Choosing an Engagement Session Location
I met Megan and David at a wedding expo last year at Packard Proving Grounds. I’m so excited for their wedding! We decided to break up their engagement session into two locations: an engagement session at Goldner Walsh and the second part at the cemetery nearby. When we discussed engagement locations, Megan really wanted to utilize their venue since it’s where they are getting married. They have family that have worked at Goldner Walsh for years. So using this as a venue is super special to them.
Megan also wanted to incorporate some architecture and nature that we just couldn’t get at an engagement session at Goldner Walsh. After looking through her Pinterest inspiration, I suggested finding a local cemetery with the architecture she wanted. I found that she was drawn to the look of the stone and gothic architecture. Neither of us imagined an engagement session at a cemetery. With how different it is, it made us drawn to it even more. My tip for couples: do what makes you happy and express yourselves.
Booking at a venue like Goldner Walsh definitely has its benefits. A location like a greenhouse or a flower farm can usually provide florals. Sometimes having more things in-house rather than being brought in from somewhere else can help you budget differently. It also provides you with a unique opportunity to use what’s already available at the venue. Not every venue provides florals or catering in house. This provides the chance to let your venue truly handle it all.
Engagement Session at Goldner Walsh
This summer I hired an assistant to take Behind-The-Scenes and be an extra hand for me. I’m so glad I decided to do this! I really had the opportunity to share what it’s like to work with me through video. My assistant took lots of behind the scenes for this engagement session and it’s posted on my Instagram! You can find it quickly by checking out my BTS Highlight on my profile!
When we arrived for the engagement session at Goldner Walsh, we had the entire property to use. I honestly could have spent our whole hour there. There was just that much space to utilize! For the sake of time, we stayed in areas with lots of greenery and empty greenhouse buildings.
We decided to stick to the areas with greenery and architecture. Ferns were a plenty in the greenhouses and I met a tortoise who’s name I can’t remember, but he was so cute. Goldner Walsh has a colorful mural on the front of it’s building that we of course had to use as well. Overall, I highly recommend using this nursery as a photo location and I can’t wait to go back in October for the wedding.
Spooky Engagement Session Near Goldner Walsh
As mentioned before, the second half of Megan and David’s engagement session took place in a local cemetery. When choosing this location I really wanted to focus more on the architecture rather than the actual gravestones (although we did use a couple). I’m not into spooky things and I hate scary movies. I’ve seen plenty of them, and the thought of messing with someone’s eternal place of rest was just not really a good idea to me. We made sure to be as distanced as we could to give the background that spooky flair without bothering anything. It really was giving Addams Family vibes and now I would love to be Morticia and Gomez’s photographer.
Just like Goldner Walsh, I probably could have spent the entire hour at this cemetery. We were very intentional when choosing this one. The cemetery was very large with wide open spaces and lots of interesting mausoleums. I studied architecture in high school, so when I enter a space the designs are usually the first thing I look for.
Let’s Connect
I would love to photograph your dream engagement! I offer engagement sessions in my wedding packages, but I also offer these separately for those just wanting a single session! If you’re nervous because you have a vision but don’t know any locations- don’t be! I work with every single couple to get an idea of their vision and help them choose a location (or two) that will be perfect for them. Some other locations I’ve used include Belle Isle in Detroit, Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor, and Sharp Farm in Swartz Creek. I truly travel all over Michigan to capture engagements and weddings! Contact me to schedule your engagement session- I’d love to work with you!
