It's no doubt that we live in a beautiful area. With the shores of Sandusky and Port Clinton giving beautiful views over the bay, to the nice open fields heading into Norwalk and Monroeville, or the wooded hills surrounding Milan. Surely, we all would love to get beautiful photos on our wedding day in these areas. However, with the hectic schedule of a wedding day, it can be hard to find the time to squeeze in some of the wonderful locations we've written about. However, that doesn't mean that you can't achieve beautiful wedding photos right on your wedding venue! This list is just a few examples of some of the best wedding venues in Sandusky, Huron, Norwalk, and more that have excellent environments for photography right on-premise.
Sawmill Creek has been a staple in the area for many years. The best thing about Sawmill, besides being recently renovated, is that they have enough amenities for just about everything right on the property! With a golf course, a private beach area, gazebo, bridge, and of course the massive resort, which includes small garden areas, there are so many options for places to take photos right around your venue!
Sandusky Yacht Club is, of course, right up on the shores of Lake Erie. This makes it ideal for a couple that wants photography with a beachy waterfront setting. There's a beautiful garden out back along with plenty of gorgeous windows for portraits indoors, making this a great option for a few snaps right at the venue.
Plum Brook is up there to be the prettiest golf course in the area. With plenty of trees, grass, hills, bridges, and other amenities, it provides plenty of opportunities for fantastic photos.
Located in Castalia, just outside of Sandusky, this venue is one of the most gorgeous places we've had the pleasure of shooting at. With a beautiful driveway that's flanked by trees, a creek in the back, and the sprawling, open property, there are endless possibilities when using this location for your wedding photography.
As per the name, this is a sister location to Millsite Lodge, located just down the road. Equally as beautiful, it is a fantastic, more rustic place for your wedding photographs.
In our opinion, Kilkerrin is one of the most underrated venues in the area. With a large barn, fields, and a large pond on the premises, it has everything you need for a great venue for both a ceremony and wedding photographs. See our blog post about it here.
The BGSU Firelands Campus has two locations that they do weddings, the Cedar Point Center as well as the Firelands Arboretum. Both of these locations are within a few minutes walk of each other and there are incredible opportunities at each for wedding photography. With ponds, flowers, trees and bridges, you can knock out all of your wedding photos right inside the arboretum. It's by far our most used spot for photos.
If you love rustic, Palm Tree Barn really is the perfect setting. Located on a spacious property with a large barn and plenty of trees, wood, a neat siloh and even some props, like a truck, it has a little bit of everything for the couple that wants something simple and rustic. You can check out some of our work on it here.
Right down near Cedar Point, Lyman Harbor is one of the premiere venues in Sandusky, known for it's spacious halls. It also has one of the best views in town, and the harbor makes a fun and relaxing place for some couples shots, and the large glass windows provide some great window light for indoor group shots.
Only available to Milan Residents or family members of Milan Residents, this massively underrated venue is one of the classiest looking places in town. To boot, it's directly across the street from the Milan Town Square, giving you a great place to go and take some classy photos. See the video we shot here.
There is a chance that you may not want to do your wedding photography session at your venue. Perhaps you'd like to go somewhere else! In that case, check out our list of some of the top places to take photos!
If I could describe my impressions of Kelley when we first spoke, I think I would say “This girl is a Kelley’s Island kind of girl”. She spent a lot of time there as a kid, and she even works at Papa T’s Deckside every summer. I mean, she has a tattoo of Kelley’s Island on her shoulder! So, when Kelley and Christian met while on Kelley’s Island, it only seemed fitting that they had their wedding there too!
Their ceremony took place at Rocky Beach Seaway Marina, which is just a short walk from the ferry dock. The location overlooks the lake and was the perfect backdrop for an incredible wedding. Kelley wanted to emphasize a simple fall theme, so she added an archway with turning leaves and pumpkins as her primary decoration at the altar.
After the reception, we headed across the island to Kelley’s Island State Park, where we took photos before heading to the reception.
Their reception was at West Bay Inn, which is a short drive across Kelley’s Island. This bar provides a really unique location for a reception due to its proximity to the water and it’s very unique amenities. What do we mean? Well, aside from the volleyball net on the premises (that’s right, imagine people in their Sunday best playing volleyball!), they also are a full bar. So, instead of serving drinks behind a bar within the venue itself, as most venues have their own version of a bar, the way that West Bay does drinks is by handing wristbands to guests that allows them to order any drink available at their bar. The best part is that they let their couples fire the cannon over the water as the sun sets, which makes for an awesome photo opportunity.
Kelley said she wanted her wedding to be cute and unique. And on those two fronts, and many more, it definitely delivered.
Of course, it takes a team to deliver a wedding like that! Here’s some of the people that made her day possible:
We're so glad that Alysha & Joe asked us to join them on their wedding day to help capture some precious memories. Thank you so much!
Alysha & Joe had a gorgeous wedding in their home of Monroeville, Ohio. They were so excited to have their wedding at their home church, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, which Alysha has dreamed of since she was a child. They also had their reception at Ten Fifty Eight Event Center.
Alysha & Joe chose Ten Fifty Eight because they both come from large families, meaning that they knew their guest list would be on the longer side. Ten Fifty Eight had plenty of room to be home to all of their guests, plus Alysha likes the clean lines and crisp feel that Ten Fifty Eight had. In addition, they liked that the DJ, linens, and other things were included without having to go elsewhere to buy or rent them. And they loved the event-coordinators that Ten Fifty Eight provided.
The thing that Alysha & Joe were most excited for about their wedding day was the food. Sure, the Pork, Sirloin, and Alfredo, but specifically they were so excited for the dessert, which is pies from Der Dutchman! Talk about the perfect finish to your meal! And then late at night, they brought in pretzels with beer cheese and an ice cream bar, which is perfect for after the guests have had a few drinks and are feeling the munchies coming on. They each had signature drinks, Vodka Lemonade for Alysha and Kentucky Mule for Joe.
Of course, it always takes a team to make a wedding happen. Their team was epic!
