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.

September 29, 2022

FILED IN: Weddings

bride and groom dance under a ton of stringlights during their mavris reception

String lights and chandeliers provided mood lighting as the guests took their seats at the Mavris. Then, from the stairwell, Maggie and Tyler entered the reception space to massive applause from their friends and family. Immediately after they entered the space, music swelled and they danced their first dance in the middle of the tables […]

August 9, 2022

FILED IN: Weddings

a bride and groom eat hot dogs from a hot dog cart before their scottish rite cathedral wedding

A hot dog stand stood in the middle of White River State Park, next to the canal. When Ali and Eric saw the stand, Ali immediately asked if we had time to get hot dogs. For the bride, of course. We loved the spontaneity and also we just love when couples do something they enjoy […]

July 20, 2021

FILED IN: Engagements

couple silhouetted and dancing at sunset during their coxhall gardens engagement session

The light of the setting sun filled the sky with oranges and yellows and blues. The color faded from one end of the spectrum to the other making dusk seem magical and full of wonder. The pond at the park lay still and peaceful, like mirror reflecting the beauty of the sunset up above. In […]

July 17, 2021

FILED IN: Weddings

fairy lights wrapped around the bride and groom at their bluffs wedding at conner prairie

In the middle of a dark road through the woods, a little bit of moonlight broke through the tree leaves. On the road, wrapped in fairy lights were Kelsey and Kevin. Embracing and looking deep into each other’s eyes, it was a magical moment to behold. Of course, we had to use a flash behind […]

July 15, 2021

FILED IN: Weddings

summerhouse wedding

Standing in front of short hedge, Holly and Alex hugged. They leaned in to kiss, as the sun was setting behind them. It was a fantastic moment. This wedding is from last year, a week before Halloween. It was so much fun to get to shoot this Summerhouse Wedding at Summer Lake. Holly and Alex’s […]

March 6, 2021

FILED IN: Engagements

man and woman drinking beer in biergarten during their Rathskeller engagement

Condensation dripped off the outside of two glass beer mugs on a hot summer day. The beer mugs were in the hands of Meg and Kevin as they sat on a stage in the biergarten at the Rathskeller. The sound of their laughter as they talked echoed off the hard wood of the stage floor […]

September 2, 2020

FILED IN: Portraits

small family of four at sunset in Indy family photos

The leaves of the trees had started to change color. They were transitioning from a verdant green to brown, but were caught in few shades of yellow and orange on the way. Standing in front of a brown field of grain, the Carrera family stood together. They came for the shoot prepared with footballs and […]

October 31, 2019

FILED IN: Styled shoot

clown holds beer and stands in front of scarlet lane logo for this Indianapolis brewery photography

My friend, and one of the brewers at Scarlet Lane, approached me with an idea this fall. He wanted to do a parody mash up of the horror genre and of social media influencers. The idea being to take horror figures out of their spooky and creepy vibe and make them look like regular people. […]

October 3, 2019

FILED IN: Engagements

man and woman sit under tree with two dogs for white river state park engagement picture

Amanda and Patrick’s engagement shoot at White River State Park had everything I love! They brought their dogs. There was an outfit change where they put on their formal wear. They also popped champagne and drank it in the park! But seriously, how cool is it to have clients that want to get some puppy […]

September 2, 2019

FILED IN: Events

bride and groom seated at table laugh at speeches during rehearsal dinner at Conrad Indianapolis Event Photography

The night before Molly and Matt’s wedding we met them at the Conrad to capture their dinner rehearsal! They had a lovely meal with a lot of toasts in the Long-Sharp Gallery. At the time of their event, the works of Amy Kirchner’s “Amy Kirchner: Letting Go.” So a lot of the speeches were given […]