Spring Wedding at The Patrician Banquet Center

April 28, 2014 Steve Vansak

Bride and groom inside the gazebo at The Patrician Banquet Hall.

Andee and Mike had a wonderfully green colored Spring wedding at The Patrician Banquet Hall in Schererville, Indiana. In typical Midwest fashion the temperatures got chilly but not enough to prevent us from some outdoor images near the gazebo. The sun was shining bright and hearts were warm.

Our day started with getting ready at the bride and groom's home with non stop laughter from Andee and her bridesmaids. Her two sisters were in the wedding party with close friends on hair and make up. Add in a bit of hermosa and all was well.

The bride shares a laugh with her sisters and bridesmaids on wedding day.

Andee's sisters were there for her thoughout the day and their card to her was a wonderfully nice touch...

The ceremony was held indoors at The Patrician and was filled with family and friends with lot's of love and laughter throughout.

The groom places the ring on his bride's finger at an indoor ceremony at The Patrician.

Sun streams in during an indoor wedding ceremony at The Patrician Banquet Hall.

Andee and her two sisters paid tribute to their mom by posing with her photo in a frame as well as some mementos. She had passed away just a month ago but was in the room in spirit. It's moments like these where I'm reminded of how important photographs are in people's lives.

The bride and her sisters pay tribute to their mother.

When family photos were complete, I took the bride and groom outside for some photographs at the gazebo behind The Patrician. Soon it was dinner time with dancing and fun to follow.

The bride and groom gaze at each other in front of the gazebo after their Spring wedding.

Before the party started (and trust me - it was a party), the night began with some wonderful speeches from the maid of honor and best man as the bright sun shone upon the head table.

A speech from the maid of honor before dinner at The Patrician.

A kiss at the reception after cutting of the cake.

After first dances on the darkened ballroom floor, the night kicked into high gear with beer pong.

The bride and groom share a laugh during their first dance.

Father and daughter dance in the spotlight.

Grandma tries her hand at a little beer pong.

The crowd came ready to party!! I can report that all miraculously and successfully rose up from the dance floor after this shot...

The groom proves he's ready to work hard during the dollar dance and earn his money...

Andee loves her green and she loves her frogs. We combined them all for a fun ring shot...

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek of Andee and Mike's Spring wedding at The Patrician in Schererville. Many more images to come, especially from the reception where the fun moments just kept coming one after the other. Good times....

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The groom lifts his bride triumphantly into the air at their wedding reception at The Patrician.

Romantic and Dramatic Black and White Wedding Photos

April 21, 2014 Steve Vansak

A dramatic sky overlooks the newlyweds as they embrace at Willow Harbor Vineyard in Three Oaks, Michigan.

I'm primarily known for the color in my wedding photos as clients tell me this all of the time. The majority of photographs I deliver to my clients are in color. However, black and white can be equally, if not more effective for certain images. For Kelly and Mat's wedding at Willow Harbor Vineyard in Michigan, the sense of drama of the overhead clouds lurking above the bride and groom was better served in black and white. The color version is very striking, but the romance brought out be eliminating the color and adding texture seemed to blend perfectly with the head to head embrace of the newlyweds.

A bride looks out the window of her parent's home just before leaving for her wedding in this sepia toned wedding photo.

The Getting Ready portion of the day is especially well served by black and white and sepia toned images. Jewelry especially can look very old world and make great additions to the wedding album.

The bride's bracelet shown in a sepia toned wedding photo.

The bride looks off in the distance surrounded by Illinois farmland.

Rural landscape scenes can look especially good in black and white. Whenever I decide to take away color in an image I never just simply desaturate for a boring, flat looking photograph. Every element of a black and white photograph has a color within it that can be brightened or darkened as well as texture and sharpening added.

The groomsmen in dark suits are especially good candidates for a high contrast image.

Groomsmen walk along the open farmland in Valparaiso, Indiana.

When I photographed Stacey and Steve's wedding at the old St. John the Evangelist Church in St. John, Indiana certain moments were perfect to bring out the vintage look and feel of black and white. The same thing as they waved from the limo as they exited the the church.

The groom helps the bride up from kneeling during their wedding ceremony at St. John the Evangelist Church.

Bride and groom wave from the limo as they exit their church in St. John, Indiana.

As I was photographing a summer wedding at Centennial Park last year, I wanted the shots we took on the golf course area to not look like a golf course. Don't get me wrong, for some playful shots we accented the golfing and those were great fun, but for the following image I wanted an "edge of the world" look and feel to it. This was best done in black and white. It feels like they are somewhere in a land unto themselves and certainly not a block off of busy Calumet Avenue.

The groom is about to kiss his new bride in this romantic black and white wedding photo.

A little brown tone for Fall is especially nice...

The groom dips his bride in front of Our Lady of Grace Church in Highland, Indiana.

I don't offer any all black and white weddings although I'm open to the idea. However, I do offer The Chicago Sessions for engagement photos. Take a look at that if you are intrigued by an engagement session that has the look and feel of vintage street photography.

I'll leave you with two more black and white images to end today's post. The first is the beautiful Amanda done in an old world sepia tone with dark vignette and a fun one of the entire wedding party taking over the street in Three Oaks, Michigan. I hope you have enjoyed today's look at romantic black and white wedding photographs. I will be sure to post more in the weeks and months ahead as wedding season starts in earnest.

A sepia toned portrait of a bride on her wedding day.

The wedding party takes over the streets in Three Oaks, Michigan.

When and How To Book Your Wedding Photographer

April 14, 2014 Steve Vansak

A happy wedding party whoops it up on the bridge at Deep River County Park.

I wish I had a one size all answer to the question of when one should book their wedding photographer. I have a few openings for 2014, but at the same time, next year is booking fast. My general answer is that if you love the work that I do here I believe you should fill out the Contact Form right away and inquire about your date. I've had to turn away at least a dozen inquiries for 9/27 alone and June 14th has been off the charts too. If I have your wedding day open I will want to schedule a meeting with you so I can show you my work in person, hear all about your the day you have planned and have us get to know each other.

Here is an outline of how things usually work:

Determine your date and your venue.
Find a photographer that you love and find out if your date is available.
If your date is booked I will gladly help you find someone who is a qualified professional. I strongly urge you not to go with a family friend or Facebook photographer.
Ask lots of questions at our meeting. Do not be shy about being skeptical and please do ask to see an entire wedding that I have shot.
A signed contract + deposit will secure your date. This can be done with a variety of payment methods in person as well as online.
Stay in touch. I will add you to my mailing list not to spam you, but to help you stay in the loop as to what I am up to.
We will have a chance to touch base at your engagement session and once again at a pre-wedding meeting to go over the timeline of your day.

I don't have an online calendar here as it is a lot to maintain and they sometimes don't sync correctly, etc. I can tell you that most of 2014 is gone. I do have a large gap in July. If you are still in need for that month, please contact me now. There are two dates available in August, two in October and two in November.

2015: I have 8 weddings booked already with most of June already gone. The Fall months are usually next to go. Right now the bookings are spread out for 2015. Let's set up a meeting soon so you can make a sound decision and secure your date.

I'm all fired up for warm weather and lots of wedding and engagement photography. The season has already begun and it's only going to get busier. I look forward to meeting you soon.

A newly married couple kiss in front of the gazebo at Ellendale Farms in Crown Point, Indiana.

Spring Wedding at The Dream Palace in Lynwood, Illinois

April 7, 2014 Steve Vansak

The bride and groom during their first dance at The Dream Palace in Lynwood, Illinois.

Melissa and Anthony were married this past weekend at The Dream Palace in Illinois. Our day started at the home of Melissa's parents in Beecher, Illinois. If I could pick a few words and phrases to describe their day they would be "pink", "emotion", "friendship", "firefighters", "Converse All Stars", "real" and just plain fun. Let's see what I'm talking about...

The bride's shoes are pink Converse All Star sneakers decorated with her wedding jewelry.

Melissa is a self described "laid back bride" and I agree. She was so great to work with as were her bridesmaids. They welcomed me into their hair and make up area and let me bump elbows with them to get my shots. I really appreciate that. Everyone was super casual, but I could tell there were some great friendships in the room and that these emotions were going to show throughout the day and I needed to be ready to capture them.

Pink wedding flowers get delivered at the home of the bride.

The wedding dress awaits the bride as it hangs in front of a window.

Everything was all laughs until it came time for our lovely bride to get into her dress. It was at this moment that the significance of the day really sunk in and the bride and her maid of honor were overtaken with happy tears. The beautiful window light illuminated the veil as tears turned to more laughter and then back again.

The bride wipes away tears in an emotional moment while getting ready for her wedding.

The maid of honor and great friend of the bride chokes back happy tears.

An emotional moment for the bride on wedding day.

After Melissa put on her sassy pink All Star Sneakers, we took a few shots overlooking the vast Illinois farm land.

An outdoor wedding portrait of a bride before her Spring wedding holding her pink bouquet of flowers.

The bridesmaids show off their pink Converse All Stars.

Our next stop was to meet the firefighter groom and his fireman posse of groomsmen. We took shots inside and outside the Lynwood station and then we were off to The Dream Palace for the ceremony and reception.

A group of fireman on their friends wedding day in front of a fire truck at the Lynwood station.

Melissa was simply giddy as she walked down the aisle with her Dad as Anthony smiled when she approached.

A father gives away the bride during a ceremony at The Dream Palace in Lynwood, Illinois.

The groom reacts as he sees his bride for the first time.

Melissa and Anthony did a traditional pouring of the sand with a unique twist by using a picture frame as the destination.

The bride and groom pour sand into a picture frame during their wedding ceremony.

After the ceremony, my assistant and I immediately took family photos, wedding party photos as well as couples shots. We also took detail shots of the decorated hall and then it was party time.

The newly married couple gaze into each other's eyes after being pronounced husband and wife.

I love to capture real emotion and I found this throughout the day and once again during the reception at Dream Palace. The love shown throughout the first dances with parents was just wonderful. I hope you enjoy viewing these series of images as much as I had photographing them.

The bride tears up during the first dance with her Father.

Father and daughter hug emotionally at a wedding reception at The Dream Palace.

Mom give her son the groom a kiss on the dance floor at his wedding reception.

I hope you enjoyed this sneak peak of photographs from Melissa and Anthony's Spring wedding at The Dream Palace in Lynwood, Illinois. Please stay tuned here or visit the Region Weddings Facebook page for more updates.