Ali and John: Sneak Peek of their Fall Wedding in Highland, Indiana

Sometimes I will begin a post here about the "happy couple" and it almost becomes routine.  Alison and John are anything but routine.  They truly are a HAPPY COUPLE!!  I chose to show the simple shot above in their sneak peek because I think it really is about them.  Knowing them for a short time, I can really see how much they love each other.  Not only does Alison look beautiful, her eyes say how happy she is to have this day with John.  Throughout their wedding day, the groom was just ecstatic to be marrying Alison.  You can see it in his face from the above shot taken at Our Lady of Grace church in Highland, Indiana.

I hope to showcase more of their Fall wedding very soon.  September is the new June here at Region Weddings!!  A very busy wedding season indeed.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the couple's home for the Getting Ready session was this cool sign hanging up above their door.

Inside was a flurry of activity with hair stylists and make up artists taking care of the girls.  Always time for a few laughs with the flower girl...

Alison's Maid of Honor was her sister Lauren.  Here she helps out with the veil just before leaving for the church.  They both look gorgeous and ready for the ceremony to begin.

After each transformation from fun girlfriend to super human bridesmaid was complete, we shuffled out side for some solo shots in front of the landscaped greenery of the couple's home.

The catholic ceremony took place at Our Lady of Grace church.  It's a large church with colorful stained glass windows (see first image above) and a very high ceiling - great for some dramatic ceremony images.

Congratulations, you may now kiss the bride...

The reception site and our place for fun group photos was Centennial Park in Munster, Indiana.  Here we have all the women pile into a parked golf cart with the bride in the driver's seat.

It was a bright, sunny and humid Fall day as we had the newly married couple walk the picturesque park...

Soon the lights were dimmed and it was time for first dances.  Once again, you can see the happiness written all over their faces...

The wedding party was not to be left behind and this bunch knew how to have a good time...

Later in the night a couple takes a break from dancing for some alone time....

Many more dancing photos to come from Alison and John's Fall wedding.  Stay tuned her on this Journal and the SBV Photography Facebook page.

Terra and Tim: Sneak Peek of Sawyer Michigan Church Wedding

Terra called me a few months ago about photographing her wedding to her fiance Tim who is with the U.S. Military.  Her and her mom met with me and I could tell that they were a sweet bunch.  I was really looking forward to trekking up to Sawyer, Michigan for their wedding at Sawyer Highlands Church.  The wedding was just this past weekend, so just a sneak peek for now.

Terra's bridesmaids were a fun bunch as you can see from this shot where they are helping her with her garter....

Just before the ceremony was about to begin I gathered up the girls for some posed shots inside the church. Here's a shot of the bride with her Maid of Honor and sister Becca.

Terra and her Father had quite the heavenly walk down the aisle of Sawyer Highlands Church.  Gotta love the soft light falling upon them...

Terra's Dad gives her a kiss on the forehead as the groomsmen look on....

Immediately after the ceremony we took family photos inside the church.  Afterwards I took the bride and groom outside on a gorgeous sunny day with their place of worship in the background...

This shy smile from the groom must have occured during the best man's toast at the reception at St. Stanislaus Kostka in New Carlisle, Indiana.

Young love in the spotlight for their first dance...

Stay tuned for more images from Terra and Tim's wedding.  Subscribe to this Journal page and the SBV Photography Facebook page for the latest news.

Sneak Preview: Kristal and Steve's Wedding at Avalon Manor

Here's a sneak preview of some upcoming photos from Kristal and Steve's wedding at Avalon Manor.  An outdoor ceremony was planned, but a rainy day with storms brewing put a damper on that.  The above shot is from the bridge at Deep River Park in Valparaiso.  Our steps were limited due to the heavy rains the previous days that flooded the park.  Another wedding couple can be scene contemplating a walk across the wet grass. A couple of umbrellas combined with an antique look combine for a classic looking wedding photo.  Kristal and Steve are not married at this point so he was hanging on to her dress for more than just a cute look.  :)

The day started out with all the girls (and me) at A Kut Above in Highland, Indiana for some Getting Ready shots...

In mid afternoon we moved on to the Hilton In Merrillville where the newlyweds would be staying.  I coaxed Kristal into writing a silly love note to her future husband and she came through with her sense of humor...

The guys were staying in another room where I grabbed this candid shot of Kristal and Steve's son.  Notice the Chicago Cubs shirt?  Mmmmm.... see below for why I'm even mentioning this here at all.

Things were still undecided on whether we were going outside for the ceremony at Avalon Manor or not.  While we waited to see if the storms would calm down, Kristal was primping for her entrance where I caught this shot in front of the big mirror in a preparation room at Avalon Manor.

Steve and Kristal were glowing in white as they did a traditional "pouring of the sand" at their ceremony inside the hall at Avalon Manor...

You could sense the passion in this kiss as the bride and groom danced their first dance together...

Kristal and Steve opted for Portraits at the Reception where I bring a studio background and lights.  their guests took advantage of this all night...

There were a few "trouble makers" in the bunch.  Like these two who decided to taunt the groom with this Chicago White Sox banner!!  Sorry Steve, there are more photos like this...  :)

I'm currently editing the wedding photos for Kristal and Steve's wedding at Avalon Manor.  So stay tuned for the full gallery coming soon.

Angela and Mike's Spring Wedding: Sneak Preview

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This is a sneak preview of Angela and Mike's Spring Wedding with many more photographs to follow as I have just started editing the images.  The photo collage above is their spectacular wedding cake along with them taking their first dance at the Celebrity Ballroom at the Radisson in Merrillville, Indiana.

We started the day at Angela's parents house in Hebron, Indiana where I got some quick portraits of the bride and her bridesmaids just before we were off to leave for the church.

The house in Hebron was just a few minutes from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton church and had a terrific four seasons room that let in a lot of natural light for this photo of the the beautiful bride.

This room also doubled as the hair and makeup center.  Big enough for a couple of hair stylist, some bridesmaids, orange juice (wink -wink), a photographer with two big cameras and apparently from all the shrieking, a spider as well!!

Angela's mom was a great hostess to me and all the girls.  She was always running to take care of things, but I finally got a quick shot of her with her daughter...

Literally minutes before heading to the ceremony, I gathered the girls underneath the weeping willow tree in their Hebron backyard.  Watch out for those branches!!

Soon after the above photo, I arrived at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Valparaiso, Indiana and captured the groomsmen and the groom in this walking shot along the cornfields behind the church.

Wedding are always a race against the clock, so we managed to sneak in a few formal shots of the guys inside the church, including this one of the groom...

Pastor Mike at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was terrific and allowed me very free reign on where I could photograph the wedding from.  In this photo, the bride is beaming as she walks down the aisle arm in arm with her father. Look at the detail in that dress!!

After formal shots along the lakefront in Hobart, we ended the night at the Celebrity Ballroom in the Radisson Hotel in Merrillville, Indiana.  Here are some shots of the bride and groom during their first dance...

Here is one of many crazy dancing shots.  Here I actually got on floor of the ballroom and shot up at the partiers who more than willing to mug for the camera...

So why just a sneak preview?  Why not show the whole wedding now?  For professional wedding photographs I shoot in a different kind of format that yields high quality images.  Although it is digital, I have to "develop" every image in the digital darkroom for maximum detail and sharpness.  Right now all the images are digital negatives awaiting development.  However, I work pretty quickly so in 10 days or so all of Angela's and Mikes wedding photos will be in a gallery online for all to view.

I urge you to "like" SBV Photography on Facebook and to sign up for the RSS fee right here for updates.  In the meantime, let's take another look at that spectacular wedding cake...