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.  

Dunes Beach Wedding

Greg and Kari were married in Jamaica this past July, but had their celebration here in Northwest Indiana in September.  They continued their beach theme with a photo shoot at Marquette Park.  The wedding party along with the couple's family strolled along with us around the sandy Indiana lakeshore.  We started out with this "almost kiss" in silhouette inside the landmark bath house on the beach....

The lagoon behind the Marquette Park Pavilion made for a gorgeous backdrop for wedding photos of our beautiful bride Kari and her pretty bridesmaids, including maid of honor Amy.

This is merely a sneak peek as we have many more beach photos and family shots back at the bride and groom's home.  I can't let this post go by without posting at least one image of the bride and groom roaring in on their Harley Davidson.  I put together this composite to give you a look at the great cake topper along with the fun loving couple during their first dance.  

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The Elks Lodge in Hobart were great host and the live band made for some great sounding entertainment.  I love to see live music represented at weddings and this has happened several times this year already.  I will have to gether these up for a future post in the near future.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek at at Greg and Kari's beach wedding at the Indiana Dunes lakeshore.  To keep updated and to see more images, subscribe here to the Journal and give us a "like" on the SBV Photography Facebook page.  More to come!!

Summer Wedding at Avalon Manor

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Here is a sneak peek at Chris and Candy's summer wedding.  Before arriving for the evening ceremony at Avalon Manor, my assistant and I accompanied the happy couple on a day long photo shoot around Northwest Indiana.

We started with a first look in Ravelli Park of the lakefront in Hobart, Indiana.  The groom was waiting with us for the bride to arrive.  The temperature was perfect, as was the bride's dress.

If you have ever driven down Rt. 51 in Hobart, you have undoubtedly noticed the beautiful white chapel of Grace Lutheran Church.  Although Chris and Candy's ceremony would take place later in the evening at Avalon Manor, this visit to the Chapel of Love was on our destination list for wedding pictures.

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As a guitar player myself, I can appreciate the guitar picks engraved with the couple's names and wedding date.  These were assembled into the groom's corsage with the blue and purple bouquet in the background.

Here is an image of our bride Candy posing in front of the large, majestic mirror at the Avalon Manor bridal party room just before she was to walk down the aisle.  

The pastor of the ceremony was obviously a close friend with many memories of the bride and groom.  He added a great combination of passionate seriousness and affectionate humor.

A touching moment occured as the bride and groom gave out roses to all the special women in their lives...

I tucked muself inside the circle dance for this photo of the bride and her guests celebrating a fantastic day.  A special thanks to all dancers for not accidentally kicking me in the head as I lay on the dance floor!!  :)

This is just a sneak peek of the many more images to come from Chris and Candy's Summer Wedding at Avalon Manor.  Please subscribe here for more updates or like the SBV Photography page on Facebook to see more.

June Wedding in Northwest Indiana and Lansing, Illinois

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Michele and Nick's June wedding took place in Northwest Indiana and nearby Lansing, Illinois.  Let's go through their day starting with the girls getting ready at Vanis Hair Salon in Schererville, Indiana.

When I arrived the couple's cute daughter and flower girl, Elizabeth was all smiles while having her hair done. Of course, after she got a look at the big scary photographer - not so much!!  After a while though, she warmed up to me and I became just another familiar person at the wonderful event.  Later in the day we were doing group photos and had no problem getting her mug for the camera.  Great job Elizabeth!!

Vanis Hair Salon had some great lighting in their make up room.  In this photo our model bride Michele awaits her her make up artist.  Vanis is decorated with many wonderful pictures of models and hair styles.  It's a very modern and comfortable place for bridal parties to go for styling on the wedding day - very impressive.

More baby snuggling, more candid fun!!

Our next stop for Michele and Nick's wonderful June wedding was the Holiday Inn, also in Schererville.  It was here that mom awaited and we took this portrait of the two together just before leaving for the ceremony.

We stepped outside the hotel for a bridesmaid and flower girls photo.  They looked resplendant in their purple dresses.

Just before stepping into the limousine, we took this quick shot of bride Michele and her bridesmaids with an antique treatment.  I like the contrasts of the modern bride and her girls done in an old time look.

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St. Ann's Church in Lansing has a great wood architecture which led me to take a lot of wide shots.  I think these will make great two page spreads in the couple's wedding album.

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Here, our flower girl Elizabeth has learned to find the photographer!!  I was kind of parched myself, but no bottle for me!!  :)

Nick and Michele light the unity candles as friends and family look on...

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The above image is one of my favorite shots of this June wedding ceremony as I was able to capture the entire bridal party's faces all at once.

The bride and groom show off their happy smiles as they are pronounced man and wife...

Centennial Park in Munster was the scene for some fun photos such as this Kung-Fu jumping shot of the groom and groomsmen...

Our groom Nick get's to show some leg along with the bridesmaids!!

Check back to view Nick and Michele's reception photos as I am currently preparing an entire post on Chetnik's Memorial Hall in Schererville.

Special thanks to Nick and Michele for having me as the photographer for their June wedding!!