Colony Club | Detroit, MI

Colony Club is in the heart of Downtown Detroit, right behind the Fox Theater and is, in my opinion, the top wedding venue in Detroit. The architecture in it is simply stunning. The main ballroom is two stories tall and features floor to ceiling arched windows and mirrors, with a gorgeous ceiling and classic architecture throughout. From the black and white checked marble floors on the first floor, to the trio of second story balconies that overlook the ballroom floor, the Colony Club is the best of the best Detroit wedding venues.

Lovett Hall | Dearborn, MI

Lovett Hall is my favorite wedding venue, probably ever. There’s just something special about this historic hall at The Henry Ford. It was built by Henry Ford to host his dinner parties and dances and features beautiful classic architecture. Lovett Hall’s historic ballroom was built with a springboard under the dance floor, so Henry Ford’s guests could dance the night away with less leg fatigue. It features a foyer with black and white checked marble floors and behind a locked door off the side of the room is the most beautiful secret library that looks like it’s straight out of Beauty & the Beast. Amazing chandeliers hang from the ceilings, a beautiful fireplace adds warmth and character near the bar and that dance floor Ford designed is large & made for twirling around in your wedding dress. If you have a Summer wedding, you can even have your cocktail hour al fresco and your guests can mingle in the beautiful courtyard, complete with ivy covered brick, while they sip your signature wedding day cocktails.

Dearborn Inn | Dearborn, MI

The Dearborn Inn is another Henry Ford masterpiece. This historic hotel features a stunning lobby with furniture, fireplaces and chandeliers that are an epic backdrop for the Vanity Fair style bridal party portraits that I love so much. This venue also features black and white marble checkerboard floors (sensing a pattern here yet?) and two beautiful ballrooms. The Alexandria Ballroom is more intimate and the moldings, chandeliers and architecture is stunning. They also have lots of amazing architectural details on the outside of the venue that are great for portraits!

Inn at St. Johns | Plymouth, MI

While the Inn at St. John’s has three different reception rooms, the Judeah Ballroom is the most classic and elegant of the three. It features stunning super tall windows and beautiful chandeliers and while it’s the smallest space at the Inn, what it lacks in size it makes up for in character. The highlight of the Inn at St. John’s is the Chapel. The aisle runs the entire chapel with guests lining both sides of it facing each other and beautiful arched stained glass windows. It also has a bridal suite right above the chapel with a balcony that overlooks the chapel. It’s the most stunning backdrop for bridal portraits & also feels like it could be from Beauty & the Beast (sensing another theme here)!

Royal Park Hotel | Rochester, MI

Next on the list of best Detroit wedding venues, the Royal Park Hotel is where high end meets classic styling. The Royal Park hotel is a Detroit luxury wedding destination. Everything from the guest rooms where the bride & groom get ready, to the conservatory, the study and the ballrooms are high end and beautifully designed in a classic style. If you’re having a classic black tie wedding, this is the venue for you. And you can’t beat the gorgeous cement fountain in the courtyard with perfectly manicured hedges. Truly a timeless venue for a classic bride!

Meadow Brook Hall | Rochester, MI

Meadow Brook Hall is a large, historic tudor style venue that looks like it could be set in the English countryside. It was built to entertain heads of state, political leaders and socialites and the historic hall was designed to impress. It has beautiful architecture and arched doors. It’s also perfect for an al fresco wedding, with a beautiful white tent on the grounds. They also have stunning gardens surrounding the historic hall where you can have your ceremony in the summer.

There’s three other classic Detroit venues on my list that I’ve yet to photograph at that are worth checking out!! I would love to photograph a Grosse Pointe War Memorial wedding, a Detroit Institute of Arts wedding & a Westin Book Cadillac wedding!

So basically, if a venue is historic, has black and white marble floors, great arches, floor to ceiling windows, classic architecture, ornate chandeliers & a large, wooden dance floor, it’s the perfect venue for the classic bride!

If you’re currently planning a wedding, or have a friend who is, be sure to share this list with them and let me know if you agree with my choices in the comments below!

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The post The Best Detroit Wedding Venues for the Classic, Sophisticated Bride – 2021 UPDATE! appeared first on Jennifer Boris Photography.

1) You get to create a special private moment between the two of you on your wedding day

I think it’s so beautiful to start off your wedding day with a special, quiet moment between the two of you before the festivities begin. During the ceremony, all eyes will be on you as you walk down the aisle and your fiancé sees you for the first time, and it can be more meaningful to have that moment be a private one that just the two of you share. It is one of the only chances you will have on your wedding day to truly be alone with each other and soak each other up until after the reception ends. If you ask any recently married couple, I guarantee one thing they will tell you is how surprised they were by how little time they actually got to spend with one another on their wedding day.

2) More time for photos = more photos

On a wedding day, things usually get off schedule and start running late.  Guests arrive late and the start of the ceremony gets delayed for 10 minutes, grandma went missing during family photos and it took your mom 5 minutes to track her down, the limo driver hit traffic and that delayed the arrival of the bridal party at the photo location and so on. When these things happen (and they will, weddings rarely stay on schedule) your portrait time is unfortunately what usually gets cut down in order to accommodate and make up for the lost time. Once your wedding is over, your photos are all that you have left to remember your wedding day by and by eating into this time you will have less of them. By doing a first look and seeing each other before the wedding, we can knock out all of the photos of you and your groom without being rushed (but I can’t promise I won’t pull you outside for 10 minutes as the sun is going down for sunset photos ) as well as all of the bridal party photos! This ensures that the portrait time won’t be reduced when the timeline gets behind and leads to number three…

3) You can enjoy cocktail hour with your guests  

By taking all of the photos beforehand, after your ceremony all you have to worry about is signing the marriage license and taking family formals. Once those two things are done, you can actually enjoy cocktail hour and mingle with your guests instead of taking portraits. One thing couples always say after their wedding is they hardly had a chance to say hi, much less visit with all of their guests, and this enables you to spend a bit more time with them on your wedding day (plus actually enjoy that signature cocktail you created for your guests)!

The post Three Benefits of Doing a First Look appeared first on Jennifer Boris Photography.