From one love story to a thousand.
When Arish and I got married, we wanted our wedding photos to feel real. Not posed smiles, but the laughter, the tears, the messy, beautiful moments in between. We wanted to remember the day as it truly happened.
Back then, wedding photography was all about stiff poses and picture-perfect setups. That's when we knew we wanted to do things differently. That's how The Melrish Studio was born.
We started capturing weddings with a photojournalistic, documentary approach, telling love stories as they naturally unfold. We wanted couples to look back at their photos and feel every moment all over again.
Our journey wasn't easy. In 2009 we had a different dream, a Filipino restaurant and a furniture shop. Then our business partner ran away with 660,000 AED, money we had borrowed from the bank. It was devastating. No savings, a huge loan, and no idea what to do next.
So we turned to what we knew best: photography and storytelling. We worked day and night, capturing weddings, telling stories, and slowly paying off every dirham. It took five years, but we made it.
"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."Philippians 4:19
Looking back, we see how God provided through every challenge. Every couple who trusted us, every story we told, it was all part of the plan.
In 2019 we celebrated 10 years of Melrish by taking the whole team to Tbilisi, Georgia. In 2024 we marked 15 years in Baku, Azerbaijan, grateful for the journey, the people, and the stories we've been blessed to tell.
The Melrish Studio begins, rebuilt from the ground up through photography and storytelling.
Ten years celebrated with the whole team in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Fifteen years marked in Baku, Azerbaijan, with gratitude for the journey.
We tell wedding stories like real-life movies, unposed, raw and full of feeling. Photojournalistic photos and cinematic, documentary films that bring moments back to life.
We're proud members of Fearless Photographers, BNI, The Events Group, Female Fusion and EO Accelerator, and one of us sits on the Board of Directors of the Philippine Business Council. Because storytelling isn't just about weddings, it's about people, connections and leaving a mark that matters.
The Melrish Studio is always evolving, but one thing stays the same: our love for storytelling. To our couples, clients and everyone who has been part of our journey, thank you. Your trust has shaped who we are.
Here's to the next chapter.