Northwest Indiana Wedding Photographer's Year in Review 2012

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As we say goodbye to 2012 and get ready for the 2013 wedding season, it's time to look back at the Northwest Indiana weddings of the past year.  I have to start off with the New Years Eve wedding of Jessica and Alan at the Bethel Church in Crown Point.  It's an anniversary date they will never forget!!

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My next winter wedding took place in Laporte, Indiana at the spectacular The Allure Ballroom.  This image is our bride Heather checking her self in the mirror of the bridal suite.  I love the texture of the brick walls inside this historic building...

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As we headed into Spring, we had some warm spells with the Chicago area weather and Stacey and Steve's Catholic wedding at St. John the Evangelist Church.  We were able to take some outdoor wedding photos overlooking the Shrine of Christ's Passion on Rt. 41 in St. John, Indiana.

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During this warm Spring of 2012 many engagement photos were taken in the Northwest Indiana area as well as our most popular engagement package - The Chicago Sessions.  I'm going to save that for another wedding journal post on another day.  I want you to get through this one before 2013 arrives!!  :)

Natalie and Greg live on the East coast, but the bride gew up here in Chesterton.  Her wedding ceremony took place in Michigan City at the grand St. Stanislaus Kostka Church.  I'm still breathing hard from climbing up those stairs for this balcony photo!!

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Ryan and Sara were married in Portage and we did many of their formal photos at the Portage River Walk beach area.  Once again, the weather gods treated us good...

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Michele and Nick were married at St. Ann's Church in Lansing, Illinois.  We had done their engagement photos a few month earlier so we were good buddies by the time the wedding came around.  The wedding party gathering around the golf carts was taken at a very popular area these days - Centennial Park in Munster.  I've already got a couple of 2013 weddings booked here already as well folks just wanting photos done at this gorgeous park.

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Candy and Chris did what I call a wedding photo shoot out.  I met them at the Hobart Lakefront for a first look. We then spent the entire afternoon creating fun and unique wedding photos at various venues until we landed at their ceremony and reception site - Avalon Manor.

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Friendship Garden in Portage, Indiana was the venue for Colie and David's outdoor wedding.  It was very hot as summer had arrived.  We got our first rain of the wedding season, but managed to escape from the ceremony and the formals afterwards by a few seconds of the torrential downpour.  Power was out all over Northwest Indiana that night, but their reception was not affected.

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The military wedding of Nathan and Nichole at Wicker Park Social Center was a wonderful affair.  Nichole had contacted me a year earlier from Colorado and she booked me just from a phone conversation and the images on this site.  I want to thank her for that confidence she had in my skills.  Here's a few from her epic wedding...

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Dewey Cannon Winery in Three Oaks, Michigan is a very cool venue for a summer wedding.  You get ready in the two upstairs rooms - for groomsmen and brides + bridsemaids alike and then get wisked off to Willow Harbor Wine Vineyard for the outdoor ceremony.  I had already had experience shooting there when I photographed Mat and Kelly's big day...

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Kathy and Larry had a Big Fat Greek Wedding at St. Demetrios Church in Hammond, Indiana.  We did formal wedding photos inside the old church and stopped at Centennial Park on our way to Andorra Banquet Hall for the reception.

Up next was an Indian wedding at Radisson Hotel and then onto Kari and Greg's beach wedding photos in and around Marquette Park Pavilion...

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Some people take a limo to the reception hall, but this family went with horse and carriage right over I-65!!

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Emily and John had a wonderful heartland wedding in Wolcott, Indiana and then it was time for me to head home for the nuptials of Dustin and Jenny at Our Lady of Grace Church.

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Ogden Garden in Valparaiso is a popular summer wedding destination.  Maureen and Brett got married outside at the famous gazebo.  Their ceremony was filled with humor and emotion...

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It was time for another stop at Centennial Park with Kelley and Marcus.  Their ceremony took place in Gary with formals and reception at the clubhouse in Munster.

I will never forget David and Jessica's wedding because of their willingness to take such unique and fun wedding photos.  Here's one of my favorites taken behind Avalon Manor where their ceremony and reception took place.

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27 Entertainment brought the atmosphere and the sounds for this epic first dance photo inside one of the ballrooms of Avalon Manor.

The Halls of St. George was the site for Dan and Abra's Fall wedding.  We got hit by some rain, but had a ball inside with lots of laughs between the bride and groom...

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I said I would not post any of my other photography in this post, but I can't resist at least one image from my Trash the Dress session with Michele.  I also want to publicy commend her for doing such a great job.  I knew she was nervous about it, but in the end she said it was the most fun she had throughout the whole wedding process.  I hope to see more brides in 2013 try out this unique photo oportunity.  I know it's not for everybody, but for the person it is for - you know it, so let's book that session!!

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Have a Happy New Year everybody.  See you for the 2013 wedding season.

I hope you have enjoyed the Northwest Indiana Wedding Photographer's Year in Review 2012.  To keep updated and to see more images, subscribe here to the Journal and give us a "like" on the SBV Photography Facebook page.  More to come!!

Romantic Wedding Photos at Marquette Park Pavilion

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Greg and Kari's wedding ceremony actually took place in Jamaica this past summer.  They hired me to photograph their celebration here in Northwest Indiana with friends and family.  The newlyweds wanted a photo shoot on the beach to bring back the flavor of the Jamaican wedding attended by their wedding party and also wanted to incorporate a family feel to the images by including their two lovely daughters.

The Marquette Park Pavilion immediately came to mind as a Northwest Indiana wedding venue that could double as a tropical paradise.  We also used the nearby beach bath house for a backdrop as well.  When it came time for family wedding photos, the creative couple hired a horse and carriage to come and pick them up at their home and wisk them away to the celebration at the Hobart Elks Lodge.

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The Marquette Park Pavilion has been getting remodeled for the past two years and is now booking weddings and events for 2013.  I'm not affiliated with them at all, but have grown fond of the all in one wedding venue and as a Northwest Indiana wedding photographer, have shot their many times in the past - both in and around the building for weddings, events and high school senior and family photographs.

There is a lagoon in the back of the landmark building that is very picturesque and tropical in look.  Perfect for Greg and Kari to take a romantic stroll...

We used the bridge that goes over the lagoon and is a path to the Indiana Dunes beach for many of our scenic wedding photos.  This image of the groom admiring his bride from a distance is one of my favorites of the many images that we took.

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We used the nearby beach, as it is in within walking distance, for more couple's shots as well as this Reservoir Dogs tribute with the groomsmen waling toward the camera.

For family portraits we went back to the couple's home and simply used the wonderful scenery around their wooded community just off of I-65.  Their two daughters, Karly and Riley could not have been better subjects for the camera - incredibly polite and of course, photogenic as all get out. 

While strolling around their immediate neighborhood, we came across an old swingset and captured one of my favorite family photographs that I've ever taken.  The couple and their two daughters were up to try anything and together we came up with some unique wedding photographs.

Oh, there are a couple of extended members of the family I forgot to mention - their 1999 black Transam...

.... and the family dog!!

The can't be anything more romantic than the bride and groom in a horse and carriage.  While I took these in color, they just begged to have a more vintage look about them.

We went from romantic to adorably cute with the whole family on board and about to ride over the I-65 overpass toward the Hobart Elks Lodge for their reception, complete with a live band for entertainment.

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With the Just Married sign attached to the rear of the carriage, Greg and Kari + Family were sure to turn heads of the passing cars.

I want to compliment these folks on the creativity for their wedding day.  It was great fun to photograph their romantic wedding at Marquette Park Pavilion, their lovely home and the celebration in Hobart.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek at at Greg and Kari's tropical wedding.  To keep updated and to see more images, subscribe here to the Journal and give us a "like" on the SBV Photography Facebook page.  

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Fun Wedding Photos at Hobart Lakefront Park

Chris and Candy did something unique for their wedding photos - an all day modeling session!!  My assistant and I met them at the Hobart Lakefront Park where we kicked things off with a first look for the bride groom.

Our bride Candy arrived as I had the groom facing the other direction leaning against one of the many trees of the Hobart park.  I slowly had them turn toward each other and simply captured the candid moment between the two soon to be newlyweds.

The groom was sporting some specially made wedding Chuck Taylor All Stars from Converse.  Cx2 is stenciled in the side.  Very cool and modern wedding attire for sure.

Because this is a fun loving couple and I like to have them do silly things if they are up for it, some chasing of geese was in order and a couple of little boys out fishing stood in shock and amazement as the tuxedo clad groom and the woman in the white dress came barrelling toward them.  Good times...

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More fun ensued with some bride and groom fishing shots.  See, I have found that if you approach the general public (fishermen in this case) with a bride and groom on hand, they will pretty much stop what they are doing immediately.  Often, they will let you use whatever they have for props with no questions asked.

Our bride Candy had been passing by this old barn house for months and wanted a wedding photo against the grungy white textures of the buliding.  Neither her, nor myself were able to contact the owner before the wedding date so we just gave it a try and dropped in.  As fate would have it, he showed up right when we did.  He looked a little puzzled and remarked that the barn was in rough shape and that there were better ones around.  "No sir, we like this one.  The more grungy, the better."  We ended up with one of my favorite images of the day right here...

We used the open Indiana fields for our natural backdrop as well.  It was a bright sun that day and we ended up with this sunburst bridal portrait.

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Throughout the day we went back and forth between classic wedding photos such as this one of the couple softly kissing on the path in the park with flags waving in the background to our "tired bride" photograph on the public bench overlooking Lake George.

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Another of our stops in Hobart was the iconic white building that is Grace Lutheran Church just off of Route 51.

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Chris and Candy enjoyed skipping toward this Chapel of love in south Hobart, Indiana.

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We also had the opportunity to capture some tender close up moments such as this eskimo kiss between the two lovers.

We did a lot of walking, but we also had a lot of laughs for these fun wedding photos at the Hobart Lakefront as well as Deep River Park in Valparaiso.

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There wasn't even any music playing as the newlyweds did a happy dance across the bridge....

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We were even able to turn day into night for this sun flared photo of the bride in silhouette.

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You may have seen the large graffiti wall in the back alleyway of the Main St. shops in downtown Hobart.  A great way to show off the unique wedding shoes of the bride and groom....

Let's close out today's post with a couple of wedding photos taken at Deep River Park in Valparaiso...

I hope you have enjoyed these fun wedding photos with Chris and Candy at the Hobart Lakefront Park.  To keep updated and to see more images, subscribe here to the Journal and give us a "like" on the SBV Photography Facebook page.  

The Shrine of Christ's Passion Wedding Photos

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For Stacey and Steve's Spring wedding we took our formal wedding photos at The Shrine of Christ's Passion in St. John, Indiana.  This internationally known tourist attraction sits just in front of the new St. John the Evangelist Church.  It's a unique location for wedding photos and we were able to give the appearance of a mountainous area as seen in the photo of our bride facing the large duplicate of Jesus' cross.

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One of the couple's favorite wedding photos was this casual stroll amongst the greenery of The Shrine of Christ's Passion walkway.

I knew that Stacey was a big fan of selective color shots from their engagement session the previous year.  The groom instinctively helped his bride hold onto the bouquet of flowers while they embraced closely together.

The wedding party patiently waited for our couple's session to end and we gathered them all around the circular drive of the spectacular new church.

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Here is another one of my favorites with the bride and groom at the bottom of the hilltop with the church illuminated in the background.

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Below is one of my designed wedding images.  This is one I call the Love Story Canvas Wrap.  It's 20x24 sized wall print that wraps around wood and comes with a saw tooth hanger for immediate hanging.  All of our packages are digital, but still nothing beats a spectacular looking wall print.

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Finally we have the wonderful couple waving to all of their family and friends in this vintage looking wedding photo.  To see more of Stacey and Steve's Catholic wedding ceremony, visit this post from a couple of weeks ago.