Hi.
I believe wedding photography, when done right, is an art. I believe that the miracle of finding your soulmate and committing to a life of “no matter what” deserves to be photographed with the same level of talent and expertise as gallery shows. I believe that if you look far enough past the millions of blogs and billions of sales people, and countless models posing perfectly in pretend and staged weddings, if you really look, you will find two human beings who just want to play board games at the kitchen table together when they are 98 years old.
I do this for those two souls. No one else.
Six years ago, I broke the mold and got everyone’s attention with my slogan, “You are enough.”
I declared that the blogs and magazines didn’t matter to me. Not that there is anything wrong with them, but not only did they not feed my heart, but they left me feeling totally disconnected from my muse and my soul. For me, the rankings, social media races and popularity contests didn’t fit into my joy. So, I made the choice to listen to my divine calling and walk in the light of grace and the promise that somehow, if it was meant to be, my business would survive. Somehow, if I was going to continue as a wedding photographer, my art, professionalism, and heart would carry me all the way.
I love photographing weddings, and I love sharing love stories with the world, but I am not willing to do so at the cost of my dignity, beliefs, and happiness.
And then miraculous things happened. I was chosen as one of the top 30 photographers in the world, top ten educators, graced more magazine and book covers and pages than I can count on my fingers and toes, and was even graciously granted a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign to live out a lifelong dream. My work has been featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show, VH1, and more. It turns out, when you walk, unapologetically, in the light of your truths, beautiful things really can and do happen. It turns out there is a whole tribe of people out there who totally “get it,” too.
So here I am, still soaring six years after first declaring my soul-filled way of creating wedding art, and I have no intention of quitting. I have met the most incredible couples along the way who are lifelong friends, and I have been blessed to use my talents for the power of good. In fact, the demand has grown so much that I am now adding other soul-centered photographers to the team. It broke my heart when I had to turn someone away because I was already booked and didn’t have anyone else to refer them to, and now I will never have to struggle with that again.*
The first person to join the movement was, obviously, my incredible husband, Thomas. He began shooting weddings on his own, very quietly, two years ago, and landed his first magazine cover that same year. He prefers to stay out of the spotlight as much as possible, and while I have wanted him to step out of the shadows so many times, I also totally appreciate the balance and serenity we have because of his anchoring. The next person to join the team was Victoria Schaefer. Victoria began as our babysitter many years ago, and it was obvious from the start she was something truly special. I saw very early on that she has the same unteachable ability to pull the poetic from underneath the weight of everything, and make it golden. She has been with Michelle Gardella Photography since the very beginning, doing everything from changing baby Lily’s diapers to flying out to Laguna Beach with us for weddings. She has worked beside Michelle for years, studying the things that can be taught, and nurturing the innate and incredible gifts that are all hers alone. Her beauty just glows, but it’s her gorgeous ice-cream-and-sweat-pants-loving heart that totally win everyone over. Victoria’s partner in crime is Angelo Pietri, a kind, loving, talented photographer who can make anyone laugh. Together, we are a little tribe of four artists who totally understand that these are the images you will hug close to your chest 60 years from now, in the moments when you need to remember what matters most.
We are certainly not the wedding photographers for everyone, but, if you, like me, believe in capturing the unmistakeable miracle of what weddings really are all about (even if you are having the grandest and most elaborate celebration ever in the world) I would love to be considered. Maybe you will be barefoot on your great grandmother’s farm, or maybe you will be wearing a $10,000 gown while walking down the aisle dusted with diamonds. The whole point is that, while they are beautiful parts of your story, the decorative details are not where my heart beats the hardest. You holding your mother’s hand just before you get in the car to go; him starring at you from across the reception as you crack up with your dearest friends; you taking a few seconds of solitude to soak in the magic of it all… Yes! These are the places where our hearts beat the hardest, and finding, and preserving, the moments that matter the most is our speciality and what we have become known to be the very best in the world at.
(*side note: there are hundreds and thousands of good wedding photographers out there, but until I formed this collective, there was not one single other person that I saw who had the same combination of poetic, brave imagery mixed with crystal clean professionalism and work ethic. All of our weddings are delivered to our couples in an average of 14 days without compromising exceptional quality, artistry and love, for example.)
