Today was a day of engagement shoots. We’re usually closed on Saturdays, but we had some clients from out of town that were here this weekend so we decided to schedule their sessions. It was a fantastic day for it…the weather was perfect!!!

First, we got together with Ralph and Devon who came in from Cali. This is the first time we met them and we had a great time laughing it up as we walked around the Utica, MI area doing their photos.
Here are a few:

After that we took off to meet up with Kirk and Lisa who flew in from Chicago. We met them over at Cranbrook in Birmingham, MI. The grounds at Cranbrook are some of my favorite to shoot at because their is an exquisite mixture of beautiful architecture and nature….along with some funky bigger than life modern art sculptures.

Today we did the engagement pics for Chad and Stacey. They have three dogs which are part of their family so we did some park pup pics and then did their engagement pics.

We decided to have some fun with the fact that Chad is super tall. Chad and Stacey are two of the most happy and smiley people ever so having a serious face like this photo is funny in itself.

The Townsend hotel is a four star, four diamond hotel that is surrounded by the ritz and glamor of downtown Birmingham.
The Townsend offers everything without anyone needing to leave the area. The suites are spacious and provide an excellent space for the bride to get ready. The ceremony and reception can both be held at the hotel and downtown Birmingham provides unlimited opportunities for some creative photos with the bride and groom.

I just love all the ornate details that are found all throughout the Townsend hotel. I even like the light fixtures.

The service at the Townsend is top notch.

With a professional florist such as Blossoms in Birmingham, the wedding ceremony at the Townsend can be an intimate experience.

For some creative urban style photos, we just need to head outside and onto the streets of Birmingham.

This photo shows a wedding reception setup with pin spot lights to really highlight the flowers.

To learn more about our wedding photography business and see some current photos, please see our wedding website at www.ArisingWeddings.com

The Wyndate Country Club is one of those places where you drive up the long windy road and you know you’re going to get somewhere special. The grounds are awe inspiring and the award winning landscape is definitely a site to see. The rolling hills, waterfalls, footbridges, and well manicured greens are just stunning.

The entrance from the back patio

Up on a hilltop overlooking the beautiful landscape is a tranquil location for an outdoor wedding ceremony at the Wyndgate

The park-like setting of the Wyndgate provides some nice areas for photos. However, as most of our clients know, we typically would want to also go offsite if time permits so we could get photos with more variety than just a pretty landscape. The Wyndgate allows people to take golf carts out on the course, however, it’s important to be careful to not waste too much time driving around the amazing grounds.

The main banquet area of the Wyndgate could use some remodeling. The decor is a little dated and the room layout is like a U shape which causes some separation between the guests. However, many couples don’t mind that so it’s something that you just need to see for yourself. As always it’s important to have a professional designer to help with the room decor and layout.

Wedding reception dinners at the Wyndgate Golf Club in Rochester Hills, Michigan are always exquisite!

To learn more about our wedding photography business and see some current photos, please see our wedding website at www.ArisingWeddings.com

The Detroit Golf Club has been around for over a hundred years and it’s Old English style clubhouse provides an excellent wedding venue in Detroit. Outdoor ceremonies on the back lawn are in an absolutely beautiful setting overlooking the golf course, but for colder weather months, the indoor ceremonies can be equally impressive.

Let’s take a look at some photos.
Here are a couple quick pictures showing the outside front and back of the Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Michigan.

Here’s a photo showing the setup for an intimate outdoor wedding ceremony on the back lawn of the Detroit Golf Club with the beautiful grounds of the golf course as the backdrop.

Ceremonies can also be had inside in a side room that has lots of beautiful windows and soft light coming in.

The mens locker room at the Detroit Golf Club has lots of clean lines which can make for cool getting ready photos with the groom.

Taking some photos around the grounds of the golf club can provide a nice natural setting and some great light.

We typically prefer to not do too many outdoor photos in a park or golf course type setting due to lack of variety (trees and grass) so we would probably go inside to one of the rooms with some nice ambiance or head to nearby downtown Detroit for some more urban style of images.

I just loved these red walls inside the golf club.

There are a number of side rooms where the guests can hang out for their cocktail hour while the finishing touches get put on the main dining room.
I like the way the Detroit Golf Club does this for their wedding receptions because it gives us opportunities to shoot room shots and detail shots in the dining room before it gets all messed up.

Here’s a photo of some of the details on the head table.

To learn more about our wedding photography business and see some current photos, please see our wedding website at www.ArisingWeddings.com

The Dearborn Inn was built in 1931 on the grounds at Ford Motor company and is still in the middle of Ford country today. It is an exquisite Marriott hotel and one of the things that I found really unique about it is that surrounding the main courtyard are 2 Colonial lodges and 5 Colonial guest homes which provide a very unique atmosphere for a large hotel stay.
There is a beautiful gazebo for hosting ceremonies in the courtyard which also provides ample space for the guests during the cocktail hour.
The ballroom there is huge and can be used to host even the largest weddings!
The Dearborn Inn is also very close to the Henry Ford Museum which can provide a fun place for guests to go if they have extra time between events on the wedding day.

Here is a photo of the front entrance of the Dearborn Inn.

The main lobby of the Dearborn Inn is a beautiful space with antique furniture and chandeliers.

Passing straight through the main lobby leads to the back doors which take you out to the courtyard.

The courtyard is a great place for all the guests to mingle and have a few drinks as they wait for the wedding reception to start.

Here is a photo showing a very elegant wedding reception setup of in the main banquet area of the Dearborn Inn.

It’s always important to trust the professionals to do the room design, table layouts, chair covers, etc.

The food at the Dearborn Inn is fantastic and watch out for their desserts!!!

To learn more about our wedding photography business and see some current photos, please see our wedding website at www.ArisingWeddings.com

The war memorial is a national historic site located right on Lake St. Claire. The views of the lake from the ballroom and back lawn are beautiful in the evening. Ceremonies can be done right on the back steps of the Grosse Pointe War Memorial or at the neighboring Grosse Pointe Memorial Church. Both are excellent venues for a ceremony and provide more than enough settings for some amazing images.
If you book there, make sure to check on fish fly season though because the wrong time of year can lead to a LOT of bugs which isn’t too big of a deal as long as you expect it.

The Grosse Pointe War Memorial in Grosse Point Farms, Michigan has some amazing architecture and provides a really romantic location for wedding couples. Here’s just a few photos shot around the grounds.

They also have some beautiful flowers and gardens on the ground that can provide a nice contrast to all the architecture and old buildings.

Here’s a photo of the bridal party on the back steps of the war memorial. They can hold wedding ceremonies here as well.

The neighboring Grosse Pointe Memorial Church in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan is also a beautiful old historic church which provides an excellent venue for a more traditional ceremony.

The main banquet room at the war memorial is bright and spacious with large windows overlooking Lake St. Clair.

There is also plenty of room for a nice dance floor.

Here’s the downside…fish flies…millions of them. At certain parts of the years, the fish flies hatch and cover everything along the lake. They cover the outside of the buildings and it can get a bit nasty. As long as you’re not afraid of a few bugs and are expecting it, it’s not a big deal and shouldn’t be a reason to deter you from this otherwise spectacular venue!

To learn more about our wedding photography business and see some current photos, please see our wedding website at www.ArisingWeddings.com

The Inn at St. Johns is a really cool place to photograph. They have a very unique chapel that is reminiscent of some of the old catholic churches found in England with a wide aisle and pews that face the aisle instead of the front. The grand ballroom is very spacious and has a nice balcony overlooking the room. The suites in the hotel are amazing and a fantastic place for the bride to get ready. The Inn is situated right near downtown Northville which provides some great places to get away for some creative photos. The only downside to the Inn is that there are a LOT of weddings there so brides WILL see other brides on their wedding day. The chapel also has some pretty strict rules about photography so make sure to check into that as well.

Here’s a photo of the tower at the Inn at St. Johns in Plymouth.

Walking into the chapel at the Inn at St. Johns is like going back in time.

The Inn at St. Johns has a few little courtyards that are perfect for a cocktail hour.

We like to try and get away from the crowds of people when it comes time to do the bride and groom pictures, so we found a few fun locations nearby. These were taken at the Mill Race historical village in Northville.

The grand ballroom at the Inn at St. Johns is so spacious, there are a number of different ways that it can be laid out. Here are a couple views from the balcony.

This room was designed by Emerald City Design who did a really great job. I loved the square tables at the wedding reception.

The grand ballroom at the Inn at St. Johns in Plymouth, MI also leaves plenty of space for a dance floor where bridal parties and families can have a great time!

To learn more about our wedding photography business and see some current photos, please see our wedding website at www.ArisingWeddings.com

To help aid brides and groom in deciding on a wedding reception venue, we have provided some mini-reviews of some of the venues in southeastern MI. We hope that the hundreds of photos that we have compiled for these mini reviews will provide a resource that will be helpful to people for years to come.
We will add new venues to this list along with updating and adding photos to the current listings as new weddings happen so please bookmark this blog post and check back in the future.

1) Meadowbrook Mansion in Rochester Hills, MI
2) Cranbrook in Birmingham, MI
3) Roostertail in Detroit, MI
4) Detroit Athletic Club in Detroit, MI
5) Royal Park Hotel in Rochester, MI
6) Cherry Creek Golf Club in Shelby Township, MI
7) Inn at St. Johns in Plymouth, MI
8) Grosse Pointe War Memorial in St. Clair, MI
9) Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, MI
10) Pine Lake Country Club in Orchard Lake, MI
11) Wyndgate Country Club in Rochester Hills, MI
12) Pine Knob Mansion in Clarkston, MI
13) Wellers in Saline, MI
14) The Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, MI
15) The Dearborn Inn in Dearborn, MI

To learn more about our wedding photography business and see some current photos, please see our wedding website at www.ArisingWeddings.com

The Pine Knob Mansion is a beautiful old English manor that is actually located on the highest point of southeastern Michigan, 1221 ft in elevation. The mansion itself is filled with beautiful artwork and sculptures. It is a fantastic place for an intimate wedding. Just outside is a beautiful gazebo with a view looking over some rolling hills…a rare site for southeastern Michigan. Down the hill from the mansion is the Pine Knob Carriage House which has been renovated into a beautiful reception location with lots of big windows and natural light. Ceremonies can also be held just outside under a large covered pavilion. The mansion has an old rustic charm while the carriage house has a more modern and spacious feel to it. Both can be great venues depending on what you are looking for.

Here are a few photos of Pine Knob Mansion:

Here is the impressive main banquet room in the Pine Knob Mansion.

Here is a wedding ceremony in the pavilion down by the Pine Knob Carriage House

A bridal party hanging out by the carriage house pavilion

We live to take the bride and groom around the grounds and find architectural elements as backgrounds for our photos. The mansion provides more opportunities for this than the Carriage House.

Here is a photo showing the table setup of the main dining room at the Pine Knob Carriage House

Here is the head table setup by the windows in the carriage house.

To learn more about our wedding photography business and see some current photos, please see our wedding website at www.ArisingWeddings.com

This afternoon we went to downtown Utica to take some fun engagement pics with Maurice and Nina.

Cherry Creek is a beautiful setting for a wedding and we’re lucky to have shot there many times. It’s just a few miles from where we are located which makes it really convenient!! Our favorite weddings there take place on the back lawn overlooking the lake and the golf course, and the main banquet rooms also have panoramic windows with the same view. The conservatory is a room a spectacular design that should be a must have. Let’s look at some photos.

First, hear is a few images of the building itself. Cherry Creek Golf Club has a nice covered entranceway making it convenient for bridal parties and families.

Here is a view of the back of Cherry Creek showing the conservatory room.

Here is an image of the back of Cherry Creek showing the cocktail hour on the back lawn.

Here is an image during the wedding ceremony on the back lawn of Cherry Creek overlooking the lake, followed by a photo of the lake which is part of the golf course.

The grounds at Cherry Creek are always pristine and always well kept up which provides a beautiful setting.

We typically also like to photograph the bridal party on the main grounds while everyone is together.

HOWEVER, those of you that know us know that we love taking photos with more variety…texture, color, etc. etc. At the golf course, you are limited to where you can go for photos because it is an active golf course and you aren’t allowed to go where you might interfere with someones game. We often like to take our couples offsite and go places like downtown Utica which isn’t too far from there. In the more urban setting we can get some wedding photos with a fashion look to them.

Heading back to Cherry Creek, the reception setups always look really nice with all the beautiful windows and natural light.
We loved this wedding which was very simple and had little cakes as centerpieces on each table.

Or, a much more elaborate setup can also be done there.

This is a photo of the larger dining area showing an overall room with the back windows where you can see the head table against the back wall.

Here’s a photo of the head table when setup in Cherry Creek’s larger banquet room against the back windows.

Here’s a photo of the head table when setup in the conservatory which is equally nice.

Cherry Creek Golf Club also makes really cool ice sculptures and martini luges.

Cherry Creek Golf Club does a really nice job of setting up lots of yummy appetizer plates during the cocktail hour.

The main entrees are NEVER disappointing!! We love dinner time at Cherry Creek!!

After dinner the conservatory make for a beautiful setting to have the dance floor.

To learn more about our wedding photography business and see some current photos, please see our wedding website at www.ArisingWeddings.com