Winter Engagement Photos At Deep River County Park

January 24, 2017 Steve Vansak

Looking toward the future on a bridge at Deep River County Park.

For Ashlee and Ryan's engagement session at Deep River Park, the calendar said winter but the temperature was more like late Fall. It really was quite the warm January day. Ashlee's dash of red against Ryan's black leather really popped against the barren land for their rockabilly inspired engagement session.

We started out around the wagon wheel near the general store and made our away around the bridge toward the famed grist mill.

Engagement session with a rockabilly clothing theme at Deep River County Park.

A young couple in front of a vintage wagon at Deep River County Park.

I know the grist mill wheel was a must have for these guys so we took a number of images all around it. I saw the sun peeking out from above the building and had to get the sunburst engulfing the couple as they embraced.

The sun bursts above the grist mill at Deep River during a winter engagement session.

One of my favorite times of the session was just having these two hang out for awhile and talking about their day. After a few of these candid moments, off we went to the famed Sugar Shack.

A fun moment on a park bench during a winter engagement session.

Engagement photos at Deep River County Park.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek look at this fun couple's winter engagement session. I had a wonderful late afternoon at Deep River and I'm very much looking forward to Ashlee and Ryan's 2017 wedding!!

Outdoor Wedding At Avalon Manor

August 18, 2015 Steve Vansak

The bride's long veil flies in the air at Deep River County Park.

April and Fred's outdoor wedding and reception at Avalon Manor saw the sky turn from ominous dark clouds to bright sunshine just as the bride came down the aisle. Let me take you through their day, from getting ready and first look all the way to the rockin' reception.

I arrived at April's parent's house where I found an incredibly efficient bride with all of her accessories ready to be photographed and a bride anxious to get into her dress. Her wedding colors simply popped!! I knew we were going to have great detail shots and couldn't wait to see the reception decor later that night.

We dodged the Lake County Fair traffic and made our way to the downtown Crown Point Square for a first look for the bride and groom along with some photos in front of the iconic Old Courthouse.

First look for the bride in groom in downtown Crown Point.

The iconic Old Courthouse in Crown Point, IN.

We then joined a number of other wedding parties at Deep River Park where we were met with some sweltering temperatures and hot sunshine.

Wedding party photos at Deep River County Park.

The ceremony was officiated by Reverend Doug Klukken who made note of the parting sky as friends and family looked on for the beautiful outdoor ceremony at Avalon Manor. The temperatures had now dropped and after family photos it was time for dinner and fun.

An outdoor wedding ceremony at Avalon Manor in Merrillville, IN.

After introductions and best man and maid of honor toasts, April's Dad told us all about her - the skydiving, her love of sour patch kids and more. His "script" that he read from was met with a lot of laughter and a declaration to "get this party started" which Spinning Productions was certainly glad to do. Of course, everyone needed to dig into the candy buffet from How Sweet It Is Events first!! Children of all ages donned the top hats as Twist and Shout blasted from the speakers.

Wedding reception at Avalon Manor in Merrillville, Indiana.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek look at April and Fred's wedding at Avalon Manor. Stay tuned here and on social media for more images and stories.

Engagement Session at Deep River County Park

July 14, 2014 Steve Vansak

Kurt and Katie are book lovers and their wedding next June is taking on a literary theme. It was only appropriate that we bring a little bit of Harry Potter to the mix during our summer engagement session at Deep River County Park. It was a great way to show off their theme and have some wonderful greenery in the shots as well.

A young couple reads Harry Potter for their engagement photos.

Deep River County Park is a mainstay for all kinds of photography sessions and I always try to come up with something different whenever I photograph there, While known for it's greenery, there's some great brick and texture near the building as well. We took advantage of this on the sunny side of the building as well as the shaded entrance.

An engaged couple holds hands in between a doorway surrounded by brick at Deep River Park.

A couple in love kisses at the entrance of the country store at Deep River Park.

I loved the rustic look of the old wagon wheel on the property so i simply let Katie and Kurt be themselves and we took a number of candid photos there as well as a stroll across the grounds of the old baseball field.

A candid moment by the old wagon wheel at Deep River County Park.

A fun stroll through the grass during an engagement session.

Katie's ring on the scrabble letter holder will look great in a Wish Book or Save the Date Cards...

Scrabble letter spell 'forever' with the engagement ring as the letter 'o'.

A trip to the iconic location would not be complete without gazebo shots as well as one of the famous bridges...

The iconic gazebo at Deep River County Park.

The famous bridge at Deep River County Park.

At the end of their engagement session, Kurt and Katie told me how much fun they had and this is always great to hear. I too had a lot of fun and love to photograph engagement sessions. It's a great way to get to know my wedding clients as well as get them used to being photographed. Come next June when Kurt and Katie will be married, they will be old pros in front of the camera!! :)

The sun shines through the trees as a young couple embraces along the river.

A young couple in front of the Sugar Shack at Deep River County Park.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek at Kurt and Katie's engagement session at Deep River. For more updates, subscribe to this Journal below and visit the Region Weddings Facebook page.

Engagement Photos at Deep River Park

August 14, 2013 Steve Vansak

A loving couple poses in front of pretty and exotic flowers at Deep river Park for their summer engagement photo.

Ryan and Jamie are getting married this coming October and will be decorating to compliment the Fall colors. For their engagement photos at Deep River Park it appeared the famed wedding destination had jumped ahead a season. We had lots of wonderful greenery, but also a hint of fall in the various leaves flying as they strolled in front of the gazebo at the fabled Northwest Indiana scenic hotspot.

A couple in love stroll in front of the gazebo at Deep River Park in Hobart, Indiana during an engagement photo session.

While we were there to take pretty photographs to display at the couple's reception at The Patrician in Schererville later this year, we also wanted to capture some of the wonderful textures that Deep River Park has to offer. The Sugar Shack gave us just that...

An engaged couple poses alongside an old barn in Valparaiso, Indiana.

A candid engagement photo on the bench in front of the Sugar Shack in Deep River Park.

You don't get away with engagement photos at Deep River without an image with the old water wheel as your backdrop. The river was especially green this summer day as well.

A couple poses alongside the water wheel at Deep River Park for their engagement photo.

An engaged couple cuddles as greenery reflects onto  the river water in the background. — An engaged couple cuddles as greenery reflects onto the river water in the background.

Our groom to be, Ryan, found this brick wall compelling for a photograph, as did I. A little grunge alongside the picturesque photos will make for a nice contrast in an engagement book.

An engaged couple poses against a grungy brick wall at Deep River County Park.

Our final series of the session took place in the vast green fields toward the back of Deep River County Park. I left the couple alone to kiss, talk and embrace. It was a perfect ending to a very fun engagement photo session.

A couple embraces in a large green field in the depths of Deep River Park.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek at Ryan and Jamie's engagement photos at Deep River Park. for more imagery and updates, please visit and like the Facebook Page.