Stafford’s Bay View Inn / Petoskey-Bay View Country Club Wedding | Stacy and Martin

The thing that stood out most to me about Stacy and Martin’s wedding was the laughter and how much fun everyone was having all day long. The day began with each of them getting ready at Stafford’s Bay View Inn in Petoskey, MI and the ceremony and reception took place at the Petoskey-Bay View Country Club.

The Bay View Inn is an elegant Victorian summer hotel overlooking Little Traverse Bay with lots of great portrait locations inside and out.
I always enjoy using dramatic lighting to add a touch of mystery to my portraits. I find the contrast of highlights and shadows to be beautifully intriguing. Meanwhile, Martin and the guys were downstairs getting ready and… honestly I’m not exactly sure what is going on in the next few photos but hey, they look like they’re having a great time!The photos above were taken with the light coming through the window, which was beautiful. After getting those, however, I realized that the heavy vintage drapes provided an opportunity for a different look. By drawing them closed to block out all the window light, I had a blank canvas to paint with my own light sources, and the drapes themselves created an interesting backdrop for the photo.
We did the first look on the front lawn of the Bay View Inn. I love all the great expressions and emotion that comes through in these photos.
Next we walked over to a lovely memorial garden nestled among the trees across from the inn. There was beautiful, soft natural light coming in from the clear blue sky over the bay.
The shot below is actually a panoramic image stitched together from 94 individual photos, known as a “Brenizer Method”. The result is a wide-angle image with a super blurred out background that would be impossible to reproduce with any normal lens in a single frame. It gives a striking 3-D effect that allows the couple to really “pop” forward and take center stage while still showing the beauty of their surroundings.After finishing up our portrait time in the garden, we made the short trip (less than a mile) to the Petoskey-Bay View Country Club for the ceremony and reception.The ceremony, like the rest of the day, had tons of laughter. Dragon’s Milk on tap? That’s my kind of wedding.The night’s entertainment was provided by Mainstreet Dueling Pianos.
At the end of the night there was some brief rain, so we grabbed an umbrella and some flashes and headed out to the parking lot to make some magic.These last two shots, of the Petoskey-Bay View Country Club and Stafford’s Bay View Inn, were taken at dusk after the photo coverage had ended.