Wedding At St. Peter's Catholic Church In Laporte, Indiana

June 5, 2015 Steve Vansak

Bride and groom at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Laporte, Indiana.

We all knew there were possible storms brewing on Kelly and Danny's wedding day. Thing was, the joy and laughter and smiles won out. Also, we had a determined bride and groom and I'm a determined photographer. Like mail delivery, neither rain nor sleet and snow was going to stop us.

The day began at The Blue Heron Inn right off the lake in LaPorte. The girls were in high spirits as MUA's and stylists from LeRoc were on hand to bring out the beauty.

St. Peter's Catholic Church has some wonderful architecture and the priest was very gracious in giving us free reign to capture this glorious ceremony from all angles, including the tall balcony.

Wedding ceremony at St. Peter's Catholic Church in LaPorte, Indiana.

Wedding ceremony photo collage of St. Peter's Parish.

We had entered the church for the ceremony at 2pm and by the time we exited an hour or so later, the temperature had dropped by 30 degrees and storms were brewing. the newly married couple made a quick dash amid bubbles and then back inside for family photos.

Bride and groom exit the church amidst bubbles with an umbrella to keep dry from the rain.

After the last of family pictures were taken, we headed out to the lake where fog had overtaken everything. Rain was pelting us from all sides and the temps were chilly. Still, Danny and kelly remained in good spirits. I think I muttered "you only live once" and they agreed. Their adorable son, the ring bearer and the flower girl got to it out the outside shots. They were all smiles inside for their photos.

The bride and groom brave the rain for their wedding photos.

The reception took place at The Allure and the venerable ballroom did not disappoint. The ring shot below sums up the mood and i was pleased to see the Wish Book that I made for the couple from their engagement session on display and being signed by guests.

A photo collage of a wedding reception at The Allure.

The bride and groom cut the cake at The Allure during their wedding reception.

As you can see from the above images, the name of the game was fun and the bride and groom set the tone with their cake smashing. Hey, after getting pelted by rain earlier, why not!!

The dance floor was packed all night and the groom even took over the microphone for a vocal performance as the crowd cheered him on.

The groom performs during his wedding reception.

Kelly and Danny booked me last year for their late May wedding. If you would like to secure your date for next year, please fill out the Contact Form. I promise to get back to you right away.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek look at this fun couple's wedding at St. Peter's Catholic Church in LaPorte. Stay tuned to the social media listed below for more images.

Wedding at St. Maria Goretti Church in Dyer, Indiana

August 18, 2014 Steve Vansak

Wedding ceremony at Saint Maria Goretti Church

Mike the cowboy married his cowgirl Lisa at Saint Maria Goretti Church this past Saturday. You will see later in this post why I'm making cowboy references. All i can say is, this was a fun one and full of surprises for guests as well as the photographers. The happy couple met online and it became an Indiana and Texas nuptial in short order.

The day began at Lisa's parent's home in Munster, Indiana with touching candids of mother and daughter as well as lots of laughter with the bridesmaids.

Getting Ready images at the home of the bride's parents.

I don't know too much about motorcycles, but I do know that Mike's red and black bike looks super cool. I made sure we took a portrait of him on it after he drove up and guests arrived for the ceremony at St. Maria Goretti Church in Dyer, Indiana.

The groom arrives to his wedding at St. Maria Goretti via motorcycle and black tuxedo.

Father Charles is quite the character and we sure enjoyed his improvisation of the ceremony. He had Mike and Lisa laughing throughout. Their lighting of the unity candles was one of the few serious moments as light shone in from above.

The bride and groom light unity candles at St. Maria Goretti Roman Catholic Church.

The bride and groom exit as bubbles surround them at St. Maria Goretti Church.

We took family formals as well as dramatic couple's shots in the church and then it was on to Centennial Park for some fun wedding photos.

The bride's wonderful dress on display at the church altar.

Bridesmaids photo bomb the groomsmen in this fun wedding photo.

The girls tipped me off ahead of time that they were going to photo bomb the groomsmen so we were ready to capture all of the fun. Mike wanted to show off the writing on the bottom of his shoes, so I did some romantic couple in the sun images at the same time. We then went all around the park taking romantic wedding photos on a warm August afternoon.

The groom shows off the writing on his wedding shoes.

The bride and groom kiss atop the Centennial Park bridge in Munster, Indiana.

Late afternoon sun engulfs the happy couple after their wedding ceremony.

The wedding reception at Wicker Park Social Center is where the cowboy references really start to kick in. Friends and family had no idea where the groom was until he burst into the room in his white hat and singing to the crowd and introducing his new wife.

The groom enters his reception in a cowboy hat singing a country song.

Groom introduces his bride at Wicker Park Social Center in Munster, Indiana.

Ladies and gentleman, Texas has arrived in Indiana!! The new Mr. and Mrs. Holland have entered the building!!!

First dance of the bride and groom at Wicker Park Social Center.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek look at Mike and Lisa's wedding at St. Maria Goretti Church in Dyer, Indiana. Please subscribe below for more updates as well as visit the Region Weddings Social Media Page.

A close up of the happy couple on the dance floor at Wicker Park Banquet Hall.

Wedding at the Macedonian Hall in Crown Point, Indiana

June 30, 2014 Steve Vansak

The bride and groom take their first dance at Macedonian Hall in Crown Point, Indiana surrounded by amber lighting.

Nick and Jillian got the best of both worlds this past weekend with rain for good luck while we were inside during the ceremony to clear skies for our outdoor photographs and back to more good luck rain while we were inside Macedonian Hall for the reception. Such is nature here in Northwest Indiana where if you wait 5 minutes..... well, you get the joke!! :)

All kidding aside, it was a wonderful day that started out at Downtown Hair Studio in Lowell where Jillian's mom and all around BFF got her make up done alongside her daughter.

The bride's mom shares a laugh with her daughter.

The bride gets her make up done at Downtown Hair Studio in Lowell.

Lowell Methodist Church was right down the street and we hung the bride's beautiful dress from the balcony as light shined through the stained glass windows.

The bride's wedding dress hangs from the balcony at Lowell Methodist Church.

Jillian did not want Nick to see her before the ceremony so we did a peek-a-boo shot with the groom walking in blindfolded. We then took a cute picture of the happy couple after Jillian relieved him from the bandana blindfold.

The bride and groom take a photo WITHOUT seeing each other before the ceremony.

The church ceremony saw family and friends in the pews as the ring bearers announced the entrance of the bride. I loved the look of the vintage church, especially the cross that hung above during the ceremony.

Ring bearers hold up a Here Comes The Bride sign.

Wedding ceremony at Lowell Methodist Church.

After family photos we went to Nick's grandmother's farm house in Hebron for couples and wedding party pictures. The neighbor's curious horse decided to photo bomb the couple as they kissed along the walkway. Too funny!!

The bride and groom kiss as a curious horse looks on.

The newly married couple gaze at each other with Indiana farmland as a backdrop.

Macedonian Hall was all lit in an Amber hue thanks to DJ Shaun Kelly at Spinnin' Productions. The groom danced with his mom and Jillian danced with the important men in her life.

Mother and son dance at Macedonian Hall.

The large dance floor at Macedonian Hall was full as friends and family surrounded the couple in celebration. No one cared about the rain outside at this point. To all of us inside, it was already a beautiful night.

Family and friends surround the bride and groom at Macedonian Hall in Crown Point.

This is merely a sneak peek look at Nick and Jillian's wedding at Macedonian Hall. Stay tuned and subscribe to this blog below and visit the Region Weddings Facebook Page for more updates.

Summer Wedding at The Chapel of the Resurrection

June 2, 2014 Steve Vansak

Bride and groom at the steps leading to the altar at The Chapel of Resurrection in Valparaiso University.

I thought about entitleing this post All You Need Is Love to reflect the classic cut from The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour vinyl album that was on display at David and Heather's summer wedding at Valparaiso University. The music fans and vinyl record collecting bride and groom had their guests write a message onto the record itself. They felt bad about it, but made sure they had multiple copies of the two records on display.

I chose to display their rings next to the most pertinent cut on the album as you will see below...

A Beatles All You Need Is Love themed wedding ring photo.

The warm sunny day began at Salon Amara in downtown Valparaiso where Heather got her hair and make up done while her daughter and bridesmaid Addison supervised...

The bride gets ready for her wedding at Salon Amara in downtown Valparaiso.

The bride's daughter and bridesmaid awaits mom's make up to be completed.

Heather chose to wear flat shoes which was a very wise move considering the spectacular Church of the Resurrection at Valparaiso University has a very long entrance walk. As a wedding photographer, I love capturing the entrances at this majestic church and shooting wide to reveal the grandness of the large building. Even sweeter still was the bride being accompanied by both of her parents.

The bride is accompanied by her parents as she walks down the aisle at The Chapel of the Resurrection.

Wedding ceremony at Valparaiso University.

Heather and David have a great sense of humor so no wonder they had a couple of laughs with their pastor at the altar. We loved taking the big wide shots you see above of this beautifully large church as well as close moments like the first kiss up on the altar.

The bride and groom share a laugh with their pastor during their wedding ceremony at The Chapel of the Resurrection.

First kiss for the bride and groom at Valparaiso University.

After a short meet and greet with family and friends after the ceremony, the bride and groom came back in for family photos as well as couples shots and the bride alone at the altar.

I really set out to capture the wonderful color of the stained glass windows as well as showcase the bride in the image below. Then it was outside for some crazy, fun wedding photos.

The bride alone at the altar in front of stained glass windows.

The bride and her bridesmaid blow kisses to the camera.

The wedding party looks on in mock horror as the bride and groom kiss.

The wedding reception took place on the Valparaiso University campus as well. The outdoor terrace had friends hanging out during cocktail hour and we used this time to take candids of guests and the wedding party too. Then it was onto introductions and the youngest members of the wedding party certainly enjoyed their moment in the spotlight.

27 Entertainment also had the room beautifully lit as the bride and groom cut their plum colored cake.

The youngest of the wedding party celebrates their introduction.

The bride and groom cut their plum colored wedding cake.

The first dance was a real family affair as Heather and David invited their children up onto the floor as sounds of the Dave Matthews Band filled the room. Meanwhile guests were writing messages onto the couple's beloved Beatles album.

The bride and groom invite their children onto the floor for the first dance at their wedding reception.

Wedding guests sign the Magical Mystery Tour vinyl album.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek preview of Heather and David's summer wedding at The Chapel of the Resurrection on the campus of Valparaiso University. Please subscribe to this blog below and visit the Region Wedding Facebook page for more updates.