Military Wedding at St. Mary's Church in Griffith, Indiana

October 1, 2013 Steve Vansak

A newly married couple dips as the Air Force Honor Guard salutes them with sabers.

When Catherine and her mom had a meeting with me to fill me in on all the details of her military wedding to Matt, I knew we would be getting some unique wedding photos. From the Air Force Honor Guard awaiting the happy couple outside St. Mary's Church in Griffith to all of the silly, fun shots and dramatic bride and groom images we took at Oak Ridge Prairie County Park this Fall wedding certainly lived up to expectations. By the way, please don't smart off to the bride or she will crush you with her, blue opened toed wedding shoes. Got that groomsmen!! :)

A bride and groom embrace in a dramatic looking wedding photo at Oak Ridge Prairie County Park in Griffith, Indiana.

The groomsmen pretend to get crushed by a gigantic bridal shoe in this fun wedding photo.

It was a gorgeous day for a Fall wedding which started off at Studio 4 in downtown Griffith. I played roving reporter as the bridesmaids got their hair and make up done. We also had fun doing some retro, old school photos using the washing station and hair dryers as props.

A retro looking, Instagram like getting ready wedding photo under hair dryers at a hair salon.

The bride and her bridesmaids gather around the washing station at Studio 4 hair salon in this fun, retro styled wedding photo.

Catherine had some great wedding photo ideas of her own such as having the rings tucked into the back of her wedding dress and having a first look for her bridesmaids at the Hampton Inn Hotel in Schererville.

Wedding rings tucked into the lacing of the bride's dress.

The bridesmaids are filled with excitement as they anticipate their first look of the bride in her wedding dress.

Catherine's mom helped lace up her dress and stopped for a nice portrait with her daughter. Soon it would be time to drive to St. Mary's Church for the first look with her soon to be husband Matt and of course, the ceremony itself.

Mom helps lace up the bride's wedding dress.

The mother of the bride poses with her daughter for a portrait just before the wedding ceremony.

Catherine and Matt chose the sun drenched fountain area on the side of St. Mary's Church for their first look. It was an exciting moment as they turned to see each other.

An air force soldier turns to greet his bride for their first look at St. Mary's church just before their military wedding.

A tender moment between a soldier and his bride just before their Fall wedding ceremony.

St. Mary's is located in the heart of Griffith on Broad Street and the scene of many wonderful weddings that I have shot. It had been 2 years since I last photographed there and it was great to be back for this wonderful gathering of friends and family of Catherine and Matt.

A military wedding ceremony takes place at St. Mary's Church in Griffith, Indiana.

The bride's father walks her down the aisle at St. Mary Church in Griffith.

It was quite apparent that the emotion from the father and daughter first look that occurred earlier at the hotel would carry on here at the ceremony as well as throughout the day. It was great to see this familial love on display. it warmed my heart to be able to capture it in photos.

The bride's father gives her away at the altar during a church wedding ceremony.

The bride prays at the statue of Mother Mary.

When Matt and Catherine were pronounced married, they had an extra long kiss at the altar as all looked on.

The first kiss at a Catholic wedding ceremony at St. Mary's Church.

The bride and groom celebrate by raising their arms after being pronounced man and wife.

We took family photos immediately after the ceremony and then we took advantage of the gorgeous Fall day to everything from beautiful bride and groom photos to fun wedding party pictures. One of Catherine's request was this selective color shot from the back of the church.

The groom dips his bride at the back of the church in this gold toned wedding photo.

The bridesmaids huddle up together within a heart.

In this fun wedding photo, the girls emulate the Bridesmaids movie poster by looking disheveled and mugging for the camera.

Most of our outdoor wedding photos were taken at Oak Ridge Prairie County Park where we had clear skies and the occasional gust of wind. Perfect for a dramatic bride and groom wedding portrait with veil blowing into the air.

A soldier dips his bride and the wind makes her veil float behind her in this wedding photo taken at Oak Ridge Prairie County Park in Griffith.

The wedding party poses in front of the large sled hill at Oak Ridge Prairie County Park in Indiana.

Soon we were off to the reception at the Halls of St. George in Schererville, Indiana. Once again, the emotion of the day got the best of the bride and her father as they danced their father daughter dance.

An emotional father and daughter dance at the Halls of St. George in Schererville, Indiana.

The bride and her father smile on the dance floor at her wedding.

The seemingly mild mannered groom and his mother took us all by surprise when they went from slow dancing to rocking out to AC/DC.

The groom and his mother smile on the dance floor at the Halls of St. George.

A candid wedding photo of the groom and his mom wear sunglasses as they dance together at his wedding reception.

The groom and his mom play air guitar on the dance floor during his wedding reception.

A whole slew of fun moments broke out at the reception at the Halls of St. George such as this sorority sister dance with the bride.

Sorority sisters surround the bride on the dance floor at her wedding.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek at Catherine and Matt's military wedding at St. Mary's in Griffith, Indiana. For more photo updates, please stay tuned here and give the Region Weddings Facebook page a like.

Romantic Engagement Photos in Downtown Chicago

September 27, 2013 Steve Vansak

An engaged couple takes a romantic dip on the streets of Chicago.

If you follow this Journal, you may recognize the following image. It is the signature opening shot of the Chicago Session, my romantic engagement package of a day in the windy city. This is the session in which I meet my couples at the train station and we shoot on the train and of course all around the city. I then take the color images and turn them all into black and white and make them look like old film shots from the 1960's and 1970's. This post is merely a sneak peek with many more images (including the black and whites) to come. For now, we will mostly show the color images. To view more of these types of sessions, go here.

A couple in love huddle up on the train platform in East Chicago.

Kate and Greg were a bit nervous when they arrived at the train station in East Chicago. I can't say I blame them as I'm sure they thought of walking around the city with a camera and lighting on them would attract attention and they'd rather be anonymous. However, natives of Chicago are used to all kinds of activity and they paid us little attention. Soon they were doing romantic dips in the street as well as casually hanging out for candid moments to be captured.

A close up photo of an engaged couple holding hands on the train.

A candid moment between a romantic couple in a garden area in Chicago.

A couple in love share a romantic kiss on a park bench in Chicago during their engagement photo session.

I love going into this city for these engagement sessions. Using the buildings as our backdrop can make for some wonderfully dramatic images. I also love the character of the city and how we can wander just a few feet and have 12 different photo ideas. It's also nice to just have my clients take a rest while I spy on them from a distance making images.

A couple sits at the edge of a flower garden with the tall buildings of Chicago in the background.

An engaged couple overlooks the Chicago River during their engagement session.

Please stay tuned here and on the Region Weddings Facebook Page for more updates on Kate and Greg's romantic engagement photos in downtown Chicago. Once all the black and white images are ready with all of their film textures, etc. I will be sure to post a followup.

A loving smiles at the camera with beautiful red and pink flowers in the background.

Fall Wedding at Centennial Park in Munster, Indiana

September 23, 2013 Steve Vansak

The bride and groom are illuminated by Fall colors and a dramatic sky at Centennial Park in Munster, Indiana.

Put together some Fall colors and cool temperatures + two great families with a little bit of football rivalry courtesy of the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers and you have the wedding of Steve and Ashley at Centennial Park in Munster, Indiana.

The bridesmaids hold up Chicago Bears football jerseys at a wedding in Centennial Park.

Groomsmen pose in football jerseys for a wedding photograph.

The day started out at the Aunt of the bride's home in Highland for a fun getting ready session with a lot of laughs and an occasionally anxious bride who was very excited by the perfect temperatures for her Fall outdoor wedding.

The bride tends to last minute details on the phone while her bridesmaids have fun as they get their hair done on wedding day.

The lacings of a stunning white wedding dress.

Back at the Centennial Park clubhouse, the mom and sister of the bride worked feverishly on getting everything just right for Ashley's dress just before we stepped outside for photos.

Mom and sister lace up the bride's wedding dress.

In the meantime, the groomsmen got a little bit of football practice in before their quarterback had to rehearse his vows.

The groom instructs his groomsmen in a football huddle.

The great thing about the vastness of Centennial Park is that it wasn't too difficult to keep the bride and groom separate and get a whole lot of pictures in before they saw each other at the ceremony.

Here is our lovely bride in front of the fountains at the Centennial Park lake and hugging her mom out on the terrace.

A lovely bride hold her bouquet of flowers in front of the picturesque water fountains at Centennial Park.

A bride and her mother on the outdoor terrace at Centennial Park.

The outdoor Fall ceremony had a flurry of activity before the bride walked down the aisle under her Dad's arm. Even the ring bearers had to take a little break before their big moment in front of friends and family.

Ring bearers take a break on a bench at an outdoor Fall wedding ceremony.

Mom helps her daughter, the flower girl with some last minute touch ups of her lipstick.

Ashley was simply beaming with joy as she walked down the aisle with her Father and Steve was filled with emotion as she approached.

A bride is overcome with joy as she walks down the aisle with her father at an outdoor autumn wedding ceremony.

An emotional groom begins to tear up as the bride's Father give her away.

Centennial Park is simply an amazing wedding venue in Northwest Indiana for an outdoor wedding, especially during the Fall.

Friends and family look on as the arch is decorated in Fall colors at an outdoor wedding at Centennial Park.

Family of the bride and groom were filled with pride as they watched the proceedings and listened to the exchange of vows.

Family of the groom watch as their son and brother gets married in a Fall wedding ceremony.

Family of the bride watch as their daughter gets married in a Fall wedding ceremony.

The traidtional sand ceremony symbolizing a couple coming together as one.

I had an amazing time wandering around the park and capturing candid moments of the newly married couple enjoying their first times togetherFall as man and wife.

A wonderful candid moment between the newly married bride and groom as they talk and laugh on a bench in a Northwest Indiana park.

For the first time ever, the father of the bride was actually booed during his speech. Mmmmm..... I wonder why?!!!

The father of the bride wears a Green Bay Packers cheesehead hat while toasting the ride and groom at their wedding reception.

The room was aglow in Fall colors during the first dance...

Centennial Park clubhouse is aglow in Fall colors during the first dance at a wedding reception during the Autumn months.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek look at Ashley and Steve's Fall wedding at Centennial Park in Munster, indiana. For more football scores and wedding photo updates, please give the Region Weddings Facebook Page a like. Much more to come.

Chicago Skyline Engagement Photos

September 12, 2013 Steve Vansak

A soldier and his fiancé embrace in front of the Chicago Skyline at night for their engagement photo.

Alicia and Kyle chose the Chicago Sessions Engagement Package and we could not have had a more pleasant day and evening in the Windy City. Our day started in Northwest Indiana where we met at the South Shore train station and took the signature shot of the train arriving to whisk our happy couple away for their photographic adventure.

For this particular engagement session, the idea is to take cinematic images around various areas of Chicago in glorious color and then turn them into black and white images that look like old film. The color versions are always available and even sometimes preferred, such as the image above with our couple embracing in front of the lit up Chicago skyline. This was taking during the famous "blue hour" after night falls.

A soldier and his fiancé gaze at each other on the train platform as it arrives to take them to Chicago for engagement photos.

Once the train arrived, I hopped on with Alicia and Kyle and "spied" on them from across the aisle as we made our way to the city.

An engaged couple holds hands on the train as they make their way to Chicago.

One of the "must have" locations on our itinerary was the Chicago River where Kyle proposed to Alicia on a chilly New Years Eve with her family looking on from the surrounding bridges. We reenacted this wonderful moment as I stayed out of the way and let the emotion come forth.

A soldier proposes to his fiance at the Chicago River.

A bride to be embraces her fiancé in an emotional re-enactment of his marriage proposal at the Chicago River.

While the Chicago Sessions are supposed to capture a day in the windy city with the great cityscapes as our backdrop, I do like to take a few close up portraits of my couples to have for themselves and family.

Portrait of a bride to be and her fiancé in front of a beautiful bed of flowers.

Just before dusk we took a taxi to the Adler Planetarium terrace for images with the Chicago Skyline as our backdrop. We awaited night to come and the city lights to turn on.

The Chicago skyline fills the background for an engagement photo from the Adler Planetarium terrace.

Once night fall was fully upon us, it was back downtown to use the ambiance of the city at night for some unique after dark engagement photos of Alicia and her favorite soldier.

A soldier and his girl take in Chicago city life at night for their engagement photos.

A couple sit in the center median of Michigan Avenue at  night with car lights surrounding them. — A couple sit in the center median of Michigan Avenue at night with car lights surrounding them.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek look at Alicia and Kyle's Chicago Session engagement photos. Many more images, including the entire black and white set to come. For more updates, stay tuned here and like the Region Weddings Facebook Page.