Romantic Engagement Photos at Marquette Park Beach

September 4, 2014 Steve Vansak

Romantic kiss along the Marquette Park Lagoon

On my way to Marquette Park beach to photograph Ashley and Cordale, I had sunset photo on my mind. I can't control the weather, but I had a feeling we would have a nice orange hue in the sky at least and that we needed to be ready - sunsets are fleeting.

We began our session along the lagoon at Marquette Park Pavilion. The soon to be married couple kissed romantically with the iconic lagoon bridge in the background. Thank you Mr. Fisherman guy for moving to another spot!! :)

I will be photographing Ashley and Cordale's wedding this November and they wanted to have some beautiful images to display at their reception. I know Ashley was quite taken with my Wedding Wish Books that enable guests to answer questions on various pages with photos of the couple shown throughout. These are more personable than guest books and better for display than giant signing boards. Definitely ask to see a sample at our consultation.

Indiana Dunes beach engagement photo collage.

We were still a good 45 minutes from sunset so we used the wonderful lagoon bridge for some of our images. I love that we were able to capture the Simpsons-esque puffy clouds as the couple relaxed at the top of the bridge.

A couple holds hands atop the Marquette Park lagoon bridge.

The lagoon itself has very reflective water and made for a great, dramatic image as the couple embraced.

A young couple is about to kiss as the sky reflects into the lagoon water at Marquette Park Pavilion.

We took many different photos on our way toward the beach, on the dunes and finally the lakeshore itself. Suddenly I saw the sun starting to dip and we all got into place to not only capture a gloriously shining ray of light in the sky, but also the wonderful light emenating from this warm couple. We had hugs all around after the session and I'm even more excited to photograph their big day later this year.

This is merely a sneak peek with many more romantic engagement photos to come. Subscribe below and follow the Region Weddings Facebook Page for more images.

Sunset engagement photo off of Lake Michigan.

Indian American Engagement Celebration

August 5, 2014 Steve Vansak

Indian and American bride and groom at their engagement party.

When Dr. Abbas called me to discuss photographing his son's engagement celebration I was very excited by the idea. I had done Indian celebrations in the past and they are always spectacular affairs and I love capturing the color and the decor. It was a terrific meeting with him and his family and when the day finally came my assistant and i couldn't have hoped for a better welcome.

I started by capturing candids of arriving guests and then we stepped around the property in Dyer, Indiana for engagement portraits of Amir and Taylor, our happy couple.

Amir and Taylor in front of a gorgeous fountain of the the home of the groom's father.

This Indian American engagement celebration was filled with food, laughter and love. Children played and adults mingled as I captured the event reportage style.

A mom playfully encourages her child to eat a delicious banana at an engagement party in Northwest Indiana.

Amir and Taylor were to exchange gifts on a stage specially built inside the home as friends and family looked on. Amir placed the ring upon his bride and she presented him with a beautiful luxury watch. Taylor's American family and her soon to be Indian family were both present on the stage. As Dr. Abbas stated in his terrific speech, we are a melting pot of people and cultures. The engagement celebration was a terrific example of this.

A collage of images from an Indian American engagement party.

An engagement ring and luxury Swiss watch.

Dr. Mohammed Abbas gives a heartfelt speech at his son's engagement celebration.

After the ceremony, dinner was served and it was time for family photographs. A terrific time was had by all and soon they will be together once again for the wedding of Amir and Taylor.

Exchanging of the rings at an Indiana American engagement ceremony.

Family portrait of the soon to be bride and groom with his parents.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek at Amir and Taylor's Indian American engagement celebration. Subscribe to this page below or the Region Weddings Facebook page for more updates.

Once again, congratulations to Amir and Taylor!!

An Indian and American engaged couple.ngagemente

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 County Line Orchard

May 23, 2014 Steve Vansak

A young couple kisses from opposite sides of the fence at County Line Orchard.

Kristen and Ryan are getting married on October 4th with purple as their color. They had their heart set on engagement photos at County Line Orchard so off we went for a session all around the iconic Northwest Indiana venue. Special thanks to Roxanne (wedding coordinator at the venue) for her hospitality in letting us have free reign around the Orchard after hours.

Ryan is a southern gentleman from Missouri who just moved up here to be with his love Kristen. They are super sweet and at times I put them into cutesy poses and other times just let them be. Unfortunately, they got into a fight...

A young couple has a leaf fight at County Line Orchard for their engagement photos.

Just kidding. There was no argument here, just some playful leaf throwing . There just happened to be a photographer and his lighting assistant hanging around to capture things. :)

You can't photograph at County Line Orchard without featuring the big red barn doors in some shots or taking a sun drenched walk amongst the apple trees...

Engagement photo in front of the red barn doors at County Line Orchard.

An engaged couple walks among the apple orchards.

Temperatures were just perfect for our session with the grass dry enough for some lounging and cuddling...

Portrait of a soon to be married couple in the grass at the apple orchards in Hobart, Indiana.

A lazy afternoon at Hobart's County Line Orchard.

Kristen asked for a ring shot and she also wanted to who off her wedding colors so we opted for these purple flowers conveniently planted for us just outside the back of the building. I combined another portrait along with the wedding date for an engagement collage.

An engagement ring sits atop purple flowers with a photo of the couple and their wedding date.

The sun was bold and bright even toward dusk on this beautiful Spring day, but we used it to our advantage for some soft focus shots of the future bride and groom.

A soft focus black and white engagement photo of a couple snuggling in the grass engulfed in sunlight.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek at Ryan and Kristen's engagement session at County Line Orchard. Subscribe to this page below and follow Region Weddings on Facebook for more updates.