Outdoor Wedding Ceremony at Ogden Garden in Valparaiso

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Maureen and Brett held their outdoor fall wedding ceremony at the beautiful Ogden Gardens in Valparaiso, Indiana.  It's tucked away in a neighborhood in the northern section of town.  It's a bit of a secret garden for Northwest Indiana weddings, but can get booked up quickly in the Autumn with all of it's Fall color.

The day started at the nearby house of the bride's parents.  Her brother was helping out with the tying of the dress and having a few laughs with Maureen's proud mom and the bridesmaids looking on.

Before leaving for the ceremony, we stepped outside into the nice Fall scenery for family photos with the bride's parents along with the cute flower girl.

When we arrived at Ogden Garden, there was a flurry of acitivity including a string trio playing soft classical music and family members helping out the groom's grandmother with her flower lapel.

Soon the outdoor wedding ceremony began with an overflow crowd of friends and family looking on.

While there were a few teary eyed moments, for the most part the fun natured couple had many a smile as they exchanged vows in the afternoon sun.

After the ceremony, the couple took a romantic stroll along the picturesque Ogden Garden walkway.

For some fun wedding party photos, we made a detour to the beach before going to the party at Cloister in the Woods reception hall.

Not to be outdone, the groom gets lifted by the bridesmaids at Indiana Dunes in an homage to the bride's fun photo.

If i could have wrestled it from the beach goers hands, i'd have had the groomsmen flying these kites.  Instead I had them do the classic Reservoir Dogs walk toward the camera with the kites flying high above their heads.

Congratulations to Maureen and Brett for their marriage at the beautiful Ogden Gardens in Valparaiso!!

Willow Harbor Vineyard Wedding

A wedding at Willow Harbor Vineyard and Dewey Cannon Winery in Three Oaks, Michigan is unique for many reasons, let alone the bride's arrival in an old 1970's Rolls Royce.  The ceremony site is located amongst wine vineyards in southwestern Michigan just over the Indiana state line.

It is a great location for an outdoor wedding with much greenery as you can see below with our bride Kelly being walked down the aisle by her parents.

The actual wedding nuptials take place below decorated pillars in the midst of the fields.  Mat and kelly were all smiles during their ring exchange with family and friends looking on.

Soon the newlyweds would seal things with a kiss as they exit the picturesque ceremony site amongst the vineyards.

Family photos followed such as this one with mom showing much affection for her son, the groom.

As storm clouds formed over the vineyard, I had the bride and groom stand at the edge of the row and share some moments together and a brand new husband and wife.

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I knew from shooting the couple's Chicago Session engagement photos that they loved black and white.  Here, the groomsmen get the same treatment.

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We walked all over the fields of love at Willow Harbor Vineyard in southwest Michigan.  We came across the old white pillar that surely was the scene of wedding ceremonies of the past.

The sun was shining upon us at this point and was time for a break and perhaps a few more kisses...

Nothing wrong with a little peek-a-boo amongst the tall vineyards...

As I stated in a previous posting, we found a ladder laying in the fields that was still in decent shape.  This gave me an opportunity to have the bride and groom the image and at the same time show the vastness of the green fields with the blue sky above.

Soon we were back in downtown Three Oaks in front of Dewey Cannon Winery for the reception.  We decided to take it to the streets for this fun and unique wedding photo.  I added a grunge border and bit of faded color for the vintage look.

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When planning your outdoor wedding, consider something unique like a wine vineyard.  

 

Outdoor Wedding at Wicker Park Gazebo in Munster, Indiana

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Nichole and Nathan's outdoor wedding at the Wicker Park gazebo in Munster, Indiana was an all American affair with the two soldiers tying the knot in front of friends and family at a wonderful summer ceremony.

I lost count of all the smiles as the bride and groom exchanged vows under the roof of the large white gazebo that can be seen from Indianapolis Blvd.

It was a long, glorious walk for the wedding party down the path from the Wicker Park Social Center to the outdoor ceremony area.  So much so, that the flower girl actually turned around to go back at one point!!

We had great temperatures but quite a bit of wind.  Before the ceremony, the happy couple with the wedding party wandered the grounds taking photographs...

The crazy wind gave us some wicked looking clouds, but also gave the bridesmaids fits with their hair....

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We took fun photos of the bridesmaid's zebra print wedding shoes....

....along with photojournalistic wedding photos of the bride and groom along with some classic shots in front of the fountain in black and white.

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For the groomsmen photos, I had the guys follow their soldier groom in tribute to the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs.  They seem to always like the tough guy look of it, especially in black and white.

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I really enjoyed covering Nichole and Nathan's outdoor ceremony as it afforded me a variety of different angles. This closeup of the two soldiers holding hands was given a sepia toned antique look.

Keeping detail in the bride's dress is constantly on mind when shooting weddings.  I was so glad to achieve that in this photo with Nichole smiling toward the camera as her and Nathan exchange their wedding vows.

The first kiss is also on my list of wedding photo must haves...

Here the just married couple shares a kiss down the walkway as they exit the ceremony site with friends and family looking on.

Over on the SBV Photography Facebook Page, I asked for help in captioning this military wedding photo collage i made.  The caption I picked was Love, American Style.  I think it fits perfectly, don't you?  Take a look at it large and see what you think.

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Summer Wedding at Dewey Cannon Winery

Perhaps the red in the sign signifies some of the signature wines at Dewey Cannon winery in Three Oaks, Michigan.  Nonetheless, it's a great wedding venue for southern Michigan as well as Northwest Indiana and beyond.  My clients Kelly and Mat apparently felt the same way.

One of the things I love about this location is the large bridal party room where I can take soft window lit shots of the bride such as the one below.

There is also plenty of room (along with a full kitchen) for a large wedding party or lots of visitors such as family and friends of the bride and groom.

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The groom and groomsen get their own room right across the hall complete with a kitchen and balcony.  Each room has it's own bathroom as well.

When it comes time for the wedding, the vintage 1970's Rolls Royce escorts the bride and her bridesmaids to Willow Harbor Vineyard.  In the image below, the Father of the bride visit his daughter at the car just before she is to be married.

This wonderful outdoor wedding venue in southern Michigan makes for some great and unique wedding photo opportunities.  Here we have Kelly and Mat blowing kisses in the fields of the vineyard....

Funny story about the next image is how my assistant and I came upon an old ladder laying in the vineyard's tall grass.  It was as if wedding photographers from the past had left it for the future!!  I promptly climbed to the top to get a bird's eye view of the endless fields of greenery and blue skies with puffy white clouds.  Oh yeah, there was a newly married couple there as well, ready for their wedding photos!!  :)

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I hope you have enjoyed this sneak preview of Mat and Kelly's summer wedding at Dewey Cannon Winery.  

To see more from this Michigan wedding, please subscribe to this blog and also visit the SBV Photography Facebook page for more updates.  Much more to come!!