Romantic Wedding Photos at Marquette Park Pavilion

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Greg and Kari's wedding ceremony actually took place in Jamaica this past summer.  They hired me to photograph their celebration here in Northwest Indiana with friends and family.  The newlyweds wanted a photo shoot on the beach to bring back the flavor of the Jamaican wedding attended by their wedding party and also wanted to incorporate a family feel to the images by including their two lovely daughters.

The Marquette Park Pavilion immediately came to mind as a Northwest Indiana wedding venue that could double as a tropical paradise.  We also used the nearby beach bath house for a backdrop as well.  When it came time for family wedding photos, the creative couple hired a horse and carriage to come and pick them up at their home and wisk them away to the celebration at the Hobart Elks Lodge.

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The Marquette Park Pavilion has been getting remodeled for the past two years and is now booking weddings and events for 2013.  I'm not affiliated with them at all, but have grown fond of the all in one wedding venue and as a Northwest Indiana wedding photographer, have shot their many times in the past - both in and around the building for weddings, events and high school senior and family photographs.

There is a lagoon in the back of the landmark building that is very picturesque and tropical in look.  Perfect for Greg and Kari to take a romantic stroll...

We used the bridge that goes over the lagoon and is a path to the Indiana Dunes beach for many of our scenic wedding photos.  This image of the groom admiring his bride from a distance is one of my favorites of the many images that we took.

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We used the nearby beach, as it is in within walking distance, for more couple's shots as well as this Reservoir Dogs tribute with the groomsmen waling toward the camera.

For family portraits we went back to the couple's home and simply used the wonderful scenery around their wooded community just off of I-65.  Their two daughters, Karly and Riley could not have been better subjects for the camera - incredibly polite and of course, photogenic as all get out. 

While strolling around their immediate neighborhood, we came across an old swingset and captured one of my favorite family photographs that I've ever taken.  The couple and their two daughters were up to try anything and together we came up with some unique wedding photographs.

Oh, there are a couple of extended members of the family I forgot to mention - their 1999 black Transam...

.... and the family dog!!

The can't be anything more romantic than the bride and groom in a horse and carriage.  While I took these in color, they just begged to have a more vintage look about them.

We went from romantic to adorably cute with the whole family on board and about to ride over the I-65 overpass toward the Hobart Elks Lodge for their reception, complete with a live band for entertainment.

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With the Just Married sign attached to the rear of the carriage, Greg and Kari + Family were sure to turn heads of the passing cars.

I want to compliment these folks on the creativity for their wedding day.  It was great fun to photograph their romantic wedding at Marquette Park Pavilion, their lovely home and the celebration in Hobart.

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

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Fun Wedding Photos at Hobart Lakefront Park

Chris and Candy did something unique for their wedding photos - an all day modeling session!!  My assistant and I met them at the Hobart Lakefront Park where we kicked things off with a first look for the bride groom.

Our bride Candy arrived as I had the groom facing the other direction leaning against one of the many trees of the Hobart park.  I slowly had them turn toward each other and simply captured the candid moment between the two soon to be newlyweds.

The groom was sporting some specially made wedding Chuck Taylor All Stars from Converse.  Cx2 is stenciled in the side.  Very cool and modern wedding attire for sure.

Because this is a fun loving couple and I like to have them do silly things if they are up for it, some chasing of geese was in order and a couple of little boys out fishing stood in shock and amazement as the tuxedo clad groom and the woman in the white dress came barrelling toward them.  Good times...

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More fun ensued with some bride and groom fishing shots.  See, I have found that if you approach the general public (fishermen in this case) with a bride and groom on hand, they will pretty much stop what they are doing immediately.  Often, they will let you use whatever they have for props with no questions asked.

Our bride Candy had been passing by this old barn house for months and wanted a wedding photo against the grungy white textures of the buliding.  Neither her, nor myself were able to contact the owner before the wedding date so we just gave it a try and dropped in.  As fate would have it, he showed up right when we did.  He looked a little puzzled and remarked that the barn was in rough shape and that there were better ones around.  "No sir, we like this one.  The more grungy, the better."  We ended up with one of my favorite images of the day right here...

We used the open Indiana fields for our natural backdrop as well.  It was a bright sun that day and we ended up with this sunburst bridal portrait.

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Throughout the day we went back and forth between classic wedding photos such as this one of the couple softly kissing on the path in the park with flags waving in the background to our "tired bride" photograph on the public bench overlooking Lake George.

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Another of our stops in Hobart was the iconic white building that is Grace Lutheran Church just off of Route 51.

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Chris and Candy enjoyed skipping toward this Chapel of love in south Hobart, Indiana.

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We also had the opportunity to capture some tender close up moments such as this eskimo kiss between the two lovers.

We did a lot of walking, but we also had a lot of laughs for these fun wedding photos at the Hobart Lakefront as well as Deep River Park in Valparaiso.

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There wasn't even any music playing as the newlyweds did a happy dance across the bridge....

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We were even able to turn day into night for this sun flared photo of the bride in silhouette.

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You may have seen the large graffiti wall in the back alleyway of the Main St. shops in downtown Hobart.  A great way to show off the unique wedding shoes of the bride and groom....

Let's close out today's post with a couple of wedding photos taken at Deep River Park in Valparaiso...

I hope you have enjoyed these fun wedding photos with Chris and Candy at the Hobart Lakefront Park.  To keep updated and to see more images, subscribe here to the Journal and give us a "like" on the SBV Photography Facebook page.  

The Shrine of Christ's Passion Wedding Photos

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For Stacey and Steve's Spring wedding we took our formal wedding photos at The Shrine of Christ's Passion in St. John, Indiana.  This internationally known tourist attraction sits just in front of the new St. John the Evangelist Church.  It's a unique location for wedding photos and we were able to give the appearance of a mountainous area as seen in the photo of our bride facing the large duplicate of Jesus' cross.

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One of the couple's favorite wedding photos was this casual stroll amongst the greenery of The Shrine of Christ's Passion walkway.

I knew that Stacey was a big fan of selective color shots from their engagement session the previous year.  The groom instinctively helped his bride hold onto the bouquet of flowers while they embraced closely together.

The wedding party patiently waited for our couple's session to end and we gathered them all around the circular drive of the spectacular new church.

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Here is another one of my favorites with the bride and groom at the bottom of the hilltop with the church illuminated in the background.

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Below is one of my designed wedding images.  This is one I call the Love Story Canvas Wrap.  It's 20x24 sized wall print that wraps around wood and comes with a saw tooth hanger for immediate hanging.  All of our packages are digital, but still nothing beats a spectacular looking wall print.

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Finally we have the wonderful couple waving to all of their family and friends in this vintage looking wedding photo.  To see more of Stacey and Steve's Catholic wedding ceremony, visit this post from a couple of weeks ago.

Beautiful Brides

When you photograph as many weddings as I do, you can get into dangerous territory when you entitle a Journal post "beautiful brides" and leave out some of your clients.  So let me say right away, I don't think there as been anyone that I have found to NOT be a beautiful bride.  However, I don't have the space to have everyone's image here.  Plus, I chose a few of these shots to make some points on photography.  So here goes...

I remember walking with Rebecca at the front entrance of the Marquette Park Pavillion just before her and Jack's entrance to their reception.  I saw the tornado like skies with the dramatic looking clouds and though it would make a great shot with her contemplating her big day and holding her exotic and colorful bouquet of flowers.  It's one of my favorite beautiful bride photos and one that is featured in the banner of this website.

This photo of Megan in black and white with her flowers in color was actually taken during her ceremony in front of the old Crown Point Courthouse in downtown.  Her officiator was quite colorful and I cropped in tight to catch her laughing and to isolate her against the brick.  Again, a beautiful, soft bride against the gritty brick - a great contrast I think.

This bridal photo of Terra was taken just before her ceremony was to begin at her church in Sawyer, Michigan.  I liked that my softbox reflected against the inner metal of the piano and that she looked so calm and relaxed.  I thought it was a bit different and unique, yet very simple for a bridal photo.  She agreed and it is featured large in her wedding album.

Last year, Jackie and Brandon and their wedding party wandered all around Centennial Park in Munster taking formal wedding photos, some casual and some posed.  We were about to finish up and head to Villa Cesare Banquet Hall when one of her bridesmaids suggested the wood paneled backdrop as a cool looking background.  She had a great eye and we seized the idea and turned it into a unique bridal photo.  The giant shadow is my assistant Leslie protecting our bride from the sun with a large diffuser.  Normally I'd hate that any of our gear showed up in a shot, but this made it quite cool looking.  Many people have complimented this one.

I remember Heather being quite nervous just before her outdoor Fall ceremony at the bandshell by Lake George in Hobart, Indiana.  This sassy looking pose was taken outside of her mom's house right before we took off for downtown Hobart.  I could tell she had a lot on her mind, so I just told her to look into the distance and let us capture her awesome looking dress and great figure.

You can't cover a wedding ceremony at Grant Park in Chicago without capturing the smiling bride against the cityscape.  Brittany is dwarfed by the skyscrapers in the background and makes for another nice contrast to her lovely wedding dress.

I remember Elise's bridesmaid asking / telling me to take an "amazing" shot of her and the bride together.  Well, I don't know if this one is "amazing", but the pure joy of the bride, the great pink dresses and the all around fun are all I need.  I've had this one on some of my business cards as it's one of my favorite wedding photos.

Sometimes beauty shows itself during the "getting ready" part of the day.  Krystal's maid of honor is helping with the dress and we got some great natural light coming in from the hotel window for a candid, sexy wedding dress photo.

I remember Stephanie diligently putting on make up by herself when I arrived at Griffith Lutheran Church where she was getting ready for her summer wedding.  I like this one for the pretty smile in the mirror along with the softness of her veil.

Megan's bouquet of flowers with their accent on orange was perfect for her Fall wedding.  We took this in a neighborhood called Ellendale Farms in Crown Point, Indiana. I wanted a soft background to disguise all the homes and to focus on the smiling girl in front of me.  I've used this image as one of my sample wedding prints for quite a awhile now.

I'm looking forward to adding all the 2012 brides to a future beautiful brides post here on the Northwest Indiana Wedding Photographer Journal!!