Behind the lens at Sally & Chis's wedding
Welcome.
Hey I'm Melissa,
I grew up swimming in creeks, bare back horse riding, raiding the veggie patch (now I have my own love affair with gardening UPONWINDYHILL2 ) and staying out of the firing line of mum and dad. I moved to Perth from Qld at 20, not long after I bumped into my husband to be at The Aberdeen nightclub. We eloped and I've been happily married to my wheat and sheep farmer ever since. We are also now parents to Genevieve 11 and Nate 9.
I know you probably hate having your photo taken, I empathise, I totally do too. I never know what my arms or face are doing. But don't worry, I'm there to put you at ease, I want you to be yourselves and I can capture you having the time of your lives, half the time you won't even realise I'm there. Most weddings I get asked how I know the bride and groom as I generally just blend into the crowd and people not realising I'm the hired help.
My work leans more to the documentary side of things with keeping it timeless, romantic and full of heart. Nothing makes me more happy then when I can see you both lost and swept up in the day with your friends, family and each other, and I get to capture your most authentic selves. I'm a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to style and approach, a big part of the day it's a candid approach with minimal annoyance;), anticipating moments of fun and emotion, then a bit of timeless with no cheese bridal portraits, formal family photos, and then the general what is expected to be shot, all the main points of the day, details and venue images.
WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT ME
Planning our wedding from Melbourne in Perth, Mel was the first supplier we booked. She was our first & only choice & after seeing our photos, it was the best decision we ever made. The girl can shoot & she captured us & our location perfectly. We honestly cannot stop looking at our photos & can't wait to frame them. Mel is not only a talented photographer but a beautiful soul who will not only shoot your day but will also be part of it with her fun, yet professional manner. Mel - Lori & I want to sincerely thank you for being a significant part of what made our day so great.
Lori & Nathan 2018
Mel is not only a great photographer but a beautiful person too who loves what she does!She made us feel so comfortable in front of the camera and gave us everything we asked for and more. Thankyou so much Mel, especially for your patience with me and my goofy Evan.. we really aren't the natural model types haha but you made us feel great in every picture. I'll definately be recommending you to others. Xo
Jenna and Evan 2018
"The most beautiful presence on your wedding day and a crazy talented lense(wo)man to boot, this lady will be the best decision you make for your special day or for any special moment in your life, I guarantee it. She is full of heart and it really shows in her work and her ability to capture the raw, real moments that we will undoubtedly treasure for the rest of our times. We're still stunned at how she managed to turn a couple of goofballs into loved up cover models. If you're lucky enough to visit her magical farm for a shoot, do it - we're madly planning our next big life event so we can have her there to capture it for us."
Tar and Cam June 2018
"This girl...She knows how to shoot. Every moment spent with her was very relaxed. Her confidence and professionalism reassured me to the max - no kidding, she was probably the most organised person at that wedding! I am so in love with her work, each shot is so stunning. She even put up with my man's terrible jokes the whole time! Thanks Mel. You're a gem xx"
"I don't even know where to begin in thanking you! These photos look
absolutely amazing, and better than anything I could have imagined! I
have received so many compliments about our photos and how amazing
they are! Thank you from the bottom of of our hearts for being you!
You are so talented and such a genuinely nice and warm person, we
definitely won the lottery in having you as our photographer. You made
everyone feel so comfortable and relaxed on the day, as well as
getting us to have fun with it all! I know Jack and I probably weren't
the easiest to photograph since we both hate having our photo taken,
lol :)
Thank you for dealing with our families (mine especially) and trying
to get them together for those bloody pesky group photos! I'm sorry I
didn't get to thank you more on the night, but everything felt like it
went by in such a rush!
I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the photos, if they are
anything like the sneak peak."
Danie (and Jack)
AKA Mr & Mrs Mazou
"Mel is a wonderful, friendly, relaxed and talented photographer, and we are so in love with the way she captured our wedding day. We received a sneak peek of our images so promptly, and we are blown away by them, as are the people I have shown them to. We feel very lucky to have found you Mel - THANK YOU!!"
Ash and Ben
"I am so thankful I chose Mel to do my wedding photography, not only is she amazing at what she does, she has the best personality! We have the most beautiful, natural wedding photos - I love them!! You were an absolute pleasure to be around on my wedding day and I am so excited to see the rest of the photos!! xx"
Brianna and Stephen 2018
"First things first, we are sorry for how long this email has taken!
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for our beautiful photos. It was so wonderful looking through all of them and sharing them with the family. Each time we look, we find another favourite ‘ooh I like that, have I seen that one?’ They’re new and beautiful each time!
Thank you for your time, professionalism and going above and beyond on our day. Your passion and kindness radiated, and so many people acknowledged how lovely you were.
I hope the school semester was been a smooth start and all your clients this year are absolutely wonderful!
Thank you again! "
Reece and Eliza xx
Ps. The USB is the prettiest USB device ever!
"Aaaaahhhh! You're amazing- I didn't want this little teaser to end! These images are exactly what drew me to your instagram page in the first place-they are so natural and pretty and they capture our relationship and wedding day so nicely. You've kept us looking like us (just better versions of us!!).
It is us that should be thanking you! You made two completely awkward people feel relaxed and at ease in front of the camera (no mean feat!) and we feel so lucky to have found you. Since Friday, several people have commented to me on your gentle presence and professionalism.
Big, big thanks again! Can't wait to see the rest! x"
Kim and Karl 2018
"We just wanted to send a quick note to say thank you so much for taking the time out to meet with us on Friday and for letting us frolic around in your crazy beautiful backyard, we had so, so much fun!! and it wasn't nearly as scary as we imagined it would be - so thank you for putting us totally at ease and for teaching us more poses than high fives and thumbs up. It was so nice finally meeting you, feeling so lucky to have found you and have you shooting us and our loved ones on the day! We're loving the photos you have shared of our engagement shoot, can't wait to see more.. also shocked that you've made us look so darn good!! How?! Hahaha. "
Tara and Cam 2018
Hi Melissa! :)
"We received our box! The photos are so incredibly amazing I felt very emotional looking at them, I was so nervous about how we would look but you have really made us both feel so beautiful as every single picture is perfect! Thank you so much! We are beyond excited for the wedding and feeling very calm about having our photos taken now :)!
Thank you again! You are amazing! "
Dear Mel,
" Liam and I wanted to thank you for being such an amazing photographer (and person) on our special day.
We couldn't have asked for a more talented, upbeat, and patient person to capture moments that we will always treasure. "
With love Ying and Liam
Of their photographer, Kate tells
“We chose Mel from Bird on the Wall Photography. She was the first vendor we booked and also the first and only photographer I got in contact with. We fell in love with her candid style and just loved all the photos I was seeing. I flicked her an email and she agreed to squeeze our wedding in. I was so grateful, she was a such a joy to work with. Tom and I aren’t photogenic at all so I was very nervous about our wedding photos. We had never really had a nice photo of us as a couple and all I was hoping for was one or two pretty photos that we could cherish and be proud of. Thankfully she managed to snap hundreds of beautiful shots, exactly in the style I love. She is so talented and I am so so thankful we chose her.” Kate and Tom
"Oh Mel! We absolutely love love love all the photo's! We couldn't ask for the memories to be captured anymore perfectly. You are so very talented and we have no possible way of letting you know how incrediable they are! Thank you so much xox" Cara and Zac
"Steve and I just want to thank you for our amazing photos. After preparing ourselves we finally went through all of them over the weekend and couldn't believe all the moments that you managed to capture without us even noticing! the prints were a lovely touch that we weren't expecting!
We just want to thank you, from the bottom of our hearts for capturing our day perfectly. We could not have imagined anything better!"
"Melissa did such an AMAZING job of our wedding video, we can’t thank her enough. She was so calm and cruisey on the day and a lot of fun to work with. The highlights video she made for us was just perfect, she captured such beautiful footage and the music chosen to go with the video was like it was especially made for it. I would recommend Melissa to anyone! Thank you so much Melissa for making such a beautiful keep sake for us to remember our special day by."
Kelsea and Dale
"Mel the video and photos are absolutely stunning! You really captured all THE special moments of our day and when we watched teh film last night together I couldn't stop crying (happy tears) Thank you so much:) we highly RECOMMEND you to anyone xxx"
"You are honestly incredible and have blessed us so much with this, Thank you so much again!
So many tears!!! Love it absolutely perfect! Even the songs ..... exactly the style I sould have picked"
Videography "
"Hey Mel,
The box was such a cute touch to an already unfaultable service!
You have no idea how thankful and how lucky we feel that we found you!
The photos are Everything that I wanted! There is so much emotion in every single one and the cheekiness of some of them is just amazing!
I can't wait to show everyone and I will be sure to recommend you to anyone looking for a photographer!"
"So happy!I just wanted to write a quick note to tell you how much we LOVE our photos! We had to collect them at the post, which we weren’t able to do until yesterday. The very first thing I said when we woke up…”Get dressed, we have to go to the post to get our photos!”, haha. When we went through them, P finally looked at me and said, you have said “Awwww, I love it!” to almost every single one of them.
You honestly went so far above and beyond, so much so that I know I will never be able to choose my favourites, there are too many amazing ones! I actually had no idea our emotions/love could be translated to photo like that, you are a very talented woman :)"
Hi Mel
Just wanted to say a big thank you for our photos. They arrived yesterday and are exactly what we had hoped for - a beautiful record of how our day unfolded with the people we love most. We love how you managed to capture some of the moments we missed in the hustle and bustle of the day, and had us chuckling at some pictures and getting a bit misty-eyed at others.
Thank you so much for sharing your talent and for being both professional and warm along the way. We certainly feel fortunate to have found you at the beginning of your wedding photography career, and have no doubt that you are destined for great things!
Thank you again. J and B
You truly are incredible. Thank you not only for being so talented - photos, makeup and HAIR!!!! But you also are down to earth, calm and bubbly all in one which really helped make the day extra special!! Thank you for going to the lengths that you did to make our day special. Can't wait to see the rest! These are just perfect xxxx (mother of the bride)
March Brides (same sex couple)
"thank you from the bottom of our hearts Mel. We feel you captured our love perfectly. Many tears and smiles have crossed our faces" "You have made our day thank you, thank you thank you"
"Haven't even looked at usb photos yet, but LOVE the printed ones. So happy! You've done an amazing job. I nearly cried when I opened it! Looking forward to a quiet moment to look at usb ones too! Thanks again!!! D x"
Hey I'm Melissa,
I grew up swimming in creeks, bare back horse riding, raiding the veggie patch (now I have my own love affair with gardening UPONWINDYHILL2 ) and staying out of the firing line of mum and dad. I moved to Perth from Qld at 20, not long after I bumped into my husband to be at The Aberdeen nightclub. We eloped and I've been happily married to my wheat and sheep farmer ever since. We are also now parents to Genevieve 11 and Nate 9.
I know you probably hate having your photo taken, I empathise, I totally do too. I never know what my arms or face are doing. But don't worry, I'm there to put you at ease, I want you to be yourselves and I can capture you having the time of your lives, half the time you won't even realise I'm there. Most weddings I get asked how I know the bride and groom as I generally just blend into the crowd and people not realising I'm the hired help.
My work leans more to the documentary side of things with keeping it timeless, romantic and full of heart. Nothing makes me more happy then when I can see you both lost and swept up in the day with your friends, family and each other, and I get to capture your most authentic selves. I'm a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to style and approach, a big part of the day it's a candid approach with minimal annoyance;), anticipating moments of fun and emotion, then a bit of timeless with no cheese bridal portraits, formal family photos, and then the general what is expected to be shot, all the main points of the day, details and venue images.
WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT ME
Planning our wedding from Melbourne in Perth, Mel was the first supplier we booked. She was our first & only choice & after seeing our photos, it was the best decision we ever made. The girl can shoot & she captured us & our location perfectly. We honestly cannot stop looking at our photos & can't wait to frame them. Mel is not only a talented photographer but a beautiful soul who will not only shoot your day but will also be part of it with her fun, yet professional manner. Mel - Lori & I want to sincerely thank you for being a significant part of what made our day so great.
Lori & Nathan 2018
Mel is not only a great photographer but a beautiful person too who loves what she does!She made us feel so comfortable in front of the camera and gave us everything we asked for and more. Thankyou so much Mel, especially for your patience with me and my goofy Evan.. we really aren't the natural model types haha but you made us feel great in every picture. I'll definately be recommending you to others. Xo
Jenna and Evan 2018
"The most beautiful presence on your wedding day and a crazy talented lense(wo)man to boot, this lady will be the best decision you make for your special day or for any special moment in your life, I guarantee it. She is full of heart and it really shows in her work and her ability to capture the raw, real moments that we will undoubtedly treasure for the rest of our times. We're still stunned at how she managed to turn a couple of goofballs into loved up cover models. If you're lucky enough to visit her magical farm for a shoot, do it - we're madly planning our next big life event so we can have her there to capture it for us."
Tar and Cam June 2018
"This girl...She knows how to shoot. Every moment spent with her was very relaxed. Her confidence and professionalism reassured me to the max - no kidding, she was probably the most organised person at that wedding! I am so in love with her work, each shot is so stunning. She even put up with my man's terrible jokes the whole time! Thanks Mel. You're a gem xx"
"I don't even know where to begin in thanking you! These photos look
absolutely amazing, and better than anything I could have imagined! I
have received so many compliments about our photos and how amazing
they are! Thank you from the bottom of of our hearts for being you!
You are so talented and such a genuinely nice and warm person, we
definitely won the lottery in having you as our photographer. You made
everyone feel so comfortable and relaxed on the day, as well as
getting us to have fun with it all! I know Jack and I probably weren't
the easiest to photograph since we both hate having our photo taken,
lol :)
Thank you for dealing with our families (mine especially) and trying
to get them together for those bloody pesky group photos! I'm sorry I
didn't get to thank you more on the night, but everything felt like it
went by in such a rush!
I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the photos, if they are
anything like the sneak peak."
Danie (and Jack)
AKA Mr & Mrs Mazou
"Mel is a wonderful, friendly, relaxed and talented photographer, and we are so in love with the way she captured our wedding day. We received a sneak peek of our images so promptly, and we are blown away by them, as are the people I have shown them to. We feel very lucky to have found you Mel - THANK YOU!!"
Ash and Ben
"I am so thankful I chose Mel to do my wedding photography, not only is she amazing at what she does, she has the best personality! We have the most beautiful, natural wedding photos - I love them!! You were an absolute pleasure to be around on my wedding day and I am so excited to see the rest of the photos!! xx"
Brianna and Stephen 2018
"First things first, we are sorry for how long this email has taken!
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for our beautiful photos. It was so wonderful looking through all of them and sharing them with the family. Each time we look, we find another favourite ‘ooh I like that, have I seen that one?’ They’re new and beautiful each time!
Thank you for your time, professionalism and going above and beyond on our day. Your passion and kindness radiated, and so many people acknowledged how lovely you were.
I hope the school semester was been a smooth start and all your clients this year are absolutely wonderful!
Thank you again! "
Reece and Eliza xx
Ps. The USB is the prettiest USB device ever!
"Aaaaahhhh! You're amazing- I didn't want this little teaser to end! These images are exactly what drew me to your instagram page in the first place-they are so natural and pretty and they capture our relationship and wedding day so nicely. You've kept us looking like us (just better versions of us!!).
It is us that should be thanking you! You made two completely awkward people feel relaxed and at ease in front of the camera (no mean feat!) and we feel so lucky to have found you. Since Friday, several people have commented to me on your gentle presence and professionalism.
Big, big thanks again! Can't wait to see the rest! x"
Kim and Karl 2018
"We just wanted to send a quick note to say thank you so much for taking the time out to meet with us on Friday and for letting us frolic around in your crazy beautiful backyard, we had so, so much fun!! and it wasn't nearly as scary as we imagined it would be - so thank you for putting us totally at ease and for teaching us more poses than high fives and thumbs up. It was so nice finally meeting you, feeling so lucky to have found you and have you shooting us and our loved ones on the day! We're loving the photos you have shared of our engagement shoot, can't wait to see more.. also shocked that you've made us look so darn good!! How?! Hahaha. "
Tara and Cam 2018
Hi Melissa! :)
"We received our box! The photos are so incredibly amazing I felt very emotional looking at them, I was so nervous about how we would look but you have really made us both feel so beautiful as every single picture is perfect! Thank you so much! We are beyond excited for the wedding and feeling very calm about having our photos taken now :)!
Thank you again! You are amazing! "
Dear Mel,
" Liam and I wanted to thank you for being such an amazing photographer (and person) on our special day.
We couldn't have asked for a more talented, upbeat, and patient person to capture moments that we will always treasure. "
With love Ying and Liam
Of their photographer, Kate tells
“We chose Mel from Bird on the Wall Photography. She was the first vendor we booked and also the first and only photographer I got in contact with. We fell in love with her candid style and just loved all the photos I was seeing. I flicked her an email and she agreed to squeeze our wedding in. I was so grateful, she was a such a joy to work with. Tom and I aren’t photogenic at all so I was very nervous about our wedding photos. We had never really had a nice photo of us as a couple and all I was hoping for was one or two pretty photos that we could cherish and be proud of. Thankfully she managed to snap hundreds of beautiful shots, exactly in the style I love. She is so talented and I am so so thankful we chose her.” Kate and Tom
"Oh Mel! We absolutely love love love all the photo's! We couldn't ask for the memories to be captured anymore perfectly. You are so very talented and we have no possible way of letting you know how incrediable they are! Thank you so much xox" Cara and Zac
"Steve and I just want to thank you for our amazing photos. After preparing ourselves we finally went through all of them over the weekend and couldn't believe all the moments that you managed to capture without us even noticing! the prints were a lovely touch that we weren't expecting!
We just want to thank you, from the bottom of our hearts for capturing our day perfectly. We could not have imagined anything better!"
"Melissa did such an AMAZING job of our wedding video, we can’t thank her enough. She was so calm and cruisey on the day and a lot of fun to work with. The highlights video she made for us was just perfect, she captured such beautiful footage and the music chosen to go with the video was like it was especially made for it. I would recommend Melissa to anyone! Thank you so much Melissa for making such a beautiful keep sake for us to remember our special day by."
Kelsea and Dale
"Mel the video and photos are absolutely stunning! You really captured all THE special moments of our day and when we watched teh film last night together I couldn't stop crying (happy tears) Thank you so much:) we highly RECOMMEND you to anyone xxx"
"You are honestly incredible and have blessed us so much with this, Thank you so much again!
So many tears!!! Love it absolutely perfect! Even the songs ..... exactly the style I sould have picked"
Videography "
"Hey Mel,
The box was such a cute touch to an already unfaultable service!
You have no idea how thankful and how lucky we feel that we found you!
The photos are Everything that I wanted! There is so much emotion in every single one and the cheekiness of some of them is just amazing!
I can't wait to show everyone and I will be sure to recommend you to anyone looking for a photographer!"
"So happy!I just wanted to write a quick note to tell you how much we LOVE our photos! We had to collect them at the post, which we weren’t able to do until yesterday. The very first thing I said when we woke up…”Get dressed, we have to go to the post to get our photos!”, haha. When we went through them, P finally looked at me and said, you have said “Awwww, I love it!” to almost every single one of them.
You honestly went so far above and beyond, so much so that I know I will never be able to choose my favourites, there are too many amazing ones! I actually had no idea our emotions/love could be translated to photo like that, you are a very talented woman :)"
Hi Mel
Just wanted to say a big thank you for our photos. They arrived yesterday and are exactly what we had hoped for - a beautiful record of how our day unfolded with the people we love most. We love how you managed to capture some of the moments we missed in the hustle and bustle of the day, and had us chuckling at some pictures and getting a bit misty-eyed at others.
Thank you so much for sharing your talent and for being both professional and warm along the way. We certainly feel fortunate to have found you at the beginning of your wedding photography career, and have no doubt that you are destined for great things!
Thank you again. J and B
You truly are incredible. Thank you not only for being so talented - photos, makeup and HAIR!!!! But you also are down to earth, calm and bubbly all in one which really helped make the day extra special!! Thank you for going to the lengths that you did to make our day special. Can't wait to see the rest! These are just perfect xxxx (mother of the bride)
March Brides (same sex couple)
"thank you from the bottom of our hearts Mel. We feel you captured our love perfectly. Many tears and smiles have crossed our faces" "You have made our day thank you, thank you thank you"
"Haven't even looked at usb photos yet, but LOVE the printed ones. So happy! You've done an amazing job. I nearly cried when I opened it! Looking forward to a quiet moment to look at usb ones too! Thanks again!!! D x"