Mélanie Driedger Photography - Guelph & Area Wedding Photographers at theweddingring.ca - Guelph & Area Online Planner, Referral Service & Vendor Network

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BRIDAL NEWS MAGAZINE
JAN - JUL | 2009

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• Mélanie is limiting the weddings she shoots to 20 to 24 per year, so call or email to book ASAP.

• A $1000 non-refundable deposit is required to reserve your date.

• Packages start at $2500 and go up to $5500, but items can be exchanged for other products of equal or lesser value.

• All packages and products are subject to GST.

• High resolution photo DVDs are ready within weeks of your wedding to proof and order; prints ordered will be colour corrected and include basic retouching.

For Mélanie Driedger Photography, shooting unforgettable wedding memories is the best job in the world

Reviewing Mélanie Driedger, of Mélanie Driedger Photography

This husband and wife team has built their business around - and for - brides who put a high emphasis on incredible photography and quality but also value having an amazing experience during their wedding day photo shoot. Mélanie Driedger has been shooting for the past eight years and has been doing it professionally through her self-named company, along with her husband Justin, for the past three. Mélanie says that what's made them so popular in the wedding industry is the whole experience she and Justin offer couples, which includes bringing their fun personalities, passion for the job and the personal touch they add to make each shoot unique. Not to mention the fact that they say they genuinely enjoy putting smiles on their clients' faces – smiles that are captured in their images. Their subjects look like they’re truly having a fun time.

We spoke with local brides who already love and recommend Mélanie Driedger Photography and discovered that making their clients happy isn't too difficult a task for this husband and wife team – they even form relationships with clients that seem to last long after the wedding. So, we met with Mélanie and Justin to find out more about how this couple combines amazing talent with great people skills. Here's what we discovered...

Personally speaking...

Mélanie is a self-taught photographer who's been shooting everything that's inspired her for the past eight years, three of which have been as a professional photographer. Mélanie told The Ring that her inspirations include her mother's photography growing up as well as a fellow photographer that Mélanie traveled with for several months. Her mom studied photography so she likes to say that she was home-schooled and she comes from a very artistic family who is well-versed in music, art and photography. Her accreditation comes from this experience she's had over the years and through the reputation she's built up with her clients. As a side note, Mélanie is also fluent in French, which comes in handy on a regular basis, she says.

Even though Mélanie had shot several weddings for friends and family in the past, it wasn't until June 2006 when she opened Mélanie Driedger Photography that she started getting paid for doing something she already loved. You see, several years back, Mélanie made the move from 35mm SLR to digital SLR and the only stipulation that her husband Justin had for her was that she had to "do something with it... Take it seriously," he said. So, he built a website and off it went! Not too long after, the phone calls for weddings started coming in.

Mélanie is the Primary Photographer in her business with many roles – the main one being to meet with clients and be the primary photographer on the wedding day. As part of this role, Mélanie sticks to a 'no pressure' attitude - that means no pressure to book, order prints or on your wedding day. She's very relaxed and laid back and just wants to be there to make you look good. She says that her main goal is for you to be able to look at your wedding photos and remember, not just the day, but how you felt on the day and in the moments of it. And of course, she adds "I would also take care that the images distributed to you are beautiful to my standards in post-production."

Justin is more than just Mélanie's husband as he also plays a vital role in her company. He's the Technical and Lighting Assistant and Web Designer, which means his main roles on the wedding day include second shooter, photography gear set-up/maintenance, lighting and "simply making the wedding couple and their collective families feel comfortable in front of the camera," Mélanie told The Ring.

One of the things that Natalie and Phil Golding loved best about their September 2008 wedding day photo shoot with Mélanie was that Justin came along. Natalie told us, "It was great because we never had to worry about anything. If Mélanie needed something, she'd ask Justin to help out... We never had to lift a finger." She adds that as a bride on her wedding day, it was nice to see a young married couple working so well together... "It was inspirational."

Weddings are their specialty...

While Mélanie offers family, baby and engagement photography she told us that it's the wedding photography that she specializes in. "We're entering into our third wedding season and we have photographed over thirty weddings," says Mélanie who adds that each one has been a unique experience. "These experiences have allowed us to cross many religious and cultural paths and have allowed us to become sensitive to many religious and family situations," which Mélanie says is important to giving clients the best experience possible.

Mélanie says that they shoot about fourteen weddings per year and are looking forward to having a more open schedule in the year to come in order to accommodate twenty to twenty-four weddings per year, though they'll stop there. "We're limiting the amount of weddings we take on simply so that we can stay fresh and give each client the best experience that they deserve."

The first thing that Mélanie says gets her and Justin out of bed every morning is the fact that they love to be creative and it just so happens photography is a great outlet for that. But the thing that keeps them going back to work is that they genuinely enjoy putting a smile on their clients' faces. "We love when we get feedback like 'Thanks so much for making me feel so pretty and special' or 'You did such a great job with our photos'," Mélanie told us. Their favourite comment to date is: "'We felt like we spent the day with our best friends.' That truly makes our day!"

This ability to create friendships with their clients is one of the things that Mélanie says they do best. "We just love meeting new couples and getting to be a part of their love story," Mélanie told The Ring. "For us, creating an experience is equally as important as creating beautiful images."

The wedding day experience...

Brides who go to Mélanie Driedger Photography have a wide variety of styles, according to Mélanie. Some are quiet and a little more reserved while others are fun, outgoing and edgy. But Mélanie and Justin say they like the variety and "love to pull something unique out of each couple's personalities and mix it with our style." Despite their clients' varying personalities and styles, Mélanie says they all have one thing in common. "They appreciate modern, fresh, clean and spontaneous photography and love the experience they have with us." And Mélanie and Justin love the experience too as they say they always end up loving the relationships they build with couples and look forward to carrying those relationships on years after their wedding.

The experience you get when you hire Mélanie is something she says sets her apart in the industry and is a big reason a lot of couples choose her to shoot their wedding. "They sense that we are photographers who truly care about them and their love story." This seems to ring true for Mélanie and Justin in how they capture that story as well. "We try and keep ourselves fresh by finding new ways of translating a couple's love on 'film'. The neat part about what we do is that everyone is so different and unique that we never find ourselves bored."

Mélanie and Justin's passion for what they do was evident to Stephanie Donnelly who hired them for her engagement photos and May 2008 wedding photos. "Mél was great from start to finish. To her, it was not just a business deal. She was genuinely excited with us about our forthcoming marriage, she put great care into choosing the locations of our shoots and was in go-mode the moment I arrived at the church."

Mélanie and Justin say they love having fun on their photo shoots as they believe that when their clients are relaxed, laughing and having fun is when they take the best photos. It's also important to Mélanie and Justin to deliver what they describe as ultra crisp, modern, clean and authentic images. They realize that 'authentic' may be different for each client, which is why they mold their style to fit that of the bride and groom. "For our more quiet and reserved couples we love taking a sophisticated approach. And with our outgoing and up-for-anything-do-what-you-need-to-do couples, we love trying different and edgy things. These types of people love feeling like fashion models for the day."

The varying style of photographs that Mélanie takes is one thing that Jennifer Pelissero really liked. Jennifer had Mélanie photograph her August 2008 wedding photos and told The Ring, "She did your classic wedding shots, but then also had a lot of really great fun and artsy shots." She added, "Mélanie and Justin were super easy to work with, relaxing to be around and our photo shoot was a lot of fun!"

One thing Mélanie and Justin have realized over the years is that even if their clients are quiet and reserved, after they've been shooting with them for a while, the couple starts to really trust them. This was the case for Stephanie and her husband, "Mélanie has a natural way of relaxing her subjects. She stayed focused, enthusiastic and positive the entire time." She added that Mélanie and Justin made the whole wedding day photo shoot fun and seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves along with the wedding party, which in turn helped them to relax in the moment. This was one of the main reasons Stephanie chose Mélanie Driedger Photography because she "loved how relaxed and 'in their element' the subjects of her photos looked. This pointed to a personable, professional and fun photographer."

Packages&prices

Mélanie and Justin are determined to combine "great talent with great people skills." Brides seem to think this mission has been fulfilled since Mélanie keeps getting new brides who have been referred by past couples, making their Wedding Photography the most popular service they provide and filling 90% of their time. "All of our wedding packages are popular because we don't nickel and dime our couples," says Mélanie. "We include the things they want and have created some really attractive bundles.

Every wedding package at Mélanie Driedger Photography includes unlimited phone and email consultations, at least five hours of coverage (and up to nine) with unlimited locations, unlimited images captured, all wedding day high resolution images on DVD and online proofing and print ordering for three months (with 10% off the first ten days!). Packages start at $2500 and go up to $5500 with variations of hours and some including albums. Mélanie says the average bride spends $2500.

"I found Mélanie's prices the best around. That's one of the reasons why I decided to go with her," Natalie told us. "I got everything I wanted for the price I wanted." Mélanie even let Natalie make some swaps within the pre-set package deals to better suit her needs.

Mélanie's beautiful line of KISS albums are made of 100% full grain, natural leather and include a storybook style recap of your wedding day. The higher priced packages include these, or they can be purchased separately. Extra hours ($300 per hour), engagement sessions ($300), DVD slideshows set to music ($250 for three copies) and thank you prints/cards (from $8 each to $150 for 200) are also available a la carte.

"We have also learned that our couples love having an online gift registry where friends and family can donate to their photography via Visa, Mastercard and Amex," says Mélanie, which she now offers on her website.

"The prices were great... they fell within our budget and they exceeded the value we received," says Stephanie. All prices are subject to GST. Custom packages (including destination weddings) are available upon request. A non-refundable deposit of $1000 is required to reserve your day.

Walking you through it...

Email or call to check their availability for your wedding date. Mélanie suggests booking six to twelve months in advance, though she does have some 2009 dates still open since she has recently made room to shoot more weddings in a year. You can meet with Mélanie at her home office, but most often she meets couples at a local coffee shop (Starbucks being Mélanie's personal favourite); whatever is the most convenient for the bride and groom. During this first meeting you'll get to know each other. Mélanie says she wants you to tell her your story: "How they met? What they love about each other? Their plans for their wedding." Mélanie brings sample books for you to look through so you can get to know her work a bit better as well. You discuss prices and packages that best suit your needs - with no pressure to book. Mélanie told us, "You can book on the spot, which some couples do, or you can book later."

When you are ready to book, you'll sign a contract and leave a deposit to save your date. At this time you'll also discuss a rough outline of the wedding day. Since some packages include engagement photos and you can upgrade your package to include them too, you'll book this shoot with Mélanie some time before your wedding.

You can meet again before the wedding day to finalize the schedule, locations, timelines, and required shots. But Mélanie says that most brides and grooms are so busy with other details, they prefer to take care of this by phone or email. Mélanie can help with part of the timeline as well. She'll make sure that she gets some quality time with you so that you can make sure you get the great shots that you will want to hang in your home. Not only does she think you deserve the attention, but the time away from the confusion of the day is a welcome break as well.

Within weeks of your wedding, Mélanie says that your photos will be ready to be proofed and ordered. "Most people don't like waiting months and months; so we've gotten great raves for our service."