Outdoor Wedding Ceremony at Ogden Garden in Valparaiso

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Maureen and Brett held their outdoor fall wedding ceremony at the beautiful Ogden Gardens in Valparaiso, Indiana.  It's tucked away in a neighborhood in the northern section of town.  It's a bit of a secret garden for Northwest Indiana weddings, but can get booked up quickly in the Autumn with all of it's Fall color.

The day started at the nearby house of the bride's parents.  Her brother was helping out with the tying of the dress and having a few laughs with Maureen's proud mom and the bridesmaids looking on.

Before leaving for the ceremony, we stepped outside into the nice Fall scenery for family photos with the bride's parents along with the cute flower girl.

When we arrived at Ogden Garden, there was a flurry of acitivity including a string trio playing soft classical music and family members helping out the groom's grandmother with her flower lapel.

Soon the outdoor wedding ceremony began with an overflow crowd of friends and family looking on.

While there were a few teary eyed moments, for the most part the fun natured couple had many a smile as they exchanged vows in the afternoon sun.

After the ceremony, the couple took a romantic stroll along the picturesque Ogden Garden walkway.

For some fun wedding party photos, we made a detour to the beach before going to the party at Cloister in the Woods reception hall.

Not to be outdone, the groom gets lifted by the bridesmaids at Indiana Dunes in an homage to the bride's fun photo.

If i could have wrestled it from the beach goers hands, i'd have had the groomsmen flying these kites.  Instead I had them do the classic Reservoir Dogs walk toward the camera with the kites flying high above their heads.

Congratulations to Maureen and Brett for their marriage at the beautiful Ogden Gardens in Valparaiso!!

Willow Harbor Vineyard Wedding

A wedding at Willow Harbor Vineyard and Dewey Cannon Winery in Three Oaks, Michigan is unique for many reasons, let alone the bride's arrival in an old 1970's Rolls Royce.  The ceremony site is located amongst wine vineyards in southwestern Michigan just over the Indiana state line.

It is a great location for an outdoor wedding with much greenery as you can see below with our bride Kelly being walked down the aisle by her parents.

The actual wedding nuptials take place below decorated pillars in the midst of the fields.  Mat and kelly were all smiles during their ring exchange with family and friends looking on.

Soon the newlyweds would seal things with a kiss as they exit the picturesque ceremony site amongst the vineyards.

Family photos followed such as this one with mom showing much affection for her son, the groom.

As storm clouds formed over the vineyard, I had the bride and groom stand at the edge of the row and share some moments together and a brand new husband and wife.

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I knew from shooting the couple's Chicago Session engagement photos that they loved black and white.  Here, the groomsmen get the same treatment.

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We walked all over the fields of love at Willow Harbor Vineyard in southwest Michigan.  We came across the old white pillar that surely was the scene of wedding ceremonies of the past.

The sun was shining upon us at this point and was time for a break and perhaps a few more kisses...

Nothing wrong with a little peek-a-boo amongst the tall vineyards...

As I stated in a previous posting, we found a ladder laying in the fields that was still in decent shape.  This gave me an opportunity to have the bride and groom the image and at the same time show the vastness of the green fields with the blue sky above.

Soon we were back in downtown Three Oaks in front of Dewey Cannon Winery for the reception.  We decided to take it to the streets for this fun and unique wedding photo.  I added a grunge border and bit of faded color for the vintage look.

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When planning your outdoor wedding, consider something unique like a wine vineyard.