Meli started as an Atlanta Wedding Photographer in 2011, and Chris later joined as her forever partner in crime. We’ve been photographing couples for 8 years!!!
Together we work as a husband and wife wedding photography team! This blog is a full overview about who we are: How we met, our love story, how we eloped in the Blue Ridge Parkways, and how we bring our passion of capturing
HOW WE MET | Quito, Ecuador
We believe ourselves to be REALLY lucky, because finding each other seems to have been such a coincidence… we are both from different worlds (even though we’re from the same city!).
It all started when Meli (Melissa Artieda) was visiting her hometown and took a dance class at the Tropical Dance Studio in Quito, Ecuador. She had been dancing for a few years and decided that finally doing a performance would be fun (and scaryyyyyy).
Guess who they put as her dance partner??? CHRIS (Christian Romero)
This is us below, in our dance costumes for our bachata performance. It was so fun and thrilling to be on the stage. We still have these
Our long distance relationship (aka. the hardest thing ever!!)
After performing together, we stayed as good friends, and eventually had a long distance relationship while Meli was already living in Atlanta, Georgia, and Chris in Quito, Ecuador.
Soon, our dreams consisted in just being able to be with each other. Nothing can really prepare you for a long distance relationship, but it definitely makes you STRONGER!!
If you’re going through a long distance relationship right now, don’t give up. Dreams do come true <3.
There’s NOTHING like the feeling of seeing each other again. Seeing each other made us the happiest we had ever been, so we knew that we HAD to stay together.
So we did everything we could to stay together. It was not an easy journey, but then again, is anything worth fighting for EASY?
And here we are today, making the most of every day together.
A Note from Chris:
I always wanted to find someone who understands me, who has the same vision of life. It finally was possible when I found Melissa.
She’s very passionate like me. We have so many things in common! Traveling, dancing, hiking, singing, kayaking together. And best of all, we discovered that share the same passion for PHOTOGRAPHY! It was only natural that we would become a husband and wife wedding photography team.
Also, I can’t remember having had a lot of new experiences in my life before.
Melissa has an adventurous spirit like mine, and we’ve really had good moments traveling together. We’ve explored mountains, beaches, volcanos, lakes and waterfalls. Sometimes it feels like we discover new cities everyday.
When I would visit her from Ecuador, she’d show me a lot of beautiful places here in the US.
New York City was my favorite! We had SO much fun, and I could tell the NYC streets are filled with lots of stories.
Christian Romero (Chris)
See this fun dance video we made in NYC. We didn’t have a tripod and somehow managed to do this by ourselves! haha
Thanks to our adventures and weddings as Atlanta Wedding Photographer, we’ve been given us to pleasure to travel all around Ecuador as well as different states in the US. To mention a few: New York, California, Oregon, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Every trip is an adventure.
Our Elopement | Craggy Gardens
Firstly, Eloping was our top choice because we wanted something dreamy and intimate.
Craggy Gardens in the Blue Ridge Parkway had been Meli’s dream for a long time, and there’s no denying that it’s a unique and calm place (with an INCREDIBE natural beauty).
The road trip began in North Atlanta (it took us more than 4 hours to arrive). Our dearest friend Ariel Ginn was our officiant, and she helped us so much (THANK YOU, Ariel. We love you!!).
Before arriving at Craggy Gardens, we did a first look somewhere along the way. We found a random rest stop that happened to have mountains in the background. The bathroom was actually nice (lol) and after that, we continued toward our elopement location.
When we arrived, we hiked for about 20 minutes (thank God Ariel had some chaco sandles for Meli to wear haha!). We arrived at the top before sunset, and that was perfect because the lighting was just GORGEOUS!!!
Our ceremony began as the sun was setting behind the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was a dream come true. There are no words to describe how we felt (and this is why we such big believers on doing your thing for your wedding!).
We all cried.
And saying our vows on top of the world was incredibly magical.
Our Vision | Every love story we capture is unique
For us, photographing weddings is more than taking pictures and editing them. it’s super important to make our couples feel comfortable and confident.
We understand that getting married is not simple, therefore, we use our experience of 7+ years in the wedding industry as Atlanta wedding photographer to guide and take care every couple.
We end up becoming best friends with most of our couples, and we think it’s because we end up connecting so well with them, that we don’t want out friendship to only last one day.
ROMANTIC, CANDID, and TIMELESS
Our priority is to always capture authentic, candid, and natural moments with true to color edits. That way, your photos will be timeless and beautiful. To make that possible, we’re perfectionist when we need to be, and laid back and fun the rest of the time!
Thank you for reading our story! If you’re ready for us to capture your love story, click here so we can get to know each other ASAP 🙂
