Annapolis Maryland Engagement Photo Session: Nita + Leo

Nita first heard of Leo from her roommate. Though they didn’t meet until summer of 2009, they sort of knew one another since both were Indonesians and shared the same mutual friends. Nita used to go to a small Christian school in central VA for college, while Leo went to Virginia Tech. Whenever he drove from DC to VTech, he had to pass her school and he used to make jokes of it by saying,”Who will go to that school?”.

After their initial meeting, they didn’t reminisce again until early 2010, when they started to hang out quite a bit since both lived close by, but without any intention to date each other. Yet from friendship, their feelings grew for each other and they decided to start dating in September 2010.

Late last year, the couple were heading to Tysons Corner to catch a movie. Halfway through, Leo suddenly turned to a jewelry store across the street from the mall and asked Nita to choose any ring she favored as an engagement token. A few weeks later, they went back to Indonesia and had a small party to formalize the engagement with their respective families.

Engaged couple holding each other on the dock. Annapolis Eastern Shore Maryland pre-wedding engagement photo session at downtown, by wedding photographers of Leo Dj Photography. http://leodjphoto.com

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The Tidewater Inn Wedding: Aimee + Brian

After their romantic engagement photo session in Annapolis, finally, the most anticipated time had arrived for me to photograph Aimee and Brian’s Wedding day.

The couple searched through several places in the greater Chesapeake Bay area before settling on their choice. They wanted a venue which would focus on them and not run multiple weddings a day, with rooms available either on-site or nearby since many of their guests were coming from out of state. They found their preference at Tidewater Inn, which was equipped with enough rooms and also endowed with inherent beauty of a uniquely “Maryland” vibe with no requirement for additional work or decorations. Additionally, Easton itself is a quaint small town they both enjoyed exploring. Aimee and Brian knew right away that it was the perfect setting.

Bride and Groom lying on the floor kissing, framed by the circular stairway. The Tidewater Inn wedding, Easton, Eastern Shore, Maryland, by wedding photographers of Leo Dj Photography. http://leodjphoto.com

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Maryland Yacht Club Wedding: Lauren + Chad

After photographing their gorgeous engagement session at the Baltimore National Aquarium, it’s now another privilege for me to capture Chad and Lauren’s fun filled wedding at the Maryland Yacht Club.  The couple decided on the venue because they felt it would be great to do the wedding outside on the water with an amazing sunset.  The Club was close by to them and to all of their friends, which was an important concern. Nevertheless, the weather didn’t cooperate and the entire party were rooted inside, but the venue did a good job of keeping everything flowing well regardless. Plus the food was ridiculously good.

Bride and Groom sitting, cuddling and kissing. Maryland Yacht Club wedding at Pasadena Maryland, by wedding photographers of Leo Dj Photography. http://leodjphoto.com

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Annapolis Bridal Shower: Sarah

I was really ecstatic when Karey of Historic Events contacted me to document the decor details of their design and some event coverage of Sarah’s bridal shower. It was an honor to be chosen to photograph for them.

The theme of the bridal shower was “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, an ode to the Bride’s love of Audrey Hepburn. All the guests were dressed in their favorite Little Black Dress.

Sarah’s party was held at the Sky Lounge, Annapolis. It was quite a cold and windy day which ended up with snow, a beautiful surprise that added more allure into the lovely event.

Beautiful Bride-to-be in her little black dress similar to Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany's. Historic Events Annapolis bridal shower decor and event coverage at Annapolis Maryland, by wedding photographers of Leo Dj Photography. http://leodjphoto.com

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2 Responses to “Annapolis Bridal Shower: Sarah”

  1. Christine Pennini

    Thank you for capturing this very important event in our daughter’s life! It was special and so is she!! Thanks Leo, Christine Pennini

  2. Leo Dj

    You are most welcome, Christine! So happy to be a part of your daughter’s important event. Yes, you are all special! 🙂

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Bow Ties & Bubbly Event: Breezeway

During the Bow Ties and Bubbly Event, the 2015 wedding show at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club, there were many rooms with different vendors and its own design team with the appointed photographer. In the Breezeway Room, the design team was Lauren Niles Events, Garnish Boutique, 27 Studios, Little House of Flowers, 2hands Studios, whereas Hamilton Photography was the assigned photographer. Unfortunately, Christina and Mark had weddings that day, so they asked me to take pictures of the design details for them. Apparently at the same time Lauren Niles, the designer and owner of Lauren Niles Events, had asked Krista Jones of Krista A Jones Photography to cover for them. However, during the show, I wanted to make sure and asked Lauren if the photography had been covered. She said yes, but she didn’t mind and would be grateful if I wouldn’t mind taking additional pictures. I said, “Of course!” It would be an honor to do so.

Wide view of room design by Lauren Niles Events. Kent Island Maryland Chesapeake Bay Beach Club Bow Ties and Bubbly wedding show photos at the Breezeway, by wedding photographers of Leo Dj Photography. http://leodjphoto.com

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Bow Ties & Bubbly Event: Tavern Bayside

It was a privilege to participate in the annual wedding show at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club. This year, the main theme was Bow Ties & Bubbly Event: A Wedding Soiree on the Shores of The Chesapeake. I was especially honored to be selected as the official photographer for the Tavern Bayside room and worked along with the fabulous design team of the room which consisted of Vintage Affairs, Wicked Willow, Pops of Plum, and Select Event Group. The main color theme of the room was purple, violet, and some hints of silver and gold. The beautiful flowers were provided by Wicked Willow, the vintage furniture and props were from Vintage Affairs, the linens from Select Event Group, and Pops of Plum taught the mini design floral class.

Large violet and purple paper flowers from florist Wicked Willow on old table lamp from Vintage Affairs. Kent Island Maryland Chesapeake Bay Beach Club Bow Ties and Bubbly wedding show photos at the Tavern Bayside, by wedding photographers of Leo Dj Photography. http://leodjphoto.com

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Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Wedding: Megan + Phil

I covered Megan and Phil’s romantic engagement photo session at a private estate in Easton. If you haven’t followed their stories, please see the blog and find out how they met leading up to the proposal. It’s an epic journey involving a helicopter ride and walk in the canyon!

And now the day finally arrived for me to photograph their beautiful wedding at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay.

Both Megan and Phil were from the Eastern Shore and preferred a local venue where their guests would enjoy the option of having somewhere to stay on site. When they visited the Hyatt, they were extremely impressed by the gorgeous setting, wonderful amenities, and attentive staff. All the things which eased their choice in selecting the Hyatt as their wedding venue.

The Bride, Maid of Honor and Bridesmaids showing their flower bouquets. Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay wedding at Cambridge Maryland, by wedding photographers of Leo Dj Photography. http://leodjphoto.com

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Illumination Experience Workshop with Hollywood Cinematographer Shane Hurlbut, ASC

I have always been intrigued by others’ work and art, and constantly wanted to learn on how to improve my work. I learned from books, other photographers, online articles, videos, seminars and workshops. For seminars and workshop, I am usually rather picky in selecting them because they are not inexpensive, especially workshops. Great workshops would cost thousands. I have to be careful in investing on them, sometimes prioritizing based on my needs.

Welcome banner for the workshop. Review of MZed Illumination Experience, film making and cinematography Workshop with Hollywood Cinematographer Shane Hurlbut by wedding photographer Leo Dj Photography. http://leodjphoto.com

The first time I heard about the Illumination Experience seminar/workshop was from the promotional email from MZed. I’ve attended great seminars and workshops under MZed, for example those taught by Jerry Ghionis, Lindsay Adler and Lou Freeman. However, they were all specifically for photography. The Illumination Experience was actually for cinematography, for film making – a different field from my profession. Usually I wouldn’t really care for film making workshops. However, this workshop was different. Although it was not a photography workshop per se, what made me curious to dig in further was that the instructor, Shane Hurlbut, ASC, was the cinematographer of multimillion dollar blockbuster films such as Terminator Salvation, Need for Speed, Act of Valor, Drumline, Greatest Game Ever Played, and many others. He also had worked with famous celebrity actors and actresses such as Russell Crowe, Zoe Saldana, Jane Fonda, Kevin Costner, Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Eric Bana, Matthew McConaughey, Michael Keaton, Paul Walker, Josh Brolin, Will Ferell, Kirsten Dunst, Jessica Alba, Shia LaBeouf, and many more! I immediately thought, “Whoa!”
Alright that surely caught my interest, but then I wondered what would I get from the class? What would Shane be teaching?

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Annapolis Maryland Engagement Photo Session: Aimee + Brian

Aimee and Brian met about two and a half years ago in Bowie, Maryland over dinner and milkshakes. Brian must have made an impression on her, because after only two dates, Aimee took a chance and flew all the way to Seattle to visit Brian during a lengthy work trip. A weekend adventure filled with good food and bad coffee followed, with the two of them happily exploring downtown Seattle and continuing to get to know each other. Fast forward about a year and half, it came to Brian that he couldn’t let this one go. He knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Aimee.

In early February 2014, they spent their engagement weekend in Washington, DC for what Aimee “thought” was her Christmas gift; a stay at the historic Willard, a show at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and a dinner at their favorite Italian restaurant. “Plan A” was to propose on the roof of the Kennedy Center just before the show, but the weather didn’t quite cooperate as it was a hair below freezing and a bit windy. Aimee, who was dressed to the nines, was less than enthusiastic over Brian’s suggestion to stroll around the roof. As it turned out, “Plan B” (which Brian made up as they went along) was the far better option. They spent the afternoon ice skating in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden and then went for a walk around the Tidal Basin, which they had entirely to themselves. When the time seemed right, Brian finally asked her. Aimee said, “OF COURSE!”. Needless to say, it was a memorable weekend for the two of them.

Engaged man kissing his fiance behind a glass door. Annapolis Eastern Shore Maryland pre-wedding engagement photo session at downtown, by wedding photographers of Leo Dj Photography. http://leodjphoto.com

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