The Fall Wedding of Jackie and Brandon

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A few week's back I did a sneak peak at Jackie and Brandon's Fall wedding.  I finally get a chance to follow up with more images and stories from their beautiful wedding day.  I got a little behind due to shooting about 6 more weddings this Autumn!!  So let's play catch up here and let me take you through their day...

The wedding day started out at Jackie's parent's Schererville home with the bride (and her bridesmaids) in her flannel shirt and veil getting her make up applied.

I remember a flurry of activity with the occasional stop for bagels and orange juice....

These Getting Ready sessions are where I become a fly on the wall taking photo journalistic shots of the wedding day - fun candids, detail shots and some casually posed photos like the one below of mom and her daughter.

I had done engagement photos of Jackie and Brandon the previous year and it was great to come across the save the date magenet tucked into these flowers....

I try to never leave the Getting Ready area until I can get a photo of the bride's mom zipping up her dress. This one was taken in the bedroom of the house just before the limousine was scheduled to arrive. 

We were able to sneak in some nice photos of the girls in their dresses at the house.  In this one we walked over to the side of a neighbors yard and did a quick celebratory shot with flowers in the air against the gorgeous field and blue skies...

My assistant and I arrived at St. Michael's Church for the ceremony and immediately began taking formal pictures of the groom and his family including this GQ cover shot of the groomsmen...

St. Michael's church in Schererville Indiana is a beautiful setting for a wedding with great architecture. I like to take many wide shots here to capture the grandeur of the setting.  Here is the bride and groom praying in front of the Virgin Mary during the ceremony...

Another wide shot of the catholic ceremony....

The areas that a photographer can go within the church are restricted so this is why I carry an extra camera body with a telephoto lens so I can get up close when I need to.  

Perfect examples of this would be Jackie giving a hug to the groom's parents...

.... and the bride and groom sharing a laugh during the ceremony.

There were two priests present on this day and I thought they made for great subjects as they conducted the catholic mass...

Capturing the first kiss is often done by zooming in tight and anticipating the moment.  I love it when the bride and groom linger for awhile.  Keep smootching - I want more shots!!  :)

St. Michael's Church allows 30 minutes for formal photography so I like to get the large groups done first.  I often say I like to mix different styles and here is a great example of a traditional pose for Grandparent's to hang on the wall followed up by a fun one for the young couple to show off...

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The jumping bridal party photo from above was taken at Centennial Park in Munster, Indiana.  This location is becoming quite popular for formal photographs as well as outdoor ceremonies.  There is a golf course at the park and i often uses the carts as props for group photographs.

It's a wide open area with many different scenes such as this winding road to a lake complete with a running fountain...

We went behind the amphitheater stage and used this wood wall for some edgier bride and groom shots.  This first one features a tired bride holding here shoes and flowers and awaiting the groom to wisk her away.  He certainly does so, but not before some major kissing ensues...

To view the entire gallery of Jackie and Brandon's Fall Wedding, including the reception at Villa Cesare Banquet Hall in Highland, please follow the link.

Jackie and Brandon: Sneak Peek of Wedding at St. Michael's Church

The Fall wedding season is in full swing and today I bring you Jackie and Brandon!!  Don't worry, these guys are of legal age to marry and consume the bottle of wine that their photograph is labeled on.  These guys had a gorgeous September Fall day for their wedding.  We started out at Jackie's parent's home and Navii salon in Schererville and then proceeded to St. Michael's for the ceremony and finally to Villa Cesare for the reception. In between we made it to Centennial Park in Munster for some formal and fun shots of the wedding party.

Here is a sneak peek with more images to come soon...

The four seasons room was a perfect place for hair and make up.  Looks like everybody but one got the flannel shirt memo!!

Jackie actually got her dress on before her mom and her bridesmaids which was great because my assistant Leslie and I were able to take some solo shots of the bride in front of her childhood home before we got the other family members outside...

I think we have a new game show host in the making.  Introducing the bridesmaids....

Just before the ceremony at St. Michael's was to begin, we got the groomsmen outside for some fun shots in front of the church...

Soon it was time for the bride and groom to take their vows at the catholic ceremony.

Jackie and Brandon pray beneath the Virgin Mary at St. Michael's church...

The reception at Villa Cesare could not have been more elegant and fun.  The former illustrated by the happy couple enjoying their first dance and the latter demonstated by the father of the bride during the chicken dance...

This afternoon I'm off to shoot Linda and Tom's wedding at White Hawk in Crown Point.  More from Jackie and Brandon's Fall wedding coming soon.  In the meantime, take a look at their engagement pictures at Coffee Creek Park in Chesterton.

Megan and Austin's Fall Wedding Pt.3 (Formals)

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After the ceremony at St. Michael's Church, we corralled immediate family together for posed shots around the altar.  I tend to go conservative for these shots as we are in a place of worship and I want to be respectful at all times.  It's not a hard and fast rule, but we usually take the wedding party out on location for "looser" shots at a local park, the beach or wherever we decide beforehand.

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Here is one of my favorites and the image chosen by Megan and Austin for the front cover of their wedding album.

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We then trekked out to Ellendale Farms in Crown Point, Indiana which is a very picturesque neighborhood with a large gazebo in the middle of it.  At this point their was still a threat of rain and storms but they never did materialize.  We had the gazebo to hide under if it did rain.  Our Plan B were the umbrellas I brought and also shooting in the lobby of the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza.  This is where Megan and Andrew would be staying for their first night as man and wife. The weather held up so we never went to the hotel.

I decided to use the ominous sky as a backdrop for the groom and his groomsmen...

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One of my favorite images of the bride Megan....

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This wedding party was certainly a fun one and it shows in even these more "serious" group shots...

Many more shots of Austin and Megan's Fall Wedding can be found at my alter ego, the SBV Photography website.  Stay tuned for the next installment where we take a look at some highlights from the Reception at The Patrician in Schererville, Indiana.