HOW MY STORY LED ME
TO TELL YOURS
MELANIE FLETCHER
2016
FIRST AWARD
Photography has been a passion of mine since my childhood years, and winning my first award sophomore year of high school was one of my favorite memories from those years!
2022
I met the love of my life
while working as a pharmacy technician for over 7 years. During that time, I got promoted to senior tech and eventually became our stores pharmacy operation manager! But when I got married in 2022, I decided it was time to retire the scrubs and get back to my passion! My wedding day was by far the best day of my life. Not only did I gain the most incredible husband, but also two amazing stepdaughters! Our love story may not be conventional, (by slight age gap I mean significant) but I have always been a firm believer that life is a short trip, and you should enjoy every second of it no matter who makes you happy or what you do (or don't do) in life. God has blessed me beyond measure, and it is the photos and videos that I look back on and smile over the most. Being the one behind the camera to document your story is nothing short of a privilege.
2022-2024
moments by mel is born
Although I still worked part time during these years, My coworker was actually the first one to give me a shot! I photographed her wedding as my gift and if it wasn't for her, I can humbly say this may have all still just remained a dream. Our home has a spare bedroom, and while I began to fall in love with wedding photography, I was super excited to photograph just about anything! I started offering indoor sessions from my home studio, got published in both Peerspace & "Photography & More" in 2024, graduated online from the New York Institute of Photography and got my first inquiry for a wedding video.
2025 (part I)
I WENT FULL TIME
and landed an awesome partnership with "At First Sight" Ultrasound! I got to move my studio out of my house and into my own suite! I quit my part time job and worked around the clock to give this everything I had. Remember that wedding video inquiry I mentioned? Editing my first wedding video was both rewarding, and extremely humbling (A lot different than playing around on iMovie as a teenager) I got a media production tutor, studied and passed the FAA Part 107 exam to become a drone pilot, and I truly still have to pinch myself to think that in only a few short months, I got so busy that I couldn't do it by myself anymore! This introduced a whole new chapter to the "Moments by Mel" story.
2025 (part II)
INTRODUCING ANGELICA MATTHEWS
Angelica and I met over 15 years ago when I became best friends with her older sister Alexis! Over the years, I always knew that Angelica had a gift for artistry, so much so that she got her Fine Arts bachelor's degree in photography from the University of North Florida!
When I first reached out to her about second shooting a wedding with me, I knew it was a lot different than her creative portrait and studio work portfolio. But after our first wedding together, I can speak for all of our clients that we will forever be grateful that Angelica decided to try wedding photography.
We spent most of 2025 traveling state to state photographing, filming, and spending a lot of our downtime pulling all nighters editing or attempting TikTok trends, this part of our story is a true testament to how much we love what we do, and how much fun we have working together. I was recently interviewed by Voyage Jacksonville magazine and when asked more about my business, Angelica was one of the first things I thought of.
"A huge part of my work is my associate and creative partner, Angelica! Our story is 15 years in the making. Our friendship and shared love for photography bring a natural connection, seamless teamwork, and so much heart to the experience we provide. What sets us apart is simple: we care deeply, and our goal is always to create imagery that feels like you while making the experience just as meaningful as the memories themselves."
2025 (part III)
LIFE HAS ITS OWN TIMING
I spent a lot of 2025 leaning into motherhood sessions and getting to witness journeys of all kinds. I always understood the weight of these moments even before I shared my own struggles, and my personal experience with endometriosis & infertility has made me deeply aware of how both unpredictable and different life can be.
In December 2025, I underwent my fourth and final surgery fully planning to use my recovery to iron out the details of my rebrand to be ready to launch on January 1.
Life had other plans, but now entering March of 2026, I feel both ready and honored to share more about myself and my own story.
Fletcher Wedding Studio is focused on weddings, while keeping the same heart that started Moments by Mel. I will continue to offer maternity and newborn photography on an as-requested basis, donating 10% of proceeds to the Hope for Fertility Foundation. If you are walking a similar path, I would love to hear your story and am always open to donating services to couples undergoing fertility treatment.
If you’re looking for someone who sees, values, and cherishes every part of your story (no matter what it looks like) we’d be a perfect fit
