Spring Wedding At The Allure

May 5, 2015 Steve Vansak

The bride overlooks the majestic ballroom of The Allure in Laporte, Indiana.

The main ballroom of The Allure is simply majestic. When Ivy and Lucious told me their wedding would take place at this premiere wedding venue in downtown Laporte, Indiana, I knew I'd be taking a few wide angle photos such as the one above.

The day started out with our bride Ivy getting ready in the bridal suite on the second floor. Our groom Lucious got a last minute shave from his barber in the downstairs area as we took detail photos all around the venue, including Ivy's three pairs of shoes for the occasion.

The bride shows off her "bride jersey" inside The Allure ballroom.

The wedding dress hangs at the bottom of the staircase at The Allure.

As sun leaked in from above, we did the bride and groom first look using the wonderful staircase at the east end of the ballroom. It was a fun moment as Ivy came down the stairs and Lucious saw her in her dress for the first time. We then went all around the still empty venue taking bride and groom wedding photos as well as wedding party pictures. We were out to capture the elegance and grandness of The Allure as well as do some fun photos.

The bride and groom have their first look at bottom of The Allure staircase.

I knew Ivy would be up for stretching across the balcony like a queen greeting her village of admirers, and she nailed it. I love her expression and how the railing shadows onto her dress.

The bride stretches across the balcony railing at The Allure.

I loved how the ceremony aisle-way was decorated with petals and it just seemed like a natural wedding photo to have our bride and groom take a walk between the tulips.

The bride and groom stroll through the center aisle of The Allure between pink and white petals.

The ceremony room filled with family and friends as the the minister kept things loose. The vows were warm and loving and filled with laughter too. I spotted some future brides in the audience too!! :)

Wedding ceremony photos from The Allure in Laporte, Indiana.

The happy couple entered the ballroom with their son Ivan at their side and kicked off the party. DJ Shaun Kelly rocked the room with music as guests danced and visited the photo booth. The shoe game kept everyone laughing.

The first dance was moody and atmospheric with the purple hue of uplighting and glowing chandeliers in the majestic ballroom.

First dance for the bride and groom at The Allure in Laporte, Indiana.

This is merely a sneak peek look at Ivy and Lucious' Spring Wedding at The Allure with many more images to come. Please stay tuned here and social media listed below for more images to follow. To inquire about your wedding date, please fill out the Contact Form and let's set up a meeting.

Romantic Engagement Photos On The Streets Of Chicago

May 4, 2015 Steve Vansak

A groom to be dips his bride to be on the Dearborn Avenue bridge in Chicago.

Ah, a groom to be who enjoys dipping his soon to be bride!! Now, that's a beautiful thing. I will be sure to remember that come wedding day for Sandra and Andrew.

Our romantic engagement session on the streets of Chicago saw perfect temperatures and had a cast of characters greeting us as we made our way around the city. We saw everything from a singing older gentleman in a wizard looking outfit to a Polish parade to a train full of NFL draft football fanatics. It was a fun and unforgettable day!!

As is tradition in my Chicago Sessions Engagement Package, we started on the South Shore train platform for a romantic photo with the train speeding by. This specialty engagement shoot features everything shot in color with alternate black white versions, for a 1960's style street photography look.

The train speeds by a couple on the train platform for their engagement photo.

Today is only a sneak peek from the weekend's photo shoot, so I will be mostly showcasing the color versions today. As you can see from the collage below, we traveled the city quite a bit and shot natural candid photos in addition to some romantic staged shots near various landmarks such as the Chicago River, Navy Pier ferris wheel and on State Street in front of the Chicago Theater.

A collage of Spring time Chicago engagement photos.

Sandra and Andrew were a bit nervous at the start, but they did great. They naturally interacted with each other like in this shot on Michigan Avenue with the colorful tulips in the foreground. I made sure to get some nice close up portraits of them as well.

Special thanks to Sandra and Andrew for going the extra mile for our epic engagement shoot. I know I was tiring them out a bit. To the point where I'm sure they really enjoyed this fun, laying in the sun shot at the Millennium Park fountain.

A couple relaxes in front of the Millennium Park fountain in Chicago.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek look at Sandra and Andrew's romantic engagement photos on the streets of Chicago. Stay tuned here and on Instagram and Facebook for more images. See the links below!!

Engagement Session In Downtown Crown Point

April 27, 2015 Steve Vansak

Engagement photo in downtown Crown Point.

The sun was radiant for April and Fred's engagement session in downtown Crown Point. We needed it too because the wind was strong and chilly. The idea was to give a hometown flavor to the soon to be married couple's engagement photos along with a Spring time look. I was pleased to capture the rays of the sun sneaking through this blooming tree next to the old courthouse on the Square - both for the look and the warmth it brought!!

We definitely wanted to showcase the Grand Old Lady as the the historic courthouse is named with our happy couple out front as the blue sky reflected off the windows.

Kissing in front of the Old Courthouse in Crown Point.

I felt bad for April as her hair was constantly blowing around from the high winds. Luckily we were shielded a bit from the tall buildings as we strolled around the Square. The bright sun gave us a warm look though and I appreciate these guys putting up with me going through several takes until the wind settled.

Collage of Crown Point engagement photos.

For some of the images, April and Fred simply sat on a bench in one of the courtyards on the square as I fired off candids. I'm not sure what they were discussing, but they had a few laughs as I spied on them from afar.

We then finally made our way to the west side of the Old Courthouse where the late afternoon, orange sun illuminated the tall building.

Engagement photo underneath the American flag in downtown Crown Point.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek look at April and Fred's engagement photo session in downtown Crown Point. Look for more images soon on the Facebook and Instagram feeds listed below.

Think Spring!!

My Top Ten Wedding Detail Photos

April 20, 2015 Steve Vansak

Wedding dress hangs from the balcony at Lowell Methodist Church.

The 2015 wedding season is now underway and I wanted to post about one of my favorite parts of photographing a wedding - the detail shots. I have compiled 10 images that range from dresses to wedding rings to venue shots. These are great to remember the day by and look great inside the wedding album. Sometimes the decor is made by family members who I know love to see their work shown back in pictures. In no particular order...

1. Wedding dress hanging from the balcony (see above).

2. The bride's father carved out these little logs shown below and they acted as table placards for guests and decorated with Fall colors.

Carved out logs as wedding table placards.

Of course, wedding rings are a big part of wedding detail shots. I like to place the rings in unique situations and often mix them with decor that I see at the wedding. I usually do my ring shots at the reception, but there are no hard and fast rules. Being a music fan, I couldn't resist including these two wedding ring photos below.

3. and 4. Rock and roll wedding rings:

Wedding rings sit atop The Beatles album next to the song All You Need Is Love.

Wedding rings hang from a Fender Stratocaster guitar.

5. The groom's handwritten love note.

I'll never forget the excitement of Nikki and her bridesmaids when an unexpected arrival of flowers and a handwritten note arrived on the morning of the wedding.

The groom's handwritten love note to his bride to be.

6. Wide shot of the fully decorated ballroom at The Allure.

You can't photograph at The Allure and not take some images from the vantage point of their balcony. Their wood floor is unique and the ballroom is one of the more sought after wedding venues.

A view of The Allure wedding venue from the balcony.

When the groom kneeled down at the altar I happened to notice the writing on the bottom of his shoes. I didn't want to be intrusive so I zoomed in as far as I could to capture the "me too" writing on the soles. I've always loved this one.

7. The groom's 'me too' wedding shoes.

The groom shows off his 'me too' wedding shoes while kneeling at the altar.

8. Henna decorated hands and Indian jewelry.

I could probably fill this entire post with nothing but Indian weddings. The details are specatular and I had to include these henna decorated hands.

An Indian bride shows off her henna decorated hands as she embraces the groom.

The wedding dress doesn't always need to be hanging to be shown off. Of course, our focus is always on our beautiful bride, but I made sure to have Lindsey turn around to reveal the back of her awesome dress to us.

9. The back of the dress as worn by the bride.

The bride shows off the back of her dress.

10. The Fall decorated wedding cake.

This Fall themed wedding cake has always been one of my favorites. I like the texture within it and the orange leaves surrounding it.

I could go on and on with this post. I never tire of photographing wedding details as there is always something surprising and a unique flavor that different couple's bring to the decor. It ranges from simple to elaborate.

What will your unique identifier be for your detail images? Please fill out the Contact Form to inquire about your wedding date. I'd love to hear about what you have planned.

Here are a few more bonus wedding detail photos. Enjoy!!