Shiny, Happy People - Ali & John's Wedding at Centennial Park in Munster

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We had a humid Fall day at Centennial Park in Munster so the wedding party literally were shiny, happy people in the photo above!!  The happy part comes from the good times that the bride, groom and their friends had that day.  Ali and John had one fun wedding!!

Things began at their home in Highland where I took each bridesmaid out for a formal picture in front of the house and cool sign the groom placed above their door.

Sure, we have the gorgeous bridesmaid above, but we also had a dog of a bridesmaid as well... :)

Sun rays were streaming in as the wedding dress hung in waiting...

Alison's sister Lauren was the MOH and she provided Starbucks coffee to the bunch as well as helped the bride get her garter in place...

I arrived at Our Lady of Grace Church in Highland ahead of the girls where I immediately began taking formal shots of the groomsmen....

The groom was all smiles while waiting for the Catholic ceremony to begin...

Our Lady of Grace Church is quite a large and beautiful ceremony site.  I was able to capture very wide shots as well as close ups like the exchanging of the rings.

A classic wedding photo effect with the bridesmaids in black and white and their flowers in color.

I like to do a collage for every aspect of the wedding day.  Here is the ceremony montage I came up with for John and Alison...

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Another collage combines a magnet I found on the bride's refrigerator along with make up containers and the bride and groom on the bridege overlooking the Centennial Park waterfront and a formal from inside the church.

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More of the shiny, happy people theme as the newlyweds grin ear to ear while walking amongst their guests blowing bubbles...

While awaiting for cocktails to begin at the Centennial Park clubhouse in Munster, the bride and groom took a stroll over to the waterfront bridge for a kiss and of course, a photo opportunity.

The bridesmaids let out a cheer...

Soon John and ali were ready to cut their (delicious) cake with all their friends looking on...

Okay, you can kiss her again...

Soon enough it was time for dancing, with the bride taking her dress for a spin...

The party started right away, no warming up for these folks...

Alison takes a look to see if her bouquet toss is going to hit it's intended target...

Please visit Ali and John's gallery page for all the images from their wedding day.  Many more fun photos to live up to the headline of this post.

Jackie and Brandon: Sneak Peek of Wedding at St. Michael's Church

The Fall wedding season is in full swing and today I bring you Jackie and Brandon!!  Don't worry, these guys are of legal age to marry and consume the bottle of wine that their photograph is labeled on.  These guys had a gorgeous September Fall day for their wedding.  We started out at Jackie's parent's home and Navii salon in Schererville and then proceeded to St. Michael's for the ceremony and finally to Villa Cesare for the reception. In between we made it to Centennial Park in Munster for some formal and fun shots of the wedding party.

Here is a sneak peek with more images to come soon...

The four seasons room was a perfect place for hair and make up.  Looks like everybody but one got the flannel shirt memo!!

Jackie actually got her dress on before her mom and her bridesmaids which was great because my assistant Leslie and I were able to take some solo shots of the bride in front of her childhood home before we got the other family members outside...

I think we have a new game show host in the making.  Introducing the bridesmaids....

Just before the ceremony at St. Michael's was to begin, we got the groomsmen outside for some fun shots in front of the church...

Soon it was time for the bride and groom to take their vows at the catholic ceremony.

Jackie and Brandon pray beneath the Virgin Mary at St. Michael's church...

The reception at Villa Cesare could not have been more elegant and fun.  The former illustrated by the happy couple enjoying their first dance and the latter demonstated by the father of the bride during the chicken dance...

This afternoon I'm off to shoot Linda and Tom's wedding at White Hawk in Crown Point.  More from Jackie and Brandon's Fall wedding coming soon.  In the meantime, take a look at their engagement pictures at Coffee Creek Park in Chesterton.

Ali and John: Sneak Peek of their Fall Wedding in Highland, Indiana

Sometimes I will begin a post here about the "happy couple" and it almost becomes routine.  Alison and John are anything but routine.  They truly are a HAPPY COUPLE!!  I chose to show the simple shot above in their sneak peek because I think it really is about them.  Knowing them for a short time, I can really see how much they love each other.  Not only does Alison look beautiful, her eyes say how happy she is to have this day with John.  Throughout their wedding day, the groom was just ecstatic to be marrying Alison.  You can see it in his face from the above shot taken at Our Lady of Grace church in Highland, Indiana.

I hope to showcase more of their Fall wedding very soon.  September is the new June here at Region Weddings!!  A very busy wedding season indeed.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the couple's home for the Getting Ready session was this cool sign hanging up above their door.

Inside was a flurry of activity with hair stylists and make up artists taking care of the girls.  Always time for a few laughs with the flower girl...

Alison's Maid of Honor was her sister Lauren.  Here she helps out with the veil just before leaving for the church.  They both look gorgeous and ready for the ceremony to begin.

After each transformation from fun girlfriend to super human bridesmaid was complete, we shuffled out side for some solo shots in front of the landscaped greenery of the couple's home.

The catholic ceremony took place at Our Lady of Grace church.  It's a large church with colorful stained glass windows (see first image above) and a very high ceiling - great for some dramatic ceremony images.

Congratulations, you may now kiss the bride...

The reception site and our place for fun group photos was Centennial Park in Munster, Indiana.  Here we have all the women pile into a parked golf cart with the bride in the driver's seat.

It was a bright, sunny and humid Fall day as we had the newly married couple walk the picturesque park...

Soon the lights were dimmed and it was time for first dances.  Once again, you can see the happiness written all over their faces...

The wedding party was not to be left behind and this bunch knew how to have a good time...

Later in the night a couple takes a break from dancing for some alone time....

Many more dancing photos to come from Alison and John's Fall wedding.  Stay tuned her on this Journal and the SBV Photography Facebook page.

Receptions: First Dance, Bouquet Toss, Cake Cutting and More

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The above wedding reception collage has much of what is covered during the big party - first dance, cake cutting, decorations, etc.  My assistant and I try to be as unattrusive as possible and just let the celebration take place.  I might get up and close during crazy group dances to capture the action, but for the most part we treat this part of the wedding with mostly candids.

I don't care to take photographs of people eating so we will usually do some detail shots at this time or an over view of the hall type of shot.  The image below is from a Michigan wedding and the hall had a balcony that overlooked the party.

The introductions are covered from the elegant walk outs to this silly one from The Patrician Banquet Hall in Schererville, Indiana.

As dinner winds down, we usually look for candid photos such as this grandfather having a loving moment with his grandaughter...

Let's not leave grandma out...

The cake cutting is a long time tradition.  I usually get asked during the moment by the couple how to cut it. Just take the knife together and cut a small piece off and then feed each other.  I know, tough to do with when you're at Avalon Manor with a large crowd watching...

It's up to you how silly you want to get with the cake.  This couple had a good time getting cake on their faces during their reception in Hammond.

Speeches from the wedding party can be touching and / or funny and sometimes a little of both.

We use very minimal lighting during the first dances.  This shot of the groom spinning the bride did not use flash at all and gave us a nice blur on the wedding dress.

This next one is from Marquette Park Pavillion and was given a vintage brown tone effect...

Father and daughter chat on the dance floor at this Crown Point wedding reception...

If you have entertainers at your party that are involved with the festivities, I will surely capture them as part of your wedding day.  One of my favorite photos are these acapella singers from a celebration at The Patio in Merrillville.

It was a packed room in the Celebrity Ballroom at the Radisson for this Indian wedding...

How to properly toss a bouquet of flowers?  Well, it may seem silly to make these points, but trust me I've seen some go awry!!  

• Make sure the single girls are a good distance behind you and are in place
• Look for overhead obstructions - ceiling fans chopping up your bouquet = a big mess  :)

How to properly remove the garter?  I've got nothing guys, sorry.  :)

Some of these guys line up for this garter toss look a little young to be the next ones getting married!!

When the music really starts thumping, I will be there to capture the action on the dance floor along with more candid moments as the guests interact...

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The bridesmaids dancing at a Masquerade Ball at this reception in Gary, Indiana...

When the bride and her maid of honor take a break and start goofing off with the ring bearer, time to abandon shots from the dance floor...

When you open up your wedding album 20 years from now, the reception shots at the end of the photo book will hopefully showcase the fun time that was had by all.  The wedding day may be a long one, but at the same time it passes by very quickly.  Make sure you pause to enjoy yourself.  After all, the party is in you honor!!