These last couple months of connecting with couples getting married in 2025 and 2026 have been so so good. Building connections with others is something I cherish, and being able to help even in the smallest of ways is an honor. I love serving my couples before, during, and after their wedding day. Seeing those smiles as they enjoy their day without a care in the world is the best feeling.
Engagement Outside the Manor
November 2024 was a time of collaboration for me. My wedding season was officially over, but I was still itching to be behind the camera and getting creative after two months of back to back weddings. My friends over at Rise Wander Retreat hosted an evening for us creatives to get together and celebrate the end of our wedding seasons. I jumped at the opportunity to attend because Meadowbrook hosts the most beautiful wedding days and I have always wanted to shoot there! I have a list I call my “dream photography locations” list. It’s literally just a list of the locations I’ve always wanted to work at. I rework my list every year as I cross locations off. I recently was able to cross off Greencrest Manor, Adam’s Manor, and Westers Family Vineyard. You can read and see more about that in this post!
The experience of Meadowbrook really starts on the drive into the property. The estate itself is tucked into a quiet public park and driving through those front gates of the manor was an exciting experience. It’s such an opulent estate with many options for your ceremony and reception space. The exterior of the manor has beautiful stonework and Tudor-inspired architecture. It’s so different than any of the other manor venues in Michigan. For the engagement part of this event we specifically worked in the gardens and patio area of Meadowbrook. With the cold weather moving into Michigan I was worried it might be a bit drab, but the estate was already starting to prep for Christmas. They do a Christmas Walk through the gardens and manor starting in November and it’s a sight to see if you’re in the area! The day was also perfectly grey and overcast creating a moody vibe I don’t normally work with.
Lo and Autumn were our models for the engagement set. They absolutely killed it! This couple was so great to work with and were down to try all of our crazy posing ideas. It’s so easy to create great portraits when the couple you work with is in love. That love truly shines through for everyone to see. While they are a married couple, they perfectly worked with our engagement set.
Portraits inside Meadowbrook
The inside of Meadowbrook is overwhelmingly gorgeous. While the architecture makes the outside of this manor stand out, the inside stands out from all of the historical artwork hanging. Flash photography is prohibited in some areas of the estate, but I didn’t find that to be an issue because my equipment works well in low light. Something I was very intentional with when choosing my gear! It does require a little extra work in post-production, but that’s normal! We were only allowed to be in certain parts of the manor for this event, and the vibes were old money, moody, and aristocratic. I do have wedding portraits from this part of the day in addition to the engagement set, but I’ll be sharing more of those in another post!
Vendors from this Day
There were so many vendors that were a part of this day! Starting with the venue, these photos were taken at Meadowbrook Hall in Rochester Michigan. Our host for this event was the Rise Wander Retreat- you can find their Instagram here! It’s a group of photographers hosting events for photographers to build their portfolios, educate, and just collaborate with more artists. Our models for this set were Lo and Autumn. Prestige Wedding Events provided their DJ services for the party part of the evening, and RTRO FOTO Co was our photo booth vendor.
