Lissa Ryan Photography Reviews

Lissa Ryan Photography

Washington, DC

5.0 out of 5 rating, 41 reviews

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Fantastic

41 reviews

Recommended by 100% of couples

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Katie Sent on 09/01/2025

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Wonderful process and photos!

We are so happy that we hired Lissa Ryan Photography as our wedding photographer. Melissa was responsive throughout the planning process, and clearly understood and executed beautifully on the photos we were hoping to capture at our wedding. She is warm, and makes the people being photographed feel at ease and happy. The photos themselves are beautiful. We highly recommend Lissa Ryan Photography!
Julie Sent on 09/25/2024

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Do yourself a favor and hire her!

Working with Melissa for our engagement and wedding photos was a true delight. She is obviously incredibly talented, just look at her portfolio, but she is also a wonderful person. She was able to balance the structure of our timeline, making sure to get all the important shots while keeping things fun. It was such a smooth and stress free experience I would love to work with her again!
Elizabeth Sent on 09/26/2023

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Incredible connection/comfort, incredible photos

From our first conversation, I felt incredibly comfortable with Melissa and trusted her totally with our engagement and wedding photos. She is so kind and responsive, and generous with her time and guidance. I appreciated her availability throughout the planning process and my husband and I really felt like we got to be friends with her as a result. For engagement photos, she gave great direction so that we got the photos we were looking for while also somehow looking natural and candid. For the wedding, she captured everything we were hoping for and understood my vision even when I couldn't quite articulate it. The party photos are especially fun and special, and there are so many little moments she captured that I didn't even realize were happening. My wedding photos are just incredibly special and I truly cannot thank Melissa enough for being a part of our day and ensuring I'll remember it beautifully forever.
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Holly Sent on 02/05/2023

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So happy with Melissa & our wedding/engagement photos!

We loved working with Melissa! We were planning our VA wedding from a distance, and Melissa made it so easy to plan our engagement photo session out in Chicago, where we live. She tracked the weather and the light in our two engagement session locations that we'd picked, and even did a reconnaissance trip out to our locations the day before to investigate what exact angles and spots would be ideal for our engagement photos. She is so personable, cheerful, and fun to work with, and is an expert at suggesting poses/actions resulting in engagement photos that felt natural and not forced.

For our wedding, she worked with us to build our shot list of photos, and really helped wrangle all family members and make sure we got all of the shots on our list - even some that were more difficult, and involved a little bit of traffic direction on a busy street! We'll treasure the beautiful photographs from our wedding for the rest of our lives. The photographs are such a lovely mix of portraiture, candid moments, and fine art styling that we loved. Her online portal and system of purchasing framed prints and albums is also fantastic.

We couldn't recommend Melissa more highly! We worked with her at the Red Fox Inn and Tavern in Middleburg, VA, and alongside Kelley Cannon Events - both of which we also recommend wholeheartedly. Thank you so much, Melissa!
Mattie Sent on 02/05/2023

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The absolute best!

Working with Melissa as our photographer was truly a highlight of our wedding day! She made us both so comfortable and put everyone, including families, completely at ease throughout the whole day. And, she was totally patient with our rambunctious young golden retriever at our wedding and our engagement shoot! Our photographs are beautiful, luminous, natural, and timeless -- exactly what we hoped for. Melissa is the best!
Vix Sent on 11/29/2022

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The Most Phenomenal Photographer Ever!!

Lissa Ryan was such an INTEGRAL part of our wedding day! We loved getting to work with her in bringing our dreams to life. She is truly our favorite vendor of this process and day, seriously. From the bottom of our hearts, we really appreciate her help in creating such unforgettable moments that will last a lifetime for us - by capturing everything down to the small details that we might've forgotten on our busy day. From our first look of Lissa's work as we were searching for photographers last year, we knew that her work stood out the most to us. From our first call together, we knew immediately that she was the one to be our photographer (she has such a genuine down-to-earth personality!) :') Lissa is truly a joy to work with in leading up to the wedding AND on the wedding day. Her smile and positive energy is contagious and so comfortable - it's just what us brides need on our big day (especially with all of the nerves.) Not to mention Lissa's patience and kindness is impeccable - we know it is very hard to navigate between our huge families and she was so very accommodating and sweet (for example, she allowed us to re-take photos when some families were missing from the reception tables!)

We also wanted to give a HUGE shout out to her assistant Julia. She has captured so many behind the scenes and has truly gone ABOVE and BEYOND. My family honestly thought that Julia (her assistant) was the wedding planner because of the way she knew what she was doing and was so very helpful - for example, she helped all of the guys put on the boutonniere, assisted with holding purses/jackets, and much more. I cannot even count how many compliments from family and friends I have heard about Lissa and Julia. They are both such an AMAZING team and we are SUPER lucky Lissa and Julia as our wedding photographers!

Everyone (especially my husband and I) cannot stop flipping through these photos - all of the details, the joy/cheerfulness/laughter, and SO much more! We love Lissa and Julia so much! ❤
Melanie Sent on 01/23/2022

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Working with Lissa and her team was great!

We had a great experience working with Lissa and her team. She was enthusiastic, positive and made the whole experience fun. The photos came out really beautiful and she did an amazing job capturing the day. The little details throughout the process made a huge difference.
Ellen Sent on 11/16/2021

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Perfection

Melissa was the perfect choice for my daughter’s wedding. Postponed for a year and a half, Melissa was able to follow us as we kept changing the date. She went to NYC for the engagement photo shoot, where my daughter and husband live. Day of wedding, she was calm and so professional. Second photographer. Bonus…sneak peek photos the next day. Highly recommend. Great value. Great photographer.
Meryl Sent on 11/12/2021

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Loved our experience!

Amazing service and stunning photographs! Was a pleasure to work with and made our photography experience (even during the pandemic) enjoyable.
Pru A. Sent on 07/26/2021

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Literally the best

If you want your wedding to be amazing, essentially they only thing you need to do is hire Lissa. We had vendors fall through, lost our ceremony site at one point and everything that could have gone wrong in planning pretty much did. Through all of this Lissa was calm and ready with a seemingly never ending list of wonderful recommendations of who else to speak with! Her photography was nothing short of amazing, our family and friends loved the photos and she made sure to capture all the special moments that were important to us during the day. She was also really quick with a few edited shots for a social preview while we waited for the full images
Daniel Sent on 02/11/2021

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An Eye for Joy

Melissa's reputation was so sterling that we flew her across the country to photograph our wedding. This seemed, at first, like an extravagance, but after meeting with her several times, we were convinced that we could economize on other parts of the day in order to make sure that our memories were preserved perfectly. And they were. Within three hours of landing in California, Melissa had scouted locations, met with a local second photographer in her network, and sent us a timeline that accounted for both sunlight and logistical access to family and friends. Our greatest fear--that our joyful, diverse, drag queen-officiated wedding would be photographed with the hackneyed style of a wedding catalog--evaporated from the moment Melissa stepped onto the scene. She is diligent, but unobtrusive, allowing her to be seemingly everywhere at once, capturing moments we didn't realize had happened until we saw them in print. And Melissa has an eye for joy that has paid for itself in spades. Reliving the countless, tiny moments of joy from our wedding day, as seen through her lens, has offered a reprieve from a grim 2020. Hiring Lissa Ryan Photography is one of the best decisions we made.
Jacquelyn Sent on 02/02/2021

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She captured exactly what we were hoping for!!

Lissa was phenomenal from start to finish. We were referred by our planner and we couldn’t be happier with the outcome. Our engagement photos got us even more excited to work with her in our wedding day. We had a specific look and feeling we wanted from the photos to remember our day. The details were importance to us as well as candid photos of us and our guests enjoying the night that didn’t look forced. Everything was perfect and we couldn’t be happier with our wedding album. We ordered tons of prints and the pricing there was great too. Cannot say enough good things and highly recommend working with Lissa. She listens to your needs without much opinion other than her experience to maximize what you are looking for. She showed up early to make sure everything was organized and tested. She wasn’t disruptive to our celebration and she got through the standard wedding family photos quickly to allow us to really focus on enjoying our day together. Five star experience!!!
Nicholas Sent on 10/25/2020

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Beyond incredible!!

I would hire Melissa 10x over. She is incredible! Beyond professional, nice, and shows an genuine passion for her work.
Moj Sent on 09/21/2020

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Amazing photos amazing person. Recommend 100%

Lissa, thank you so much for being so wonderful. Firstly I love love my photos and that never happens. Also I appreciate you staying longer and chasing the last bit of sunlight for photos because we were running late. Thank you for yelling “hertzel” to make us laugh and for chasing the neighbors dog away while taking photos. You are amazing ❤️🙏🏻
Zack Sent on 06/24/2020

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The perfect wedding photographer

We were nervous to hire a photographer, as we both hate posing for photos. We hired Melissa on the strength of her online reviews, and figured we would just grin and bear it. It turns out, we picked the perfect wedding photographer. We told Melissa how we felt about posing, and she immediately put us to ease. Her professional yet cheerful demeanor and immediately apparent hyper competence relaxed us and actually made the process fun and rewarding.

And, importantly, the pictures Melissa took were beautiful.
She implemented our requests perfectly, and we (and our families) are so happy with the end result. We would recommend Melissa to anyone looking for an excellent wedding photographer.
Cathy Sent on 05/09/2020

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Amazing Photographer!!

Melissa left a secure and successful legal career to extend the same meticulous attention to detail in pursuing her passion in photography. That passion shows in every click of her camera. She captured the love and beautiful trappings at our daughter Sara and Ryan’s Georgetown wedding at Dumbarton House in the Fall of 2018. Every angle, every smile and every reflection were beautifully captured and preserved forever electronically and in a beautifully compiled wedding album. It was difficult to narrow down the hundreds of masterpieces presented, all taken from quiet corners without any obtrusiveness, or even knowing she was in the room. Melissa’s photography from Sara and Ryan’s wedding was included in Washingtonian Magazine’s Sumer 2019 wedding issue as one of the featured weddings of the year. A few years before, Melissa also took lovely photos of our family at Great Falls Park in Virginia, expertly capturing each member of our family (including the dogs). On each occasion it was such a pleasure to work with Melissa who is so bright, friendly, and cooperative in using her skill to give each client exactly what they seek. Lawyers rarely capture such magic and leave their client’s so satisfied and grateful. Melissa could not be more highly recommended. In our opinion she is the best photographer in town.
Sarah Sent on 05/05/2020

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Absolutely Awesome

I cannot express how highly I recommend Melissa. She is worth every penny. From the moment we spoke with her, we felt completely at ease. She is extremely knowledgeable, personable, and engaged. We used her for an engagement session in April 2019 and our wedding in November 2019.

On the wedding day, she takes controls of all the photography details without being overbearing. The guests loved that she was so up beat whilst still being commanding of the situation. She works closely with you beforehand to make sure she captures everyone and everything important to you. No detailed goes unseen. We had a big wedding so she provided a second photographer. The two worked seamlessly together and the quality was sustained throughout all photographs.

Her photography style captures the intense emotion of the day. These are the kind of pictures that last a lifetime and more. I am so pleased with the quality of the photographs.

I will gladly recommend her to any family or friend. I have a friend who has already booked her for his wedding.

Contact her! You will not be disappointed.
Lauren Sent on 05/04/2020

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Excellent experience despite a super hot wedding day

Melissa did an amazing job with our photos and it was even more impressive given then our wedding day was partially outside in 100+ degree heat. We look cool and relaxed and it’s all because of her professionalism and talent. Highly recommend!
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Sarah Sent on 08/01/2019

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Melissa is the best!

I truly loved working with Melissa. She was extremely professional, responsive, and had a great positive and light attitude. We loved having her around on our big day and she allowed us to focus on enjoying the day vs. worrying or thinking about photos.
Eileen Sent on 07/22/2019

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Thanks for everything!

Melissa did such an amazing job with our engagement and wedding pictures, I’m not even sure where to begin with this review! She was always extremely responsive to my emails and sent great suggestions with ideas for getting everyone together for formal portraits. She helped us feel so comfortable in front of the camera and captured beautiful moments that my husband, family, and I will cherish forever. We were so relaxed and had a blast during all of the time we worked with her.

She always has goes above and beyond to make sure that everyone feels good about the day and gets all of the photos that they wanted. She captured so many special moments of us with our friends and family that we’re eagerly waiting to print and frame. Melissa and Julia (our second shooter) were extremely flexible with the schedule for the day which put everyone at ease. We decided to add in table shots at our reception with guests a few days before the wedding? No problem! Melissa and Julia were up for anything that we wanted to capture. If the sneak peek pictures we’ve seen so far are any indication of what’s coming in our wedding gallery, we are in for such a treat! Thank you so so much for being a part of our special day and capturing it all!
Lauren Sent on 06/09/2019

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Melissa was an excellent photographer

We really enjoyed working with Melissa and Lissa Ryan Photography. During our initial consultation, she seemed very knowledgeable and approachable, and we pretty much immediately felt comfortable with her.

We took our engagement photos at a park that required permitting, which Melissa took care of. She had some great ideas for the engagement photos, and braved the summer heat to get some fabulous shots.

We were also very satisfied with the photos that Melissa and her assistant took during our wedding. They were beautiful, very high quality, and made good use of lighting and architecture in and around the hotel we were married out. One thing that really stood out was the fact that during the ceremony and reception, we didn't notice the photographers at all--they moved seamlessly through the crowd, and captured some wonderful shots in the process. We are very happy that we chose Lissa Ryan Photography.
Kelly Sent on 05/24/2019

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Melissa is amazing and made our day so special!

Melissa was absolutely amazing not only on our wedding day, but in the months leading up and during our engagement session. She made us feel so comfortable throughout the entire process and on our big day. She is warm, kind and flexible, and was a welcome friendly face during an otherwise super busy, a bit chaotic and certainly "out of body" day! She was patient with my many questions leading up and also flexible to the everchanging weather predictions and scheduling changes as well. Tricky family dynamics? Melissa took it all in stride. To top it off, our wedding pictures are stunning. We have SO many favorites and she did an amazing job with capturing each moment - we've relived our special day many times through her talents. Thank you, Melissa!!
Stephanie Sent on 11/11/2018

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Absolutely AMAZING

Melissa was so much fun to work with! She was so detail oriented and extremely responsive through the whole process. Her pictures left us speechless.
Patricia Sent on 10/21/2018

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Fantastic!

Probably the best decision made during our daughter's wedding planning process was to hire Lissa Ryan Photography. Melissa and her team are extremely talented photographers, and really captured the beauty of the day with a perfect combination of posed and candid photographs. They were a pleasure to work with...professional, creative, helpful, kind, and fun! I would highly recommend Lissa Ryan Photography.
Amy Sent on 09/20/2018

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Lissa and her team are just fantastic!! She’s sweet and best of all shes a fantastic photographer. I’m so happy how everything turned out! I’m husband and I are not one to be he center of attention and she made things easy for us. Thank you Lissa and team :)
Eileen Sent on 07/20/2018

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Melissa is an absolutely amazing photographer who does photos in both color and greyscale. Her photos have an amazing quality that bring back all the great feelings and smiles of the wedding day!!
Anne Sent on 07/15/2018

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Melissa of Lissa Ryan Photography is a joy to work with and incredibly talented. My husband and I are thrilled with both our wedding and engagement photos and we can’t thank her enough for capturing our whole wedding day so beautifully. We are admittedly both camera shy, but Melissa was able to put us at ease immediately and made the whole experience quite fun and relaxing. Our family and bridal party loved working with her too and raved about her afterwards. Can't recommend her enough!
Katelyn Sent on 06/22/2018

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Lissa Ryan was recommended to us by our wedding planner and as soon as we met Melissa, we knew we wanted to have her photograph our wedding day. She is down to earth, knowledgeable, and made us feel so comfortable- not to mention, incredibly talented. Our engagement photographs were amazing- she was extremely accommodating and we are still getting compliments on our photos and now on our wedding photos. Our photographer was the one thing we were really particular about because they are such a big part of your day and Melissa exceeded our expectations. Highly recommend!
Zoe Sent on 04/28/2018

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Melissa was fantastic! I booked her for an engagement session and a 10 hour package on my wedding day. I've received the photos from the engagement session and the previews for the wedding, and her work is beautiful. My husband and I are two decently awkward people who are uncomfortable in front of cameras, but she made us feel completely at ease during both events. It was raining during both the engagement session and my wedding, but she was able to capture truly gorgeous shots despite the bad weather. We were running behind on the day of the wedding and was able to come in and get all of the getting ready photos quickly, and then rushed over to the venue for everything else. She was very responsive over email and professional and friendly in person. I am glad I went with her!
Lisa Sent on 03/11/2018

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Choosing a photographer for your wedding can be intimating and overwhelming. Melissa Dorn of Lissa Ryan Photography made that process transparent and stress-free for my daughter. She is kind, helpful, and responsive. She captured the true essence of my daughter and son-in-law's relationship, both in the engagement session and on their wedding day. During the day of the wedding, Melissa was professional, organized and discreet, all the while capturing hundreds of beautiful, unforgettable shots. She exceeded all expectations and we are so pleased with our decision to use her for my daughter’s wedding. I highly recommend Lissa Ryan Photography to capture your special moments.
Rachel Sent on 01/28/2018

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Melissa was a pleasure to work with and her photos are amazing! When we first spoke with her, we were not keen on doing an engagement photo shoot. She convinced us that it was a good idea - in part because it was included already - and because it would enable her to develop a relationship with us and understand how we work together so that the wedding day photos would go as smoothly as possible. Her engagement photos were spectacular, and we had a lot of fun! She was also incredibly helpful in thinking through a rain plan for photos on our wedding day, suggesting several locations that we liked. Thankfully the weather was great and it was a non-issue! On the day of, her second shooter - which we requested so that we would have additional candids - was great, and the two of them made us and our families feel comfortable. Her photos of our ceremony and reception were absolutely wonderful, and she was even able to get us our full set of photos just before Thanksgiving, ahead of when she promised, when our family was hoping to relive our day!
Lois Sent on 07/12/2017

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We found Melissa through WeddingWire and were so happy with her--I can't say enough positive things about her, she deserves 5 stars all around! I contacted her through email and she responded right away. She was such a joy to work with and she made us feel comfortable right away. She took our engagement pictures and captured our wedding day so perfectly! We had lots of family formal pictures to take and she executed everything flawlessly and kept things running smoothly. We love looking back on our pictures and remembering our special day. Thank you so much, Melissa, you rock!
Emanuella Sent on 06/17/2017

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If I had to describe my experience with Lissa in one word it would be 'Perfect'. Not only she was flexible, but she was a delight to interact with. Photos were so beautiful. She knew what she was doing and worked with the lighting beautifully. I absolutely love my wedding photos. Next day after my wedding night at 10:30 am she sent a surprise sneak Peeks with stunning photos. So fast!! Since the wedding, we have received so many compliments on our photos

She also did a great engagement session with us. She made our engagement session feel very personal to us, and it was a great way for us to learn her style so we were prepared for the big day!
Staci Sent on 08/30/2016

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Leading up to our wedding, anytime I was asked "what's most important to you", my response was always the photographer. I was willing to spend a lofty amount of our budget in order to solidify we'd have some amazing photos to look back on.
After the wedding, I can say my standards weren't just met, but greatly exceeded by Melissa, and without having to splurge on my budget. I consider us very fortunate to have found her!
Melissa as a person is such a warm, bubbly, and kind hearted individual that I was instantly drawn to her after our first phone conversation, knowing she would be able to put as at ease in front of the camera. She handled us, our guests, and wedding party like a champ; always keeping calm, professional, and breaking the tension when needed. I can't tell you how many compliments I received on her throughout the night.
There is not enough room for me to summarize my feelings toward the actual pictures, other than exceptional. She caught some of the most beautifully, candid shots and also staged some timeless portraits that we will never tire of looking at.
User2502130 Sent on 01/11/2016

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We have only positive things to say about Melissa. She was wonderful to work with from the very beginning of our search process to the very end. Although she was the only photographer we interviewed without meeting in person, her cheerful personality, experience, and professionalism in our phone conversation made choosing a photographer one of the easier decisions in he planning process. Melissa took our engagement photos as well as our wedding day photos. On both occasions, she was very friendly, made us feel at ease and comfortable in front of the camera. She was very responsive when we had any questions and throughout the process. And we are so in love with both our gorgeous engagement photos and wedding photos. We received the photos on schedule and the packages she offers are very reasonable. She was a delight to work with throughout the entire process and we would highly recommend Lissa Ryan Photography to anyone who is looking for a excellent photographer!
Kirsten Sent on 01/04/2016

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Melissa was a Godsend for me when I found her last spring for my October 2015 wedding. I searched high and low for a wedding photographer that wouldn't break the budget (I understand why photography is so expensive and totally understand the importance of it, but we couldn't spend $5K on photography) My (now) husband and I had decided on a small wedding of 35 people and wanted it to be intimate, fun and well-photographed. I stumbled on Melissa after hours and hours of internet searching, and she was perfect.

Melissa worked with our budget and put us at ease immediately. She also "got" us -- which I really appreciated. We are silly and sarcastic and often goofy, and it was clear from the first few minutes of our engagement shoot that she was the best choice. (Bonus -- engagement session was included! woohoo!)

My only regret is that in my budget-crunching-ness I cut some of our hours of photography back to save a few bucks. I wish I had just spent that money and had more time for her to capture awesome pictures! But that's obviously my fault and not hers -- and also a testament to the fact that she was willing to work with me to fit our budget.
If you want beautiful pictures from a photographer you would actually WANT to hang out with ... that WON'T force you to spend your whole budget on photos -- hire Melissa. she's fantastic.
Melissa Sent on 11/09/2015

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Melissa was amazing to work with. I originally had another photographer, but she got pregnant and was due around my wedding, she put us in contact with Melissa and we are glad she did. We did our engagement photos in Old Town, and then she did our wedding photos. She communicates very well, so there are no surprises the day of. She has a timeline all laid out. My guests all loved that during the reception she would come to their table to get a picture. We just got our sneak peeks and they are awesome, we can't wait to get the rest back
Jacqueline Sent on 12/23/2014

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I had the pleasure to work with Lissa Ryan Photography for a styled wedding photo shoot in Annapolis, MD in collaboration with Pop the Cork Designs. Lissa was incredibly professional and captivated all who were involved with her graceful execution of the designer's vision and direction. In addition, Lissa made me feel at ease throughout the entire shoot and was incredibly easy to work with. I recommend Lissa Ryan Photography to any client interested in working with a knowledgeable and talented digital/film photographer.
Jennifer Sent on 10/30/2014

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No words can describe how much we love Melissa. She was quite possibly the best thing to happen to our wedding. She made us feel so comfortable and care-free the entire wedding planning process and the big day! Our pictures are nothing short of perfection (and all our friends agree!). We can't wait for another reason to use a photographer - we will be calling Melissa. Thank you!! <3 -Jenn & Mary
Jennifer Sent on 08/20/2014

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Lissa Ryan Photography did our civil union pictures on December 23, 2013 and she did a wonderful job! Both my husband and I are a little awkward when trying to pose for the camera for serious pictures and Melissa put us at ease, helped us with poses and overall was very friendly. And the pictures turned out great! I had some creative ideas that she completely rolled with (like going down into the Metro station for some underground shots with the moving trains). Melissa rocks!
Amber Sent on 10/30/2015

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Melissa, owner of Lissa Ryan Photography, was absolutely amazing to work with! My husband and I asked her to photograph our engagement and wedding photos, and we will not hesitate to ask her to shoot anything else for us in the future. Melissa is upbeat, kind, easy to work with, has an incredible eye (we somehow have photos of us standing under a rainbow, and beautiful engagement photos with graffiti), and she is so talented. Her work captures the big and small moments perfectly, so that when you look at the photos you're actually reliving the moments. She is also very low key- my husband and I had a very intimate wedding with just our immediate family and closest friends, and you could barely tell she was there. She allowed us to soak up the moments and still capture them.

If you're looking for a photographer, don't hesitate to reach out to her.

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