i am ridiculously excited you are here! my name is melissa oholendt and i'm a wedding & lifestyle photographer based in minneapolis/st. paul, minnesota.
if you are curious as to who i am, the short version is this: my great loves in life are my heart-breakingly lovely husband, my cuddly dog Gunnar, rainy days, j.crew cardigans, nicknames, the smell of freshly washed clothes and above all things God. if you want to know a little more about me, click on the email address below and send me an email with questions, email hugs or professions of your undying love (i don't judge). i would love to hear from you.
In case you missed it, the new Melissa Oholendt Photography has debuted and it might be the greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life. (Only to be trumped by hugging Justin Timberlake.)
For my RSS subscribers (love you!), please bookmark the new feed here. Can’t wait to see you there!
Well, blog readers. I have a confession for you: I’m not particularly great with kids. You may have guessed that a little bit when I wrote about my nonexistent baby-dar but just to be safe and clear and for posterity sake? I’m not great with kids.
My interactions with anyone between the ages of one and five usually start with the old classic, “how old are you?” Decent start, Oholendt. And then comes the (this is automatic; I can’t even control it at this point), “Oh, but I thought you were <insert a number 2 years older than they just said>. You look so much older!” Because. You know. Flattery gets you everywhere. With a 5 year old. (I rock.) I could give you dialog to fill a blogpost but I’m pretty sure you can guess how it ends. (Badly and with someone crying. And most times it’s me.)
But Lily? I could write on and on about this wonderful little girl. A) she’s sassy, sweet and genuinely adorable; B) she ignores (or at least pretends to ignore) my blunders and C) she seriously made me question my Connect Four abilities since she beat me every.single.game. (Whatever. Let’s play CandyLand and THEN let’s talk.) And then there’s the fact that she’s a daughter of one of the most wonderful women I know. Jessica Barker has a soul of gold and gives back to the community more in one week than I do all year. She is, hands-down, amazing and I’m so honored to call her friend. Love, love, love you both.
Last weekend we spent a few hours together braving the cold, drinking hot chocolate & smelling the fresh evergreen trees. Ladies and gentleman, I do believe it’s Christmas.
I have some huge news that I am so thrilled to share with you all. (No, not my new branding; though that is coming…soon!)
On Monday, my long dreamt-of J.Crew Jane Austen shoot was featured on the Minnesota Bride Magazine Blog! What an honor and a priviledge for this fabulous shoot to be featured on the most fabulous of all the Minnesota wedding websites; I seriously could not be more thrilled to be associated with such an upstanding publication.
One big bear-hug to my friends at Minnesota Bride. You guys rock.
I’m so excited to share more from this shoot.
I don’t usually post images from the family sessions I photograph, but I couldn’t help but blog this set. Just looking at it makes me happy and what Monday doesn’t need a little extra happiness?
There is nothing in the world like laughter between sisters.
We stalked the weather like professional meteorologists for weeks. We speculated, guessed and crossed our fingers for weather that would cooperate and when it looked like that Saturday afternoon would be a rainy mess? We rescheduled for early morning. We had the system beat and rain or shine (and it better be shine) I was going to photograph some love.
At first light Saturday the sky was a stunning pastel pink but no less than 30 minutes later the sun disappeared behind a line of blue(ish)-black rain clouds and I wanted to cry. All that planning, all that weather stalking, all that waking up in early enough to witness first light and a line of rainstorms was going to spoil our day. But oh, no. Uh uh. Natalie & Dave weren’t having it. What started out as a “meet and see how long we can go until we get rained out” turned into a session for the record books. We ended that morning in St. Anthony Main drenched with rain water but laughing so hard it hurt. Just further proof that I have the best clients in the whole world.
To my peeps and new friends, Natalie & Dave. You guys rock. Thanks a million for putting up with the rain, the umbrella and my hair. Happy, happy 5 years of wedded bliss; here’s to 70 more.
I’m a sucker for a great love story. If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you know this. It’s part of why myself and photographing weddings fit so beautifully together. It’s also why I make all clients (and let’s be honest, all friends too) tell me how they met and when they realized they were in love. Even when they’ve been married for 3 years and yes, even when it’s really none of my business.
Jacinda & Matt’s sweet, sweet love story goes a little something like this: she liked him, he liked her best friend, she stopped liking him, he started liking her, she realized she wanted to spend the rest of her life with this guy she never actually stopped liking and he decided he couldn’t live one more day without her. The rest is a blur of college, a wedding, living in South Africa(!!!), currently a grad school education at Luther Seminary and lots and lots of laughter.
And now, even after 3 years of marriage, they acted like newlyweds in front of my camera. Gross. (Just kidding. You know I love it.) Happy Anniversary to two really, really wonderful people. Your type of love is why I love my job immensely.
Within the last couple months, I have sent out (way, way) more than my usual number of “Booyah, You’re Having a Baby!” greeting cards and while I may not have babies on the brain (or in my body) I am, indeed, becoming a minority within my groups of friends and other married folks my age. But when I received Jen’s email with her amazing news, it felt different, if only because not only was she 7.5 months pregnant but she also shared (so I didn’t have to do the math, she loves me…) that she had been pregnant during the lifestyle session we did in March but it had been too soon to tell anyone! (PS. Congrats again on being so amazingly straight faced while I talked on and on about how all of my friends were either pregnant or wanting to be all the while keeping your little secret. Sneaky. I like it.) My baby-dar is apparently non-functioning (and I’m ok with that) because I didn’t have a single clue or suspicion.
A huge, huge congrats to Jen & Casey on their graduation into the next stafe of life! Can’t WAIT to meet the new addition to the Crews family (who made his worldwide debut last week!). Since apples don’t fall far from their trees, I know for certain that he will be one amazing little guy.
If I ever have to explain the physical and emotional meaning of organized chaos to another person, I will show them this photograph. This photo holds 5 months of planning and executing and finally some big, big plans coming to fruition. If I am being honest, I am both totally thrilled and terrified of what this day will hold for Melissa Oholendt Photography.
Today is the day that changes everything. Today, at noon, myself and 6 other fabulous local vendors will be styling & photographing a concept shoot that has taken just slightly less planning than my wedding 5 years ago. I have enlisted some fabulous and amazing local vendors and we’ll be bringing a substantial amount of talent your way and I can’t WAIT to show you the results. (And with it the entire breadth of my rebrand! Soon, my friends, soon.)
Until that October day, here’s a little sneak peak into the Creative Brief behind this concept shoot. It’s going to be BIG. (And insanely gorgeous.) If you want even more of a sneak peak, make sure you follow me on Twitter; I’ll be twitpic-ing the day’s events between shots.
Even though technically we’re Minneapolis transplants (what-up Utah!), I have a deep, deep love for this city. Four years and a few months ago, we drove up I35 for our see-if-Minneapolis-is-a-place-we-could-live scouting trip and as that now familiar Minneapolis skyline came into view, I could feel it. That tiny little budding “I Heart You” and from there it was over. I see why people move here and never leave; the city, the people, the culture, the architecture, the restaurants, the theater… Yes. Please.
My favorite (only) brother and his gorgeous girl came to visit 3 weeks ago and for 6 days I put away work (mostly) and spent some amazing hours with them. We watched bad movies, indulged in late night chats, drank more Sprite than I thought possible, gave cuddles to the dog and since they tend to be one of my favorite subjects in front of the camera, I turned our visits of Minneapolis landmarks into a photo shoot. (You can take the photographer out of the city…)
There’s something about sharing your favorite spots in the city with your favorite people who have no reason not to love it; as it turns out, you fall a little bit more in love with it all over again.
Raf & Lizzie. xoxo. You know how much I love you both.
I feel a pull every year on this freedom-driven Holiday; a sense of obligation to honor, love and serve the people who spend (or spent) their lives dedicated to the service of keeping our country the land of American dreams and progress.
This year, I am spending my 4th of July spending time with a best friend I have missed dearly on an Army base in Kentucky. This holiday, while we enjoy sangria, berries and fireworks, her husband is deployed to Afghanistan protecting and defending this country we love in heat we know nothing about with threats we would care not to know about. More than anything I want to spend this holiday celebrating their sacrifice as a couple and the sacrifices of my family over their years of military service so that I can enjoy every day of my freedom as an American citizen.
To soldiers and veterans everywhere, thank you. There are no more words. Thank you.
Happy 4th to my love, my friends and the people I owe every thing to.
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