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.

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 […]

March 5, 2021

FILED IN: Portraits

family of four with mom, dad, and two daughters on blanket for their farmland family photography

The swing swayed gently back and forth on the front porch. The swing made a rhythmic creaking noise as it moved. On the swing, the De La Vegas sat with their daughters, reading books as the sun set. This was just one of the amazing moments from the lifestyle shoot we did with the De […]

March 4, 2021

FILED IN: Weddings

bride and groom under weeping willow trees in white river state park before their 1899 wedding reception

The leaves of the weeping willows hung down low to the earth, idly swaying in the breeze. Underneath the trees, Kara and Nick stood hugging each other. Nick lifted his head and kissed Kara on the side of the cheek. This was just one amazing moment from our portrait session with Kara and Nick before […]

January 26, 2021

FILED IN: Weddings

bride and groom hold hands and walk away from the Indiana Statehouse during their Indiana Roof Ballroom wedding

The sunlight streamed in a slant across the grass of the Indiana Statehouse. Some of the higher rays bounced off the glass face of a nearby building and reflected back down across the grass from the opposite direction. Grace and Nathan walked across the grass, holding hands, showered in the warm sunlight streaming from two […]

August 28, 2020

FILED IN: Weddings

bride and groom dance in front of wooden circle and guests at a Bash wedding

Earlier this summer Jenn and I had the privilege of capturing our first wedding after the pandemic started. It was such a relief to get back to some sort of normalcy. Nicole and Jon were married at Bash in Carmel. This wedding meant a lot to us, because Jon is a close friend of mine […]

July 27, 2020

FILED IN: Weddings

sunset in front of the Indiana Statehouse during an Indiana Roof Ballroom wedding

What a roller coaster the week leading up to Grace and Nathan’s wedding was with the new restrictions set by Indianapolis’ mayor. But luckily, things worked out in their favor and they didn’t have to move location or make massive cuts to their guest list a day before their wedding. Also, thankfully the thing that […]

July 26, 2020

Having a Winter Wedding or Just Expecting a Rainy Day? Then you probably just came here for a list of locations. So here’s the TLDR of what we think are the best locations for indoor photos in Indianapolis (we’ll post more information about each place later): Indiana Statehouse Indianapolis Central Library Indianapolis Zoo 1899 The […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]