MN Wedding Vendor Spotlight | Melanie Louise Photography
We’re back with another Minnesota wedding vendor spotlight! This week we’re chatting with Melanie Louise Photography. She is such a kind person, and we really enjoyed working with her for Jenna + Tom’s wedding over the winter.
We asked her what she loved about working at The Outpost (we love compliments, ha!), and she told us that “I love the perfect balance of beauty inside and beauty outside. The space is a blank canvas that invites the couple’s own vision to bring it to life. Same as the outside: a beautiful field framed with thick trees is a photographers canvas.” Why thank you, Melanie. We happen to agree with you!
Now, aside from a little bragging, we thought you would enjoy getting to know her. Read on for more details on how she got started as a wedding photographer, if she’s a chocolate or vanilla kind of girl, and a bunch of other in-betweens!
How did you get started with wedding photography? I first started photographing weddings after my experience shooting live concerts around the Twin Cities and falling in love with capturing emotional moments. I love freezing forever the joy, the fun, the love, and all of the other emotions wrapped up in a wedding day. I have a lot of photographers I look up to, and they encouraged me every step of the way.
“My style is a combination of modern candid and romantic. I like to capture the natural mingling and movement between the couple and their attendees as well as the deep romance I can evoke in the details and connection between the couple. Expect to adventure away from the traditional when you work with me!”
Talk to us about your ideal or perfect fit couple. I work best with couples who want to have fun, who want to let go of all the stress of wedding planning and seeing that certain family member that you had to invite, and just be with one another! I love working with people who have a vision and need someone to bring it to life.
What is your favorite moment of the day to capture? My favorite moment of the day to capture is right after the ceremony when the couple rushes out into the fresh air, and they can breathe and realize they are officially married. That moment is so special and the couple usually doesn’t realize I’ve captured it until they see the photo.
What is your favorite wedding season? I love all four wedding seasons for different and important reasons but autumn is definitely my favorite. The sun is more golden, the breeze is cooler, and the trees create the most beautiful scene.
When you aren’t taking photos, what fills your days? When I’m not taking photos I am thinking about taking photos! But really I love to plan trips to the Pacific Northwest and the mountains, play with my puppy Link, visit record stores, and listening to music with my boyfriend Tristan.
What is your favorite quote about love? My favorite quote about love is: from a poem called
Baked Goods by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
I want our summers
to always be life this—a kitchen wrecked
with love, a table overflowing with baked goods
warming the already warm air. After all the pots
are stocked, the goodies cooled, and all the counters
wiped clean—let us never be rescued from this mess.
Chocolate of Vanilla? Vanilla because it’s better to dip fries into!
Cats or Dogs? Both! But I have a 7 year old puppy named Link.
Something you wish more couples thought about/considered on the wedding day? One piece of advice I can give the couple is to really consider what time the ceremony should be at. Light is a photographer’s best friend and worst enemy. Whether you are planning on having a first look or not, the time between the end of the ceremony and the beginning of the reception should be spent during the golden hour — the 60 minutes before the sun sets. This is the best time for outdoor photos of the couple, the wedding party, and family. They look the most natural and the most beautiful, plus it gives you time to relax before your entrance!
Advice to couples still looking for a photographer? When looking for a photographer, it’s very easy to fall in love with someone’s work, but you have to consider the person behind the camera as well. If you aren’t comfortable with them the product might not come out the way you see it on their Instagram feed. It’s a very good idea to meet photographers in person and get to know them as well as booking them for your engagement session as well because it lets you see and feel how it is to be in front of their camera and what it will be like on your wedding day.