Wedding Advice & Photography

Two things we are confident in: Wedding Planning & photography. Van Elk & Co is made up of a team of photographers who love to create portraits of love & happiness and share advice for wedding couples.

This isn't your typical photography blog. We share useful info for couples who are getting married and those who are heading that direction. Let us show you pretty things while you fill your head with all things wedding planning.

January 14, 2021

FILED IN: Weddings

man and woman in wedding attire hold hands and walk along edge of building during their regions tower wedding celebration

The warm glow of the setting sun illuminated the sky at dusk in downtown Indy. Katelyn and Nick, holding hands, walked along the edge of Regions Tower with the setting sun behind them. This was just one of the beautiful moments from this gorgeous wedding day that Hannah and Monette captured, and we loved the […]

September 10, 2020

FILED IN: Engagements

young couple dances in front of blue wall during their downtown indianapolis engagement photos

In downtown Indianapolis there’s a beautiful building across from the Indiana War Memorial that has brilliant blue, pink, and yellow walls. In front of the blue wall, I asked Kara and Nick to dance. Usually couples get together and slow dance when I give this prompt. But Kara and Nick took it up another notch. […]

December 16, 2019

FILED IN: Weddings

bride and groom stand laughing on brick walkway at white river state park

Standing on the brick walkway next to the canal, Adriana and Luke laughed on a warm autumn day. It isn’t common to see the walkway through White River State Park so empty. It felt almost magical, like it had been cleared out just for the two of them. We are so excited to share all […]

November 7, 2019

FILED IN: Engagements

man and woman stand under wine club sign for their Louies Wine Dive engagement portraits

Big tungsten bulbs lit up a sign that read, “Wine Club” on the wall of Louie’s Wine Dive. Standing under the sign, and under a chandelier made of empty wine bottle, Ali and Eric stood with glasses in hand. They were sharing a drink at one of their favorite places in Indianapolis. I had so […]

November 1, 2019

FILED IN: Weddings

bride and groom kiss under trees on mass ave on their VisionLoft Wedding day

Walking down Mass Ave at sunset, Emily and Ryan paused under a cluster of trees. It was a warm fall day, far removed from the crisp, cold that we’re experiencing now in November. Ryan pulled Emily close to him, hugging her. They kissed on Mass Ave while the light of sun popped from inbetween buildings […]

September 3, 2019

FILED IN: Weddings

bride and groom hug at sunset on roof of regions tower during indianapolis wedding photography

The orange light of the setting sun shone through the gaps in the buildings in downtown Indianapolis. The light reflected off the windows of the surrounding buildings and filled the entirety of the evening air with an orange glow. On the deck of the Regions Tower, Molly and Matt hugged. They held each other close, […]

April 9, 2019

FILED IN: Weddings

a bride in a white dress taps a groom in a suit on the shoulder under a bunch of hanging glass lamps in a bar in this mavris wedding photography

Multicolored glass lamps hung from the ceiling of the bar at the Alexander. Under the lamps, and next to the bar, Jonathan waited to see his bride for the first time on their wedding day. He had the biggest smile on his face as he anticipated seeing her. Carly walked up slowly behind him and […]

February 25, 2019

FILED IN: Engagements

Woman in blue dress and man in slacks hold hands in front of brick wall during their war memorial engagement session

In front of a pink, brick wall, Tyler reached out and grasped Hope’s hand! Her blue dress popped against the pink background! Tyler smiled as he held her hand and looked her in the eye. These two were so adorable like this all throughout our shoot! We started at the Indiana War Memorial and hiked […]

February 14, 2019

FILED IN: Engagements

woman in red dress kisses man in suit jacket on cheek during rain on sunny day during downtown indianapolis engagement session

The sky, free of clouds on the drive to downtown, had taken a turn for the worse. Dark clouds seemed to sprout out of nowhere and clog up the sky, blocking out the sun. Usually, that wouldn’t be a big deal, but I was meeting with a couple to do a downtown Indianapolis engagement session. […]

February 7, 2019

FILED IN: Engagements

a woman hugs a man from behind and he turns his head to look at her during their downtown indianapolis engagement photography

The alleyway was deserted. Just a few yards away the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument and the circle surrounding were filled with people. Young people were out zipping around on scooters while tourists took pictures of the monument. This alleyway was a brief respite from all the people downtown, a place where Kyle and Makenzie could […]