You can stop looking for a wedding photographer, because you have just stumbled across the best in the business. Rachel, owner and operator of MERGEweddings, is like no other photographer we met with during our search. From our initial meeting in a Starbucks, I knew that this girl was going to capture our wedding in a spectacular fashion. And my beliefs were proven a thousand times over during the entire process of our wedding. First off, Rachel offered an engagement photo session as part of her package. I initially scoffed at the idea, but was convinced by my wife that it would be a good thing. So we chose an interesting location (Franklin Park and abandoned zoo) at the encouragement of Rachel and spent a few hours wandering the grounds. What I thought was going to be a chore turned out to be a great way to interact with my wife and for the photographer and subject to learn about each other. When next we met, it was wedding day. Rachel had brought a second photographer with her and both of them wasted no time snapping photos. We had about an hour before the ceremony where we posed in traditional and VERY non-traditional ways with friends and family. This proved to be more fun than expected and definitely helped us get loose before getting in front of our crowd of 175. During the reception, Rachel and her cohort were sneakily shooting us and the crowd. I honestly barely remembered that either of them were there, but they captured all the important moments. But it doesn't stop there! Oh no! Rachel LOVES to embrace new ideas and freshness and encourages her clients to do the same. This is how I ended up back in a suit and my bride in her dress as we romped through a farm. In the middle of nowhere. We posed in hay lofts, horse stalls, on John Deere tractors, with horses, on fire engines, under covered bridges, and even laying down in the middle of the road. We honestly got some of our favorite photos from this last session and definitely had lots of fun. Throughout the process, Rachel exuded a professionalism like no other. From the time she cut up her foot as we explored the zoo, to the time she dropped one of her lenses on our wedding day, she never let on that anything was wrong. She is completely focused on being an unobtrusive observer of the couple at hand and capturing their special day. In summary, Rachel is a joy to work with and can make anyone enjoy having their photo taken. You will feel like a superstar when she is working with you. Her style and perspective on how best to capture a couple and their day is unlike anyone else you will find. And above all, her work is stellar; you will absolutely treasure the photos she captures with her lenses. I am looking forward to the next opportunity where I can use her services again. read more

Repeat client here - Rachel is simply, the best. She's got five stars from everybody for a reason! We found her on craigslist when she was just starting out and hired her to shoot our wedding in 2006. To be honest, I wasn't sure what we were getting into, I just knew that I liked her portfolio (fresh!). What we got was an incredible wedding day, exceptional photos and lots of great memories captured on film. Rachel is a true professional - she made us comfortable and knew just how to interact with her subjects to get a great shot. She's not afraid to experiment and is willing to listen to any of your ideas. We loved her and her work so much that a year later, I got back into my wedding dress, my husband put on his tux and we romped around some railroad tracks and took some really fun anniversary photos as a gift to ourselves. Absolutely worth it. My husband keeps his favorite photos on his iPhone and shows them off to anybody willing to look! Most recently, I asked Rachel if she would be willing to do a senior session with my younger sister and her friends who were visiting Boston. Miraculously, she agreed and in the middle of her busy schedule, took the time to make four high school seniors feel like supermodels. While she focused a lot on group shots, she was also able to give the girls plenty of individual attention. The resulting photo set perfectly captured their personalities and the girls had some amazing pictures to show off to their classmates. If you like what you see in her portfolio, then Rachel is definitely worth every penny. She's an amazing human being! read more

I think you can see a trend here with the other reviews and I am certainly not going to break it. We booked Rachel in 2006 to shoot our wedding in 2007 and some engagement pictures in 2006 and she is absolutely fabulous! To say that my now husband HATES his picture taken is an understatement, and I am no fan of cameras myself. Getting him to leave the house for the engagement session was not an easy task, but Rachel put him right at ease with her relaxed and fun personality. Because he felt so comfortable with her at the engagement session he wasn't even worried about the wedding pics. I think anytime I want some good relaxed pictures of him I may have to call Rachel! With both shoots we got AMAZING pictures. Rachel is not just a photographer that will get all of the important shots (although she does that too)- she is absolutely an artist. Her ability to capture the personality of her subject is amazing. She makes everyone look good and without being obtrusive. I could go on and on singing the praises for her and her pictures. The bottom line- I would recommend her to anyone in a heartbeat. read more

My husband and I met Rachel over a year before our wedding, even before we'd selected our reception location. All we had at the point was the date and the church. I knew that photography was something that was extremely important to both of us, so I started the search for a wedding photographer early on. There was something about Rachel's work that struck me- how she really saw people, not just subjects. She captured more than just a moment in her photos and I was instantly drawn to that. We met her one afternoon and, after a conversation over Starbucks that led to the discovery of many things in common between the three of us, my husband and I left knowing we had found our gal! Since then, Rachel has done our engagement photos, our wedding rehearsal, our wedding, and a "trash the dress" shoot at a country fair. Throughout the whole process, Rachel has become a friend to both of us. It has been a joy to see her talent develop and her business grow. We can recommend her enough! PS: The photo of the couple in front of the trolley? That's us!! read more

I did boudoir pictures with Rachel back in April and they were amazing! I've seriously never felt so beautiful! I got them as a wedding present for my husband, and it was the perfect gift. He loved how they came out. He's still talking about how awesome the pictures were. In addition to the boudoir pictures, we also did a mini engagement picture shoot with Rachel and our pictures came out great. She really has a way of making the ordinary and drab extraordinary. We did our pictures down by the waterfront and the pier docks, and even though it was a cloudy day and we were skeptical of the area, Rachel did an amazing job with the pictures and honestly you'd never know where we were. I've also since scheduled post-wedding bridal pictures with Rachel and I'm so looking forward to them. I can't wait! All in all, Rachel is an amazing photographer and I highly recommend her. Thanks, Rachel, for taking such amazing pictures :) read more

Artistic, creative and beautiful! We may have had a very traditional wedding, but we didn't have the conventional, posed photos. Hanging the pictures in our house is like hanging art! We looked great in our engagement photos, but also very natural. Friends and family commented that we looked very much like ourselves, and Rachel made us look our best! When I look at our photos, I remember the atmosphere before the wedding, the blissful emotion, the heavenly music and how luscious that chocolate cake was. My favorite aspect of the whole wedding was the pictures! Rachel is easy to work with...she traveled all the way to Dallas for our wedding and accomadated for the wishes of our families! She also chooses very creative and talented photographers to work with her! I couldn't recommend a photographer any higher! read more

I did a Boudoir session with Rachel in April and there are no words to describe how amazing the experience was, she made me feel super confortable during the shoot and at the end I left the room feeling like a super model. It was a wedding gift for my husband and he absolutely love it !!! The results were great, Rachel really knows how to make a simple moment look great and unique and the album I got looks really good, the quality of the work is definitely ourstanding. I love it so much that I couln't wait to get my Fearless Bridals done after the wedding and again she blew my mind with the pictures, I haven't seem all the pictures yet but the 3 she showed me were really good and I can't wait to see all of them. I would totally recommend Rachel. read more

Rachel is a wonderful photographer. Not only did she and her assistant take beautiful photographs of our wedding, it was a pleasure having her around. I felt like I was being photographed by a savvy, gentle yet firm, visionary friend. She set me at ease and gained my trust even before I met her. Once she arrived on the scene I knew I had chosen wisely. I love the pictures and will always appreciate the attention and talent she has brought to our wedding memories. If you are fortunate enough to have Rachel take pictures at your wedding, you will be thankful. Her work was one of the highlights of our day. I like my wedding pictures more than anyone else's I know! Thanks, Rachel! read more

Simply put, Rachel is fabulous! I booked Rachel for both a Boudoir shoot and an After shoot. Both shoots were SPECTACULAR! I wasn't sure if I had the guts do the boudoir shoot, but I decided to just go for it, and I'm so glad that I did!! The shoot ended up being a very liberating experience - Rachel made me look like a model (talk about ego-boosting!). I loved all the photos from that shoot so much I asked her about doing an after wedding shoot. The results of that shoot were equally spectacular! Rachel seems to effortlessly combine photojournalism and portraiture, and it always seem to result in fabulous images! read more

Rachel is an amazing photographer! She shot my boudoir photos, which I used as a gift for my future husband on our wedding day. This was not something that I would normally feel comfortable doing, but Rachel helped me to feel comfortable and beautiful, and I had a great time! The pictures came out better than I could have ever imagined, and her presentation in the album I purchased was perfect! If this is something you're looking to do, you can go on The Knot and find other women to sign up with you for a full day marathon. That's what I did, and it worked out very well! read more

Rachel is a spectacular photographer. She did our engagement photos at the site of our first date, wedding rehearsal, ceremony and reception. She has such an eye for great candid moments, and puts so much of herself into her work. She was a joy to work with and I have referred her to many friends who have also been thrilled with her work. read more

Rachel was my wedding photographer and I loved her so much I also booked a boudoir session with her a few years later. She is relaxed, professional, and creative. I found that I was able to be myself around her and the photos she took speak for themselves! My personality came through the lens and she helped me see that I am beautiful. read more

Rachel did a boudoir shoot as a wedding present to my husband and it the best! Not only did Rachel and her assistant make me feel super comfortable and beautiful, but my husband absolutely loved it! I only wish that I used her for my wedding reception but I had already paid someone else. Her pictures were amazing! read more