Every spring Washington DC celebrates The National Cherry Blossom Festival at The Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial! The annual festival celebrates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from the mayor of Tokyo to the city of Washington DC and honoring the friendship between The United States and Japan. Today the festival last about four weekends and attracts about 1.5 million tourist. The blossoms can be seen around The Tidal Basin, Jefferson Memorial, MLK Memorial, and many other areas. Many couples choose the Cherry Blossoms as the perfect time to plan their surprise marriage proposal or engagement session but there are some things to keep in mind!

Dealing with tourist and large crowds: The Cherry Blossom Festival attracts many tourist! So avoiding the busiest times will be beneficial to make sure there is space to get photos without people in them. Sunrise sessions are highly recommended as there are not many tourist out just after sunrise. The later in the day the busier it gets. Going on weekdays instead of weekends is also helpful! During your session we can stop by some of the lower traffic locations to get shots without tourist in them.

Peak Bloom: many clients like to have their photos during peak bloom! Peak bloom happens when 70% or more of the cherry trees blossoms are out. The peak bloom may only last for a few days but the week before or after the bloom will still have many trees in bloom. Peak bloom can be hard to predict especially if you are coming from out of town on a planned trip. If you are flexible on dates, I am happy to be flexible in planning spur of the moment to go during peak bloom for photography sessions! You can read more about peak bloom and up to date predictions on cherryblossomwatch.com. Peak bloom depends on the years rainfall and temperature.

Transportation: As The Cherry Blossom festival attracts thousands of tourist it is recommended to use transportation such as Uber or Metro instead of driving as parking is limited! Metered Parking may be available if you are planning a sunrise session. 

Other Locations: Aside from The Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial there are other locations around Washington DC that also have Cherry Blossoms. The National Arboretum and grounds at The Capital also have Cherry Blossoms and other great views. Ask about other locations when planning.

Some shots along the pathways around the Tidal Basin! The Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial are ideal locations for Cherry Blossoms!

The Lincoln Memorial is a great spot to propose with a view of The Washington Monument! After the proposal you can walk nearby for Cherry Blossom photos!

Client Reviews

“Jon shot a surprise engagement for us at cherry blossoms up in DC. His efforts were outstanding. Throughout the process (3 months) we kept in contact with him always responding quickly. Jon arrived extremely early the day of the engagement which was good because we got there early as well. Jon knew exactly where he wanted to take pictures but also asked us several times if we had any requests. He sent us a few pictures the same day and we got the full album in less than a week. I highly recommend him.”

Surprise Proposal Photography includes detailed planning/advice, photography session to capture the proposal moment, portraits afterwards, and your online gallery of your beautifully processed high resolution images. The online gallery is easy to share with friends and family! 

Learn more about planning a surprise proposal or engagement session at The Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC by using the contact form or emailing jonflemingphotography@gmail.com