Well, talk about the excuses to go and photograph cherry blossoms with a couple in love! Vicky and Jason’s wedding will take place at amazing Crystal Plaza in Livingston, NJ; however, they live in DC. They really wanted their engagement photos taken during cherry blossom season so your servant NJ wedding photographer headed to Washington, DC to some sunrise adventures :). It wasn’t very difficult to convince me to go down. We met at sunrise but despite the early time there were thousands of people already waiting to capture this beautiful time and cherry blossoms gorgeousness! We had an amazing time and I was able to capture enough frames without people in the foreground and background though. I felt super accomplished when I looked at the photos and the amazing freshness of cherry blossoms made me love the photos! And Vicky and Jason were just trooppers and withstood the cold (almost freezing) temperatures and looked simply fabulous ♥!
I am super excited to be a part of their wedding!
So here’s how our engagement session went. We met at Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial right before sunrise. From Vicky’s research it looked like it’s going to be best for the cherry blossom photos in all DC. But Vicky wasn’t the only one who did the research. Thousands of other people did too :). When we met, there were tripods set up literally every yard and all photographers were waiting for an amazing view. And let me tell you! We did get the amazing view of Washington Memorial with cherry blossoms. And below is a few photos that we got right before the sun rose.
And here are a few photos that I was able to get with an off camera flash. It always create a fun and different effect and I very much love these photos.
And look at this amazingly gorgeous cherry tree branch covered in blooms!
And here is another fun view of Washington Memorial right before the sun appeared. And this kissing love birds give this photo a wonderful romantic twist.
And here I am using cherry blossoms as a framing element for my lovely couple!
I adore the simplicity of this photo with this gorgeous diamond engagement ring and cherry blossoms!
Vicky and Jason were so great and they even agreed to sit down on a very cold ground! But I am so glad that they did because it created a wonderful relaxed and fresh look in their engagement photos.
It was very interesting to me that there were no fences anywhere near Franklin D Roosevent Memorial. I was a little nervous when I walked backwards because I didn’t want to fall into water with my camera, but it really made great for photos.
This tree looks so good too! I was able to use it as a framing element and draw more attention to Vicky and Jason.
Look at these two people in love!!!
Here are the photos when the sun actually rose and we were able to incorporate it into photos. I simply love how the sun was perfect in these photos and I wad able to use cherry flowers as a frame for my lovely couple.
And it was cold! Very cold! So once I took a moment to set my light, Vicky went for a hug to warm up a little in Jason’s arms. I thought it was so genuine and cute and photo definitely captured that.
And Vicky’s engagement ring was simply perfection with one large diamond, 2 smaller diamonds on the sides and LOTS of tiny diamonds all about the big ones. And cherry blossoms were a perfect companion for this beauty! 
We were able to get to a spot where we were able to incorporate Thomas Jefferson Memorial in the background. The look of these photos will be a mix of romance and history for sure :).
Everything was so perfect about his session even though there were so many imperfect things about it. Vicky’s fuchsia dress matched cherry blossoms very well, her milky cardigan matched Jason’s khakis wonderfully. The weather was cold but they were tough. Tons of people were there but we were able to get enough moments that were not interrupted. So here is the imperfect perfect engagement session. 
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All images are copyrighted to Yana Shellman – fun, sweet, energetic photographer serving as a South Jersey and Philadelphia Wedding Photographer. She adores photography that shows natural and loving relationship of people. Clear instruction, genuine laughter, and long-lasting sweet memories is what you will get with Yana as your wedding photographer.
http://www.yanashellmanphotography.com
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If you have questions or would like Yana to record your special event, please drop Yana a note at yana@yanashellman.com or contact her through the contact form.
Beautiful cherry blossom love story!
Good job Yana!
Thank you very much! Yes, it was a gorgeous location!