PHOTOGRAPHER | Maélys Izzo
Based in the South of France, Maélys Izzo is a wedding photographer with a love for film, Mediterranean light and a little bit of beautiful chaos. Maélys Izzo's approach is warm, nostalgic and intentionally imperfect. It’s less about posing and more about having a really good time. Think sun-soaked celebrations, great outfits, long dinners, and photographs that feel like memories while they’re still happening.
Tell us about your business!
Bonjour ! I’m Maélys, a south of France-based wedding photographer. My work is Mediterranean inspired, nostalgic, intentionally imperfect and sun-drenched. I shoot weddings on film and digital in Provence, on the French Riviera, Italy and Spain. I live in Aix-en-Provence, a very cute town near Marseille. Growing up here has influenced my taste for all things Mediterranean.
What would you like couples to know about you?
My approach is warm, fun and informal. I grew up in Provence in a very cliché stone house where my husband and I got married in 2025. If you like Jacquemus, olive groves, flower markets and if you dream of Eurosummer all year long, we will probably get along very well.
My style is colorful, film-inspired and cinematic. I adore the warm lights of Provence, maximalist Italian interiors and flowers and my editing is also inspired by these elements.
Do you travel for weddings?
I mostly do weddings in the South of France from Provence to the French Riviera, Tuscany, Sicily, Italy in general, the Balearic Islands, Morocco, Spain and Corsica.
So far, this dream job has taken me to Bali, Thailand, Canada and I shot a whole wedding season in New Zealand which I’m so grateful for.
As for where I would like to travel next it’s not a destination but I would love to shoot a wedding or even a vow exchange in a museum or art gallery, somewhere that is not traditionally a wedding venue. I’m obsessed with modern art and a huge fan of Mirò and Calder… just saying haha !
What is your most memorable career moment?
This has become one of my favourite stories to tell.
Last year, I received an Instagram DM on a Sunday and if you know anything about the French people, Sundays are sacred and definitely not made for answering work messages. To make things even more chaotic, it was exactly one week before our own civil wedding at home, so I was very much in the final stretch of preparations.
The message was from an American woman who had been a bridesmaid at a wedding I photographed in the South of France. One of her other best friends was getting married in Paris - two days later. There were only 20 guests, three days planned around a full Parisian experience and no photographer. (yet!)
The plans included a cinematic pre-wedding shoot at night, surrounded by the lights of Paris, an intimate ceremony in an iconic Parisian location, and then a night aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express - basically a photographer’s dream - and a train that feels like stepping straight into another era.
So, naturally, I cancelled my last few appointments before my own wedding, packed my cameras and went to Paris to spend three days photographing this couple and their 20 guests.
Was it reasonable one week before our wedding? Probably not. Was it worth it? Absolutely.
What inspires you?
People! I have my dream job and I never want to get bored of it ! I’m very involved in all my couples’ weddings: We spend a year reacting to each other’s Instagram stories, sharing inspiration and exchanging about the weekend (especially if it’s a destination wedding in the South of France where I can recommend my favourite vendors here.) The connection that we spend time creating motivates me even more to give to my clients the best wedding reportage ever.
Also, I would never be mad at a detailed wedding dress or veil and at a table decor involving vegetables, fruits and unique flower compositions.
How would you describe your working style?
I prefer to document the wedding from inside it rather than from the sidelines.
It’s not unusual for guests to ask me how long I’ve been friends with the couple. When that happens, I know I’ve done my job: blending in, making everyone feel comfortable, and being part of the day rather than just observing it from the outside.
Whenever possible, I meet my couples in person at least once before the wedding, and we usually stay in touch for months leading up to it planning, sharing ideas and tips, and talking about much more than just photography.
Building that relationship is a big part of my approach. By the time the wedding comes around, I don’t want you to feel like you have a stranger following you with a camera. That trust is also what allows me to capture the spontaneous, laughing, slightly chaotic moments I love most.
Nothing overly staged. I’d much rather make sure you’re having the best time and photograph what naturally comes from it.
Do you shoot digitally, on film or both?
Both. I always combine digital and analogue photography.
I don’t want couples to be able to tell where one ends and the other begins so my digital photos are edited with that film grain and vivid colors in mind.
Do you have custom packages according to individual needs?
I like to offer the full documentary experience and capture everything that makes up the story of a wedding day and not just the obvious highlights. so my full day packages always include the coverage from getting ready to the dancefloor/cake.
However, I have smaller collections for elopements or intimate weddings.
I shoot film for all the weddings I capture and couples can choose the proportion of analog photographs.
What is a favourite product or service that you offer and why?
It’s not exactly a product, but one of my favourite things to offer is the whole experience around the photography. I really value creating a warm, friendly and personal relationship with my couples long before the wedding day.
I have a little guide where I share photography tips, but also advice on the overall flow of the day and how to make it feel as relaxed and enjoyable as possible. We create a group chat, share ideas and recommendations along the way, and whenever we can, meet for a coffee before the wedding.
For me, it makes such a difference to arrive on the wedding day already knowing each other being genuinely excited to see each other again, rather than meeting for the first time when everyone is already a little nervous. That connection and trust naturally translates into the photographs too.
I ‘m also excited to present a new service for the 2027 couples: I have a superstar team offering content creation alongside my photography, capturing all the spontaneous, behind-the-scenes moments of the day in a more immediate way. And because we love a touch of nostalgia, couples can also add camcorder and Super 8 footage for that imperfect, home-movie feel we love so much.
Who is your dream client?
My dream clients often come from the UK, the US, New Zealand or Australia and are planning an intimate destination wedding of under 100 guests somewhere in Southern Europe.
They’re genuinely excited to get married, but just as excited to bring all their favourite people together and give them a little taste of the Mediterranean holiday life beautiful food, long dinners, warm evenings and a celebration that feels as much like an experience as a wedding.
They really care about photography and love the idea of having beautiful images to keep, print and look back on, even though they’ll usually tell me they’re “not very good at posing” (spoiler: they always nail it).
And somewhere in the back of their minds, there’s always this desire not to do exactly what everyone else is doing. They want to make the day their own, adding personal details, unexpected choices and sometimes slightly weird ideas (which are usually my favourites.)
What is your advice to couples getting married?
First of all : Follow the Anti-Bride but if you are reading this you probably already do.
2) Ask for full gallery examples to your photographer !
3) Don’t be afraid of trends! I think we sometimes put too much pressure on weddings, and especially wedding photography, to feel “timeless”.
Photographs are also a reflection of a specific time in our lives: what we loved, what we wore, how we decorated, and what felt exciting to us at that moment. When we look at our parents’ wedding photos from the 70s, the outfits, hairstyles and decor are so obviously from that era and that’s exactly what makes them so nostalgic and special. They give us a real sense of what that moment in time felt like.
So if something brings you joy, include it. Don’t leave out the fun outfit, bold colour, trendy detail or slightly questionable idea just because you’re worried it won’t feel timeless in twenty years.
The emotions, the people you love and the connections between them are what will make your photographs timeless. Everything else can be a beautiful reflection of who you were at that exact moment : have fun with it.
Maélys Izzo
Website: maelysizzo-photographe.com
Instagram: @maelysizzo
