Military Wedding At Aberdeen Manor In Valparaiso

October 31, 2016 Steve Vansak

Bride and groom share a kiss outside the Porter County Courthouse in Valparaiso, Indiana.

Andrea and Bart were married 2 years ago at the Porter County Courthouse in Valparaiso, Indiana. The groom was soon stationed in Colorado by the Army and this past Friday they finally had the chance to bring the party back to Aberdeen Manor and celebrate with friends and family.

Our day started at Salon Diva, also in Valparaiso, where I captured bridal prep, including flower girl Abby's wedding day coloring book.

Bridal prep at Salon Diva in Valparaiso.

Our next stop was the beautiful Ogden Gardens which had taken on quite the Fall tone in color. I photographed the bride and bridesmaids while second photographer Doug was with the groom and his guys at the church.

Bride and bridesmaids photos at Ogden Gardens.

The bride rest on a bench at the edge of Ogden Gardens.

The bride takes a stroll through the pathway at the Ogden Gardens entrance.

Groom and his groomsmen at Saint Paul Catholic Church.

The Catholic wedding ceremony took place at St. Paul Catholic Church with it's wonderful architecture. The bride came down the aisle with her Dad to say "I Still Do" with her husband Bart.

Catholic wedding ceremony at St. Paul Catholic Church.

St. Paul Catholic Church in Valparaiso, Indiana.

Andrea and Bart had a snapshot from their wedding at the Porter County Courthouse from 2 years ago so they wanted to pose with it there. So off to the downtown Valparaiso Square we went.

Wedding party photos in downtown Valparaiso, Indiana.

Military groom and his bride in downtown Valparaiso.

The wedding reception at Aberdeen Manor was a celebration of Andrea and Bart's two year old marriage, but it also a celebration of something else which I will get to in a moment...

Wedding reception at Aberdeen Manor in Valparaiso, Indiana.

At the tail end of toasts, the groom took the microphone and made the surprise announcement that the couple were expecting a baby.....

The bride and groom make a life announcement at their wedding reception at Aberdeen Manor.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek look at Andrea and Bart's military wedding at Aberdeen Manor. To inquire about your wedding date, please fill out the Contact Form here. Stay tuned to social media for more images.

Military Wedding at Saint Matthias Church

May 20, 2014 Steve Vansak

The bride and groom share a kiss on the scenic bridge at White Hawk Country Club in Crown Point, Indiana.

There are many adjectives that can be written about Kyle and Alicia's military wedding at St. Matthias Church in Crown Point, Indiana. The first is 'epic' as in "Did you see that dress?". The next would be 'majestic' in describing the groomsmen in their uniform waiting for the bride underneath the roof of the newly remodeled catholic church with it's new wood flooring and array of hanging light fixtures.

Controlled chaos was the scene at Alicia's home where every brand of make up known to womanhood was distributed around a large mirror where the girls got ready for the big day.

The bride get ready for her big day at her home in Cedar Lake.

Alicia was as calm as could be and only occasionally had to discipline her beloved dogs who seemed very excited at all of the unexpected guests.

It was only fitting to have an army styled garter with the wedding date inscribed upon it. More military decorations were to come at the church as well as the reception. Fun stuff...

Army styled garter with names and wedding date.

Before jetting off to the ceremony at Saint Matthias Church, I captured a couple of images of mom and daughter together as Alicia got into her wedding dress.

The bride alone with her mother before the ceremony.

The mother of the bride laces up her dress on wedding day.

It was a great moment as Alicia's mom walked her down the aisle while her groom looked on and the congregation stood.

The bride's mother walks her down the aisle at Saint Matthias Church in Crown Point, Indiana.

The groom smiles broadly as his bride's mother gives her away during their military wedding at Saint Matthias.

The church was full of family and well wishers on this lovely Spring day in the month of May.

The view from the back of Saint Matthias Church during a Spring wedding ceremony.

Father was in great humor throughout the ceremony with many fun moments as well as emotional ones.

The bride and groom listen to father while kneeling on pews during their wedding ceremony at St. Matthias Church.

We took family photos at the church as well as bride and groom images and then it was off to White Hawk Country Club for more photos and the reception.

The bride and groom look at each other at the altar of Saint Matthias Church.

The bridesmaids in their royal blue dresses get sassy at White Hawk Country Club.

White Hawk offer some gorgeous photo opportunities including the fairly unknown "swampy bridge" area as I like to call it. Make sure you hail a golf cart limo to take you there for some wonderful wedding photos.

The newly married couple takes a stroll across the bridge at White Hawk Country Club in Crown Point.

Of course, make sure your photographer gives you proper directions when driving your golf cart to the location. Kyle was behind the wheel and I had him take a wrong turn and we both gave Alicia a scare as we had to turn the cart around in a muddy patch of grass. Sorry guys!!

Now, if you are going to have a military wedding, you are going to want your cake topper to reflect that. I thought the two black dogs were a nice personal touch as well. They are part of the family too, right?!! And yes, that is a sword they are cutting the cake with.

The bride and groom cut their cake with a sword.

Let's inject a few more adjectives now. How about 'pure joy' on the faces of the crowd as Kyle dipped his bride during the first dance. Or how about the great fun during the father and daughter dance as well.

The groom dips his bride during their first dance at White Hawk Country Club.

Pure joy during the father daughter dance at White Hawk Country Club.

The bride laughs with joy while dancing with her father.

Speaking of silly fun wedding photos, the wedding party stepped outside for a mock invasion with the bride and groom triumphantly guarding their turf. Too funny...

The dance floor was packed all night and it was clear that the guests came to party and no one was sitting on their hands. What a great night!!

A packed dance floor for a wedding reception at White Hawk Country Club.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek look at Kyle and Alicia's military wedding at Saint Matthias Church in Crown Point, Indiana. For more updates, please subscribe to the page below and the Region Weddings Facebook page.

Military Weddings

May 25, 2013 Steve Vansak

Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It's also a time to thank those who are currently serving. I would like to do my small part by showing a couple of military weddings I've covered and telling you a little bit about the couple.

A military bride and groom are reunited for their wedding day at Wicker Park in Highland, Indiana.

Nichole was living in Colorado at the time she called me for a wedding consultation. She told me how she had met Nathan while they both served together in the armed forces. They were already married, but wanted to have a traditional ceremony and reception with friends and family looking on. Griffith, Indiana was her hometown and she had decided on Wicker Park Social Center as the location for her outdoor military wedding.

I met Nathan for the first time when he arrived back from overseas for their August wedding. We chatted for a few minutes just before I took this portrait of him in full decoration.

Wedding portrait of the groom in full military outfit taken in the gazebo area of Wicker Park in Highland.

Tim and Terra are an incredibly sweet young couple from Michigan whose wedding ceremony I photographed in the New Buffalo area. One of my favorite images is this one of her father giving her away in full military regalia during the ceremony at the quaint Michigan chapel. A wonderful moment...

Father of the bride gives his daughter away with a kiss at a military wedding ceremony in New Buffalo, Michigan.

I hope you have a terrific Memorial Day weekend!! Be sure to kick off the summer right with friends, family, barbecues and fond remembrances of military personnel past and present.

Outdoor Wedding at Wicker Park Gazebo in Munster, Indiana

September 11, 2012 Steve Vansak

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Nichole and Nathan's outdoor wedding at the Wicker Park gazebo in Munster, Indiana was an all American affair with the two soldiers tying the knot in front of friends and family at a wonderful summer ceremony.

I lost count of all the smiles as the bride and groom exchanged vows under the roof of the large white gazebo that can be seen from Indianapolis Blvd.

It was a long, glorious walk for the wedding party down the path from the Wicker Park Social Center to the outdoor ceremony area. So much so, that the flower girl actually turned around to go back at one point!!

We had great temperatures but quite a bit of wind. Before the ceremony, the happy couple with the wedding party wandered the grounds taking photographs...

The crazy wind gave us some wicked looking clouds, but also gave the bridesmaids fits with their hair....

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We took fun photos of the bridesmaid's zebra print wedding shoes....

....along with photojournalistic wedding photos of the bride and groom along with some classic shots in front of the fountain in black and white.

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For the groomsmen photos, I had the guys follow their soldier groom in tribute to the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs. They seem to always like the tough guy look of it, especially in black and white.

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I really enjoyed covering Nichole and Nathan's outdoor ceremony as it afforded me a variety of different angles. This closeup of the two soldiers holding hands was given a sepia toned antique look.

Keeping detail in the bride's dress is constantly on mind when shooting weddings. I was so glad to achieve that in this photo with Nichole smiling toward the camera as her and Nathan exchange their wedding vows.

The first kiss is also on my list of wedding photo must haves...

Here the just married couple shares a kiss down the walkway as they exit the ceremony site with friends and family looking on.

Over on the SBV Photography Facebook Page, I asked for help in captioning this military wedding photo collage i made. The caption I picked was Love, American Style. I think it fits perfectly, don't you? Take a look at it large and see what you think.

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