Melissa is the creative genius, hilarious friend, and ultimate professional that you want capturing your life's most important moments. She was an absolute rockstar at our proposal, engagement photos, and wedding day, capturing photos that perfectly articulate the story of our lives. Her style of work is impressive because you never feel like you are being overly posed or asked to do anything that is unnatural. She has an uncanny ability to read people and know what they will respond best to in order to get stunning, authentic photos. Not only is she a talented photographer, she is also the detail-oriented, logistical mastermind you want by your side during a wedding. She worked seamlessly with us and our wedding planner to create a day of timeline that flowed beautifully and resulted in zero stress for us on our wedding day. Every time I saw Melissa and our planner chatting, I knew they had it covered. Melissa went above and beyond to make it so - our wedding was in Cleveland, Ohio and she and her second photgrapher flew in a day early to make sure they were settled in and to scope out the photo locations. Bonus points to her for attending our welcome party because she just rocks like that and has become a part of our friend group over the years after photographing so many of our weddings. Overall, I cannot say enough positive things about Melissa as a person and photographer. She is genuine, talented, hard working, and will make you feel like you have been friends for decades because she puts in the effort to get to know you at that level. She is the perfect photographer for any and all events and special occasions! read more

When planning our wedding, choosing the right photographer was the most important factor for us after selecting a venue, and we absolutely made the right decision by working with Melissa! We cannot say enough about her -- she is SO talented, professional, and fun, and just an all-around amazing human. We are not super photogenic people, but for both our engagement session and on our actual wedding day, Melissa made us feel so comfortable and natural, and we had so much fun. She truly captured our love, and all of the photos are absolutely stunning. SO many people have told us how beautiful they are and how you can really see the love between us in the photos. Melissa is always more than prepared, especially when it comes to weather; rain was forecasted for our wedding day, but she was tracking the weather closely (we didn't have to worry about that at all!) and got plenty of photos outside when there were breaks in the rain. She had all of our photo spots planned and scoped out ahead of time, so it was smooth sailing throughout the entire day. She also photographed our friends' wedding, and it poured 99% of the day, but she managed to get amazing photos of them both in the rain and in that 1% of sunshine! We plan to have Melissa capture all of our special life moments going forward, and we cannot recommend her enough to anyone looking for a photographer. read more

There are not enough good things I could say about Melissa. She is an absolutely gifted photographer and captured better pictures on my wedding day than I could have ever imagined. While first inquiring with Melissa we got to chat on the phone and get to know each other and that alone could be a good enough reason to book her. She created such a meaningful relationship with us during the months leading up to our wedding and at our engagement session. She answered all our questions and was always available for them. Having that relationship made snapping photos a breeze, and my husband and I felt comfortable with her. Our wedding day and first look were such intimate moments and she gave us the time and space to have those moments without feeling rushed or watched. She listened to our concerns and made sure we stayed top priority on our special day. Melissa got our wedding gallery to us faster than I imagined since it is all around the holiday time and even gave us sneak peaks. She is a photographer who doesn't just have her face buried in the camera, she is present and kind and patient with her couples and that's all we could have asked for. Oh, and fantastic photos, which we got! She lives kind of far from us but there is nobody else we would want to use for our next portraits. Thank you Melissa, and keep doing what you're doing! read more

We truly cannot recommend Melissa enough! She arrived early to scope everything out, and get organized, and already we were all impressed with how calm and cool she was. I changed our plans (with 3 months to go until the big day!), decided to ditch our pre-COVID venue, and do a much smaller backyard wedding at a relatives' house. This switch was really important to us and I mostly did all of the details/decorating DIY, along with a very close friend doing all of the floral arrangements. (Did I mention Melissa helped assemble the flowers and vases for our centerpieces, before the wedding?!) Melissa really showcased everything that was very important to my husband and I. She was AMAZING with the children when taking big family portraits, and she blew us away with how she photographed our pups being part of our special day!! We LOVED all of our pictures and have so many to choose from when ordering and printing. The most amazing thing that people keep saying to us is, "You both look so natural, so in love, and just YOURSELVES", and we owe that all to Melissa! This whole process was very easy an Melissa provided clear instructions, links to everything, and was a great communicator. I very much mean it when I say that we cannot wait to have Melissa photograph all of our milestones in life. - Mackenzie and Joey Grabowski read more

Melissa was the definition of professionalism leading up to and on the day of our wedding! She was excellent with keeping everything on time and on schedule (and based on the amount of photos we wanted with an extremely tight time period, was no small task). Melissa was a pleasure to work with throughout the entire planning process, engagement session, and photo delivery. She was efficient, considerate, and so positively cheerful not just with us, but with all of our guests as well! Melissa is not just an amazing photographer, but an equally amazing person. Thank you for capturing all of the details, emotions, and perfect moments from our wedding day! If you are looking for the best photographer for your wedding day, photo shoot, or any professional photos you may want, look no further than Melissa Ortendahl Photography. Thank you, Melissa! Chrissie Sue and Brian read more

I can't recommend Melissa enough! From the very beginning, her process was thoughtful, organized, and truly centered on what we wanted as a couple. She took the time to listen, talk through our priorities for both our engagement and our wedding photos, and then delivered images we're absolutely obsessed with. On our wedding day, Melissa was not only an incredible photographer, but also the kind of person you're grateful to have by your side. She jumped in to help whenever I needed it, from bustling my dress to redoing my veil before sunset photos, and she even made sure we had a few quiet moments just for my husband and I. I can't say enough about the quality of her work or her warm, calming presence. We're so grateful we got to work with her, and we can't wait to book her again in the future! read more

No questions asked, BOOK HER! She's amazing as a photographer but really a beautiful human as well. As a couple, Melissa made us look and feel our best. She is personable and funny which takes the edge off of how intimidating photo shoots can be. She effortlessly navigated through the Wedding day, helped us stay on track and made sure to check in to assure we got the pictures we wanted. She can easily pivot and scopes out the best possible situations. She is truly the best. Even after the wedding, I feel as though I've made a connection for life. I can't wait to use her again in the future. read more

Hiring Melissa was one of the best investments that we could have made for our wedding! Melissa was kind and professional from beginning to end and from the engagement shoot to the wedding day we knew that we were in good hands. Also, did we mention that Melissa is hilarious and makes you feel like the best versions of yourselves? Because it definitely helped us loosen up and smile through all of our sessions. We cannot thank Melissa enough for all their hard work and would highly recommend Melissa for anyone looking to book their wedding photographer! read more

Melissa recently shot my wedding and is SO amazing! I was comfortable and calm from the moment I met her. You can tell from speaking with her that she knows exactly what she's doing and she is able to capture moments that you didn't even know were happening. She was able to give wonderful suggestions for the best way to fully capture the day and worked so well and patiently with all my family and friends. Not to mention the photos are beautiful! I would recommend her 1000% and I know who to call when I need a family photo shoot read more

My husband and I LOVED working with Melissa! We cannot thank her enough for capturing our day. She really took the time to listen to what we were looking for and helped to tailor our package and day based on what we said! We were initially very camera shy, but Melissa helped us feel at ease and really made the whole process so much more fun! As we scroll through the hundreds of pictures that she sent us we can't stop smiling. She truly did an amazing job! We cannot wait to work with her again! 1000% would recommend :) read more

Melissa made us feel so special on our wedding day! She was recommended to us by a coworker and I would highly recommend her to anyone for any type of photography needs. Melissa was so easy to work with and made our wedding day stress free. Our photos came out amazing and in the moment it was so natural. Melissa has an eye for the right light and space. We couldn't have asked for better photo memories. Everyone we share our photos with say they should be in a magazine all because Melissa captured the perfect moments. read more

Hiring Melissa for our photos was the best decision we could have made. From our engagement photo shoot to our wedding day, Melissa was kind, helpful, warm, and professional. She put me and my husband at ease the whole time - we knew she had it handled. And the results of her work speak for themselves. I am so in love with the photos she took that so perfectly captured the joy of those days. She is truly gifted. You won't regret hiring her - her services are worth every penny and more. read more

BOOK HER! Not only is Melissa an incredibly talented photographer, but she goes above and beyond to allow you to fully immerse yourself in the day. When the weather threw us a curveball, she helped me make decisions on the fly and even whipped out a seating chart I'd never seen before, all while we laughed through it all. We are over the moon with our gallery and are so grateful we had Melissa to capture our special day. read more

Melissa is THE most amazing photographer. Hands down. Not only is she extremely professional, hard working, and talented, she is a truly incredible person. We had the pleasure of having her photograph our engagement photos and wedding and BOTH times she made the experiences feel easy, carefree, and fun. I cannot recommend Melissa enough and am excited to share more of our experiences with her in the future. read more

Our family had a fall session with Melissa, and it was amazing! She made us feel at ease immediately, which is important when you have two crazy kids and a husband who hates having his picture taken. The photos were beautiful and so natural looking, and Melissa is wonderful. Definitely recommend! read more

My husband and I booked with Melissa for our engagement shoot before we even got the pictures back we asked if she could do our wedding! Super nice person and so easy to work with! She's so responsive and prompt! And then her pictures are absolutely amazing! Would recommend her to anyone! read more

I truly believe I had the BEST wedding photographer, Melissa. She was so genuine and involved with everyone throughout the day. She captured the most amazing moments and we cannot thank her enough. Our photo gallery was absolutely perfect! I will forever recommend her! read more

We are so happy with how Melissa captured our wedding day!! No detail was missed and she is truly a pro. She is highly communicative, offers great guidance, and our gallery came back in light speed. thank you Melissa! read more