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.

August 11, 2022

FILED IN: Weddings

Sarah and Jeffrey wanted to make sure they got some photos of Sarah at the Bottleworks Hotel, where she was getting ready. So, the first thing we did the morning of the wedding was we took Sarah out to do some portraits. Bottleworks is absolutely gorgeous and made for a lovely backdrop. After a few […]

July 27, 2020

bride and groom hold hands and look at each other in garden at newfields on wedding day

Bryana & DJ are celebrating their 1 year anniversary! I cannot believe how fast that year went. We are so excited to celebrate with them today. They sent in advice for couples planning that is a must-read. Their wedding was one of our favorites, and I’m sure you can tell by the photos it was […]

February 3, 2020

FILED IN: Engagements

Can anyone believe we are already into month 2 of 2020! How is this possible? I’ve been going through galleries of 2019 the past few days and I can’t tell you how hard it was to narrow it down to a reasonable amount. We just adore our couples and everything they do is just photo […]

November 4, 2019

FILED IN: Engagements

man and woman sit on rock at sunset during their IMA engagement session

A large rock sat on the ground under a canopy of tree leaves. The underbrush had been cleared out and grass had been planted, causing a quasi clearing in the grounds at Newfields. Emily and David sat on the rock with the sun setting behind. The sun’s rays cut through the trees and leaves, illuminating […]

August 9, 2019

FILED IN: Portraits

a large family stands posed under a terrace during their Newfields family photos

The Johnson parents surrounded themselves with their children and their spouses for this fun family shoot! I love it when I get to meet families this large (five kids and 4 spouses) and see everyone loving on each other! We did a lot of photos around the Lilly House at Newfields during this shoot and […]

August 8, 2019

FILED IN: Portraits

a boy kisses his younger brother on the cheek while hugging on slide art during their ndianapolis family photography session

The other day I had the opportunity to walk around the Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres with the Hoover family! The Hoovers are friends from college and it was great to get to reconnect with them and capture some adorable moments! My favorite moment was when their two boys were sitting […]

July 29, 2019

FILED IN: Weddings

bride rests head on groom's shoulder under white, wooden, lattice archway at their IMA wedding at Newfields

The setting sun backlit the white, lattice archway. Green leaves from the surrounding plants grew up and wove through the wood. Standing underneath the archway, Danielle rested her head on Alex’s shoulder. Alex turned his head toward her, smiling. This was just one of the many amazing moments we were lucky enough to capture at […]

February 21, 2019

FILED IN: Engagements

A man and woman hold hands and look over their shoulders through some tree branches at this IMA Engagement Shoot

The leaves of the tree were pale in the light of the setting sun. Underneath the leaves, Candace and Bryon stood holding hands. They looked back over their shoulders, through some branches that were hanging low. They both smiled. This was just one of the many great moments we had during their IMA engagement shoot! […]

January 31, 2019

FILED IN: Engagements

A man and woman in nice clothes kiss in the middle of some trees during their Newfields Engagement session

The light of the sun crept down through the leaves of the deciduous trees at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. In a copse of trees, Alli and James stood backlit by the fading, silver light. James had one hand on Alli’s waist, his arm squeezing her close in a side hug. The other was down […]

January 24, 2019

FILED IN: Engagements

A few of our favorite photos of 2018 couple sessions are below, but what’s exciting is that you’ll be seeing so many of these wonderful faces on our blog again this year! We had one of the biggest early booking years to date, and have made so many new friends because of it. I enjoyed […]