In the Washington, DC area, October is without a doubt the busiest month for wedding photographers- everyone loves to get married as the weather cools and the leaves begin to change!  Many Washington, DC couples choose to do their engagement photos in the spring to give a seasonal balance to the photos they have together.

And in Washington, DC, the epitome of a spring engagement session is the cherry blossom festival!

Cherry blossoms only bloom for a few weeks, at at their 3-day-peak, leaves are preceded by pink clouds of petals, and the air fills with pink!  This poof of pink rings the tidal basin, National Mall, and other historic landmarks.  For any beltway insider or couple who fell in love our Nation’s capital, there is no better time or location to have your photos taken.

A few words of advice however:

1. Book your photographer early!  Cherry blossoms are only at their peak for a few **days.** As such, I only take 3 maybe 4 cherry blossom sessions.
2. Shoot early!  In addition to the best light for your engagement session being at dawn, shooting at the crack of dawn is the only way to avoid the crowds in Washington, DC.  Let me be clear, it will be crowded.  Very crowded, even at 6am, but you’ll be able to walk.  Later in the day?  Not so much.  
3. Have a permit!  Shooting in any national park requires a permit.  When I was a new photographer, I shot without a permit.  Tisk, tisk.  Now, I will not shoot a National Mall session without a permit, and I have seen numerous photographers stopped, kicked out of park areas, and brides and grooms leave their DREAM, ONCE IN A LIFETIME location all because someone didn’t get a permit.  It breaks my heart every time.

Rina and Osamu’s Washington, DC engagement photo session followed these rules, and the results were stunning!  Check them out, and if you want some more insider tips on rocking your Washington, D.C. engagement photography session, let me know in the comments!