Weddings tend to slow down a bit here in the Midwest in the middle of the winter… something to do with lack of sunshine and unpredictable weather, but we can often count on a couple wanting to define New Year’s Eve as their own special holiday that they’ll have an excuse to celebrate and embark on another new year, every year. This year (or last, I guess), Jacqueline and Jon, asked us to be part of their New Year’s Eve wedding celebration at the Aberdeen Manor in Valparaiso, Indiana. For those of you who may not be familiar with the time zone situation in Indiana, they have this whole bizarre time zone thing where parts of the state are on Eastern Time and other parts are on Central Time. Valpo, being relatively close to Chicago, follows Central Time. This means that Jami and I got to have our own toast to 2011 a full hour before the rest of the wedding guests, being that we’re both from Michigan which, of course, observes Eastern Time.
Photographing winter weddings can be a bit more challenging due to the weather and lack of daylight at our latitude. You can read some tips for winter wedding photography in my November article at Shore Bride Magazine Online. For Jacqueline and Jon, we knew ahead of time that there probably would not be an opportunity to visit outdoor locations outside of the venue, so the photos really had to be about immersing the newlyweds in the event itself. The couple selected a fantastic hotel close to the ceremony and reception site to get ready. Upon arrival, I was pleasantly surprised by the chic, urban decor and we reorganized the photo itinerary a bit in order to take full advantage of the hotel’s aesthetics.
The reception was fantastic, and the layered lighting offered by the reception room itself as well as supplemental event lighting made for some great photo opportunities. It was a New Year’s Eve in Northwest Indiana not to be forgotten.
It’s probably worth mentioning that the happy couple concluded their celebration by returning to their home in Hawaii where I’m sure they will stay toasty warm and sun-kissed for the remainder of the winter.
