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.

The Diepster and The Giant Has Landed in St.Thomas | Wedding Photographer in St. Thomas

August 12, 2010

Giant and I got booked two weeks ago to fly to St. Thomas to shoot this amazing wedding. This is our second time there. While we were there, we decided to island hop to St. John since we’ve never been there. We rented a Jeep Wrangler while we were there. It was a really popular thing to do. Also most economical way to travel around the island since taking the taxi can add up quite quickly. We passed by many beaches. Including the famous Trunk Bay but didn’t stop till we got to Cinnamon Bay. It’s a very secluded white sand beach. We stopped there for a few pics and left to Leinster Bay, where we were told is the place for snorkeling in St. John. What they didn’t tell us was that it was almost an hour walk to get to this secluded beach!!! By the time we got to the beach to snorkel, we were beyond exhausted! So I don’t know how to swim and I’m terrified of any water activities. It took me over 30 minutes of holding onto Giant while he snorkels to the next island before I decided to stick my head into the ocean. I was TERRIFIED!!!! For those of you that knows me knows that I have no fear. I’m an adrenaline junkie. But ever since I almost drowned as a kid, I haven’t gotten over that fear of the water. I must say we were a little bit disappointed with the snorkeling. Now I’m no snorkeling expert but the one time I’ve ever snorkeled in my life was in Cozumel and it was scary but beautiful!!! There were so much ocean life in Cozumel! In Leinster Bay, we only saw a stingray (Giant did) and a sea turtle. I think we would’ve been disappointed had we not seen the turtle. Other than that, it was pretty cool snorkeling to a secluded island off of Leinster Bay. The surroundings around the beach was breathtaking! After snorkeling, we took a drive around the entire island. The entire island is a 13 mile stretch.

The rest of our stay pretty much went like this…bug bites, sun poisoning (that’ll be my Giant), a beautiful wedding (you can check out the sneak peek here), frolicking on the beaches of Magen’s Bay in St. Thomas, and more bug bites. I seriously have over 30+ bites all over my body. I’ve been so badly victimized by the island mosquitoes it was beyond mad!!! Boo!! Other than that, I still have the best job in the world. Hehehe. Till next time St. Thomas!