I always tell my clients to not to worry if it rains on your wedding day. Imagine the unique photographs you will have from braving the elements. The image above has our bride Jamie's daughter and the groom Andrew's son walking out during the ceremony at Deep River Park. They were on their way to the gazebo where their guests were huddled undercover.

We ended up with a very cool looking misty fog hovering around Allison's red All Star sneakers, nice saturated greenery from the wet rain and I believe a unique looking wedding photograph. My assistant held an umbrella over me as I took these shots and we gave our extras to members of the wedding party who needed them.

I will have more images from this Deep River Park Spring wedding soon. For now, enjoy this sneak peek.

The day started off warm and dry at Amara hair salon in Valparaiso. The family gathered around as the bride Jamie treated herself to a relaxing foot massage.

Jamie's daughters Skylar and Alison were her bridesmaids. Sometimes they hid from my prying lens and other times they hammed it up. Either way I had fun capturing their Getting Ready session with their mom and Grandmother.

Jamie began to get emotional as she was trying on her veil. She went from deep meditation to this glorious smile...

The girls went to the Radisson in Merrillville to put on their dresses. Here's a quick fun photo in the lobby with the girls giving mom and bride to be some attitude. Yes, Alison is wearing some red Converse All Stars with her dress!! Cool.

At this point the rain had started so I caught up with Father and Son over at Deep River Park just before the ceremony was about to begin.

The cool rain and the warm ground created a misty fog as seen in these walking photos as the ceremony began. Guests, Pastor and the Groom all were waiting under the roof of the gazebo.

We took family and couples shots at Deep River as the rain stopped just after the ceremony. Here's one behind the old wedding barn...

We stayed at Deep River Park for about 45 minutes until descending upon Lucretia's Restaurant in downtown Crown Point, Indiana. The family and friends had a nice dinner where I captured candid moments like this one with the bride and her son.

I also took many portraits of the wedding guests and their children...

Many more pictures from Jamie and Andrew's big day will be coming soon. Subscribe to The Merrillville Wedding Photographer Journal by clicking on the RSS feed on the right.

Spring is almost upon us here in Northwest Indiana and it's time to put a spotlight on outdoor weddings. I will sprinkle this post with outdoor wedding ceremony photos that I've taken in the past year along with some venues to consider.

The above shot is from Marquette Park Pavillion in Gary, Indiana. It's an old rustic building, but one that I highly recommend. It's got a ton of opportunities for scenic wedding photographs and an area for outdoor wedding ceremonies and a large building for receptions. You can even get ready in this facility with plenty of large mirrors in the basement area.

The benefit of outdoor wedding ceremonies is the dream like quality a gorgeous day can bring to the wedding photos. The gazebo at Deep River Park is one of the most popular spots and I indeed have a couple of ceremonies to cover there this coming year. However, Ogden Garden in Valparaiso is another gorgeous spot. I also have an outdoor ceremony coming up at the gazebo behind Avalon Manor in Merrillville. With the reception to follow right after, this is a great way to cut down on travel time on the wedding day.

- click image to enlarge -

The area in front of the courthouse in downtown Crown Point is a little known venue for outdoor weddings. If you don't mind the curious eyes of Northwest Indiana locals upon you, it can provide some nice, localized hometown type of wedding photos. Click on the photo above for the viewpoint of the bride and groom during their ceremony.

Outdoor wedding ceremonies can also provide some very dramatic shots like this praying moment at Coffee Creek in Chesterton, Indiana.

- click image to enlarge -

Our bride Molly asked for group shots of her entire wedding party and their guests. The cascading water fountain and blue skies over Coffee Creek made for a perfect background for a group portrait.

- click image to enlarge -

People tend to be a lot loser during outdoor ceremonies which can lead to some fun, candid wedding photos...

Another scenic area and a very affordable wedding venue is the Revelli Bandshell along Lake George in Hobart, Indiana. It's an outdoor spot with a large cover and plenty of opportunities for scenic wedding photos before and after the ceremony.

- click image to enlarge -

Of course, with an outdoor wedding ceremony there is always a chance you may have to scurry away from rain. I understand that is a bad, four letter word when it comes to Northwest Indiana weddings, but we can always make it work with some artsy black and white wedding images.