Phoenix Wedding Photographer enjoys lunch with Melissa Jill of Melissa Jill Photography.

On Saturday, I had the tremendous pleasure of having lunch with Melissa Hester of Melissa Jill Photography. Melissa is a SUPER talented wedding photographer. She shot the wedding of our friends Greg & Shannon back in August and I’ve been a big fan of her work ever since.

I guess you could call me a bit of a “blog stalker” when it comes to her. I actually check her blog just about every day on my lunch break at work. What can I say? I’m a huge fan of her work! Melissa is the definition of a true wedding photojournalist. She does an amazing job of capturing the true emotions and beauty of the weddings she shoots. Her photos not only tell the story of each couple, but they are creative and artistic at the same time.

Since I’ve been following her blog for a while, it was kind of funny to actually have the chance to sit down and talk to her in person. She not only blogs about her work, but she also includes entries about her personal life, like a list of personal goals, photos of her family (and her very cute puppy). I went into our lunch knowing all kinds of things about her even though she had only met me for about 2 minutes during the busy process of shooting a wedding.

I was very pleased to discover that the real life Melissa is just as kind and genuine as the Melissa from her blog. She was full of great advice and shared many of her experiences as a wedding photographer. It was so nice to spend time with someone who has already walked down the path that we’re on.

Overall, I learned a ton and really enjoyed getting to know her. Thanks for a wonderful afternoon Melissa!