English Inn Wedding in Eaton Rapids, MI | Carrie and Michael
Carrie and Michael were married in an intimate ceremony surrounded by their children and immediate family members at The English Inn. The Inn is located in Eaton Rapids, MI, not far from Lansing. It was built in the 1920’s in the Tudor Revival style of architecture by the general manager of Oldsmobile. It is situated on the banks of the Grand River and the beautifully manicured grounds feature peaceful gardens and stone pathways that lend themselves perfectly to wedding photography.
The ivy-covered walls on the rear of the Inn are an excellent portrait location, so I began there with portraits of Michael.
This spot was to good not to use it for an elegant bridal portrait of Carrie as well.
Carrie and Michael’s wedding was very much a celebration of their two families coming together, so they asked their children to be in their wedding party and stand up for them. For their ceremony location, they chose the Pergola on the Grand which is down the hill from the Inn, close to the Grand River.
Carrie’s dad walked her down the hill to the pergola for the ceremony.
The ceremony was punctuated by many tears and much laughter.
To symbolize the joining of their families into one, each member of the family added their own layer to the unity sand.
Before moving on from the formal portraits I made sure to take this beautiful portrait of Carrie’s mom and dad.
As we headed back up the hill to the reception, we stopped for a few portraits along the way in the beautiful English gardens.
For all of these portraits, the proper use of flash was crucial to show the beauty of the surroundings while still allowing the bride and groom to be the stars of the image. As you can see in the photo below, the natural light alone with no flash looked awful, and left Michael and Carrie basically unlit compared to the background.
Before wrapping things up I did one more photo with the flash behind them for a more romantic feel.
The reception was held in the Thames Room, an intimate dining room with brick walls and an open, airy feel thanks to ample windows on all three exterior walls.
After the cake cutting, Carrie’s sister made a toast to the newlyweds.
