick turn around time and the photos turned out PERFECT!!! I will be hiring her again for Christmas pictures and definitely recommend her for any future photo shoots.
Melanie was a dream to work with! She captured the most special moments of our big day! I would never hesitate to recommend her to anyone who wants a true professional to create a ...
customized photography experience. She was always easy to contact with questions or planning steps, made the effort to travel across the country to our venue, and provided an wonderful experience overall.
If you're on the fence about booking her, there's no reason to consider anyone else.
Alright, let's me just be clear from the start: HIRE MELANIE. Now that I've said that, let me talk about why she is the most important vendor to lock down for your big day. Without...
a doubt, she is a necessity.
A little about my husband and I... We are unintentionally difficult people. The reason I say this is because we had Melanie shoot TWO of our weddings. She shot our Chicago Courthouse wedding (and a special session at Salvage One including our pups), and then we loved her so much, we had her shoot our ICELAND wedding a year later. Literally, we couldn't live without her presence, her expertise, her warmth, her friendship, and her photography. Therefore, she had to come. Melanie FLEW TO ICELAND to be with us, and she shot our wedding. She scaled a 50+ foot incline into a cave, shot a ceremony with some crazy lighting, climbed on top of the cave with us, ran into waterfalls with us, and shot on the black sand beaches (while her second shooter helped get the perfect shot by any means necessary). She fixed my hair for me at my reception, she handled all of my crazy requests, and she edited the most beautiful photos. I mean, literally, so beautiful that other friends who just got married never want to talk about their own wedding or photos... they want to talk about ours... oops?
All of this is just before/during the wedding. After the wedding, Melanie and her husband Parker became our friends. We have gone out to breakfast, kept in touch, and we will hopefully be visiting them at some point in the future.
Without a doubt, she's your most important vendor, and she's a must. Not only will she be there for you before and during your big day, but she will be a part of your life forever. We are so grateful to have met her.
Melanie was so wonderful to work with and we are very grateful that we found her in the crowded NYC market of wedding photographers. In addition to providing us with excellent phot...
os, she was very flexible and fair in her pricing to help us stay within our budget. Prior to our engagement shoot and wedding, Melanie worked closely with us to learn about our stylistic preferences and she was great at providing plenty of direction throughout the shoots to make sure our images looked natural. I definitely recommend Melanie and I would use her again in a heartbeat. We will cherish our photos for many years to come!
Melanie was so wonderful! From the very start, I felt like she was just another one of the girls in my bridal party. She was so easy to get along with and kept the day perfectly on...
track, not to mention our final photos turned out GORGEOUS! Going through the photos felt like reliving my wedding day. FIVE STARS! 100% recommend.
My husband and I loved working with Melanie! Our wedding photos turned out so beautiful and we love every single one of them! Melanie was so easy to work with and was able to capt...
ure all of the candid moments from our wedding. We absolutely recommend her!
Melanie was a pleasure to work with from the engagement photos to the wedding photos! The quality of work you see on her website is the quality you'll receive when you view your o...
wn photos. She is friendly and professional at all times. She has no problem directing her subjects, but in a very pleasant manner! She's willing try different things (for us it was throwing leaves or posing behind a weird looking bush) and to be honest, those are my most favorite photos. She constantly checked in with us to ensure we were getting the photos we wanted! I'm beyond happy that she captured the magic we felt that day! Best of luck in your new hometown, Melanie! Illinois has lost a treasure! Hopefully I'll be able to snag you when you're in town for a baby-bump session when needed :).
Melanie is such a talented photographer. After searching through countless portfolios of other wedding photographers in the Chicagoland area, I came across her photos and was in aw...
e of their beauty. I knew immediately that she was the person that I wanted documenting the most important day of my life with her camera. If you are looking for someone with a more photojournalistic/candid eye, she is exactly what you need. And beside her obvious talent behind the camera, she is such a sweetheart who was wonderful to work with. I was always able to easily get ahold of her with questions/concerns. In the midst of being nervous on our wedding day, her and her second shooter Lexi were such a joy to have around and made the day so easy. My spouse is not the type that likes being in front of the camera, and even he couldn't stop raving about how wonderful Melanie and Lexi were. I would absolutely recommend her! I'm so unbelievably excited to see our pictures :)
Melanie is seriously an amazing photographer! We booked her for our engagement session and our wedding. She makes taking photos feel so natural and not posed what so ever. Her pers...
onality worked so well with ours. She makes sure to get all the photos she needs but also listened to us and family to get those photos as well.
Melanie is seriously the best photographer ever. It took a lot of searching but when I took one look at her work I knew she was the right photographer for our special day.
To sta...
rt off her personality is so easy going and nice and she has this ability to make you feel like you’ve known her forever ! Which is a total plus when you’re a stressed out bride!
When it was closer to time for our engagement shoot she made sure to ask what I was looking for and truthfully provided everything we wanted and more! We didn’t know what spot to choose and she gave us great ideas. When we working with her she made it super easy! She made us laugh and made us feel very comfortable.
Leading up to the big day - she asked many questions again to ensure she would give us everything we wanted. She brought along a second photographer who was just as amazing and nice. Melanie made sure to capture every beautiful moment throughout the night. I never felt the pressure to pose and was able to just soak the day in — even during pictures! Melanie provided us with way more pictures than we were expecting and came up with amazing and different shots throughout the whole night. I love all of our pictures and now I can cherish the day forever.
For anyone looking for a photographer- you WILL NOT regret it if you go with Melanie-she is seriously the best person and photographer ever!!!
Melanie is by far the best photographer I’ve ever worked with. I was unsure of what I wanted our engagement photo shoot to be... I just didn’t have a clear vision of what I wanted....
We had only met once before the shoot, but since I had seen some of her work, my fiancé and I took a shot and trusted Melanie to be creative and do what she felt was best. I am SO GLAD we did. She nailed our personalities down to the T and it’s clear in the pictures. She is so easy going, so professional, and knows what what she’s doing. She’s got an amazing eye for a great shot. I would go in blind to any photo shot with her because I know the end result would be nothing short of phenomenal. No matter what type of photo shoot you’re looking for, Melanie is your girl!
Melanie was spectacular! She shot our wedding in June and our engagement pictures the summer before.
Our engagement shoot was in 100+ degree weather and she was a trooper. We wer...
e thrilled with how great the pictures turned out.
On our wedding day, Melanie and her partner did such a great job. After our engagement shoot, we were confident that the pictures from our big day were going to be perfect. And they were!
Thanks for everything Melanie!!
We hired Melanie to shoot our wedding this past June. Working with her was a breeze- she made the whole process just seem so easy and stress free. Her warm personality really made ...
us feel comfortable, and her shooting style was exactly what we wanted: fun, creative, and a little silly sometimes. We didn't want anything stilted and overly posed, we wanted photos that accurately captured the joy and celebration of the day. I have no doubt in my mind (from the couple of photos I have been able to sneak peek) that she accomplished exactly that!
We loved working with Melanie! She took our engagement and wedding pictures and did a great job. She is easy going and laid back, which makes it easier for those who are not comfor...
table in front of the camera. We love her style and all the pictures we have received from her so far. Would definitely recommend!
Melanie did a stellar job on our engagement pictures and wedding initial photos. I was so happy to have her shoot our engagement pictures because it gave my husband and I a chance ...
to get comfortable in front of the camera, and to get a feel for how Melanie works. When it came time to start taking wedding pictures, we were all comfortable and ready to move through the day's photos. The pictures didn't look like your traditional wedding shots that feel cliche and predictable, a common comment about our wedding pictures is that they look creative and unique. Of course we took some of the standard pictures, but Melanie had tons of ideas for ways to make the pictures a little different and not so static. Our pictures truly capture mine and my husband's personalities. Nothing looks forced or faked in the pictures. Melanie showed up on time and got right to work, taking pictures of everyone getting ready, pictures of my dress, and pictures of my jewelry. She was even great about any pictures I wanted to have taken during the reception. I highly recommend Melanie if you want pictures that aren't going to feel or look like every other wedding's pictures, and if you want a personalized feel for your pictures.
I had Melanie take my engagement photos. She was incredible patient and friendly with us. She delivered the photos within the timeline promised. The photos were amazing. They were ...
better than I could have imagined. She really nailed the look we were going for and I am beyond happy with our photos. I will definitely be using her again and would recommend to anyone looking for a photographer.
We searched far and wide for a wedding photographer in Chicago (literally 100+ inquiries) and are so thankful to have found Melanie! From the beginning, she was responsive, persona...
ble, easy going, and her talent spoke for itself through her incredible portfolio. We met with her for our engagement pictures after hiring her for our wedding and she completely surpassed all our expectations! She made us feel comfortable and guided us gently while still letting us be ourselves. We immediately felt so grateful she would be there on our wedding day and had complete faith in her to capture our day perfectly, which she did! We got our wedding photos back in less than a month and they were incredible. She captured everything we wanted for our day and we could not be more happy with how they turned out. We are lucky to have gotten the chance to work with Melanie and recommend her to anyone who needs a talented, fun, passionate, and creative photographer!
I can’t stop raving about how truly amazing our pictures are!! Melanie captured a very special moment for my husband and I and I am so thankful for that! If you need pictures for ...
any reason, whether it be a gender reveal (like what we had), engagement, wedding or even holiday photos you must use Melanie! A pleasure to work with, and a truly gifted photographer! It will be the best decision you made.
Melanie did a perfect job on our wedding photos. She was timely with everything as far as meeting with us and editing our photos and getting them back to us. She was so fun to be a...
round. You guys are missing out if you don't choose her! Thanks mel 💜
I can't say enough wonderful things about Melanie!!! She did our engagement photos as well as our wedding. Melanie is soooo ridiculously talented and when she is hard at work you c...
an tell how passionate she is about her work! We searched long and hard for the perfect photographer that would capture my style and Melanie did not disappoint! She has a way of putting you at ease on such a crazy day and she worked sooo hard to get all of the perfect shots! She showed up on time and went straight to work. She worked so well with my videographer as well! She truly does invest herself into your day and it shows in her work. I will be recommending Melanie to EVERYONE!! Don't even question it - HIRE HER!!!!!
Melanie did my wedding photos and the moody vibes of her photos couldn’t have been better for my rainy wedding day! She’s super fun to work with and always went above and beyond to...
get the perfect shot. I was very pleased with the quality and quantity of the photos we received. She made sure to capture all the small details that were important to me. Her style is unique and she puts an artistic flare to traditional wedding photos. I highly recommend Melanie and would book her again in a heartbeat!
Melanie photographed our engagement session and will also photograph our wedding in June! I couldn’t be happier with how our engagement session went. My fiancé and I had never had ...
professional photos taken and we both felt a little awkward at first. But thanks to Melanie’s encouragement, we were soon put at ease. By the end, my fiancé was saying how he felt like a model! The photos turned out great! I used them for Christmas cards and they will be used throughout my wedding. We can’t wait to see how the wedding photos turn out! Melanie is such an easy person to get a hold of, as well. She is also very flexible. I’ve changed the length of time we’ll need her at our wedding at least twice and each time she adjusts things for me with no pushback or questions asked. I’m very thankful for her flexibility and positivity! I highly recommend her photography!
Amazing, all around. My pictures are beyond what I could have ever envisioned, came back to me so quick (despite Melanie being a bride to be herself!), and the most adorable packag...
ing/presentation. I have already recommended her to 5 people and I will continue to, she went above and beyond.
Melanie took my engagement pictures and we absolutely fell in love with her! She's so fun and easy to work with. She did an amazing job capturing us! We have a dog as well and she ...
got her to look perfectly at the camera! After seeing how amazing our engagement pictures turned out we had her take our family Christmas card pictures as well!! Over all she's so easy to work with and amazing to work with! Can't wait for her to shoot our wedding!
Melanie took 10 year anniversary pictures of me and my husband, and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. She is very professional, creative, talented, and very easy to ...
work with. She got every pose I wanted and much more. They turned out amazing, and I will definitely be using Melanie in the future!!
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Melanie Jarvie's photos