Wedding Photographers Chicago | Melissa Diep Photography | Blog bio picture

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Remember the scene in Sex and the City the movie when Louise from St. Louis gives Carrie her Love charm? That’s Melissa Diep. She’s in love with Love. She’s the kind of gal who wears her heart on her sleeve and cries a little when her brides and grooms take their First Look. She loves the thrill of photographing the magic that exists between her couples, the innocence of a sleeping newborn, and the simplicity of a family in their own backyard.

Melissa is always on the hunt for the new and interesting in her hometown of Chicago, by way of Saigon, Vietnam. It is because of her family’s hardships and tenacity during their flight from the communist North––spending 10 days on a cramped fishing boat, then living in a refugee camp in Thailand for nearly two years––that have shaped who Melissa is today as a woman, wife, mother and photographer.

Armed with only a handful of pictures from her early childhood––one single baby photo and just a few as an infant in her family’s camp––it’s easy to understand why Melissa employs a photojournalistic approach behind the lens. She aims to deliver photo memories with stunning visual impact; natural and unscripted while telling your story effortlessly.

Melissa’s upbringing motivates her to live fully and to appreciate the grand, the small, and the in between. In her everyday, Melissa rocks girly dresses with blazers on photo shoots and drinks Vietnamese coffee. She believes in finding beauty in unexpected places, always doing her hair and lusting over shiny red Minis (regrettably, but dutifully, she upgraded hers to a more baby-friendly vehicle).

Melissa lives in Chicago with The Giant and Little G, also affectionately known as her husband and one year old son, of whom she religiously takes one 100 photos a day.

Chicago Wedding Photographer | Deepi and Eeshan’s Indian Wedding Sangeet

September 14, 2017 Tags: ashyana banquets,Chicago Indian Wedding Photographer,chicago wedding photographer,chicago wedding photography,Indian mehndi,Indian sangeet

chicago sangeet indiant sikh wedding photographer

WOWZA! That’s probably the first thing that escaped your mouth, too, when you saw this unexpected bridal hairstyle, right? The fishtail braid that my beautiful bride-to-be, Deepi, is sporting is what Disney Princess dreams are made of – pretty much perfect for any special occasion like her sangeet, the big, crazy party BEFORE the actual wedding. Indians know how to party 😉 Ashyana Banquets in Downers Grove, Illinois provided the perfect location for said big, crazy party. Deepi and Eeshan also happen to be members of a professional, traditional Indian dance group called Ministry of Bhangra. Mind. Blown. Best Bollywood performances I’ve ever seen!

Orange and fuschia are going to be a perennial favorite here at Melissa Diep Photography, and this bride totally nailed the hues in her own way by contrasting it with a stunning emerald green and gold top. Add a strong, handsome groom on her arm, like Eeshan, making his own statement with a modern spin on a traditional sherwani coat. Matching a small element works well to pull together contrasting wedding outfits, like Deepi’s green border of her lehenga to the groom’s sherwani. Love Indian weddings and the color explosion associated with them! Deepi and Eeshan’s non-matchy matchy look is a color story perfection, and Deepi’s simple but colorful lehenga is proof that you don’t need to be drowning in an ocean of gold embroidery to look amazing. Scroll down to see all of their sangeet pictures… just wait till you see the wedding coming to the blog soon!

xo, Melissa

chicago sangeet indiant sikh wedding photographer