Grosse Pointe Yacht Club Weddings
We've had the opportunity to photograph and film two weddings at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club, and we absolutely love this venue!
There's just so much to work with.
The Grosse Pointe Yacht Club sits right on Lake St. Clair in Grosse Pointe Shores, and the combination of the water, boats, historic architecture, beautiful landscaping, huge windows, and natural light gives you an incredible number of options for wedding photos. We've photographed weddings at a lot of different venues, and this is one where immediately you start seeing great photo opportunities everywhere.
At GPYC, that's pretty much the entire property.
Front to back. Left to right. Top to bottom. Gorgeous!
A Wedding Venue With Incredible Variety
One of our favorite things about photographing a wedding at GPYC is that we don't have to rely on one particular spot for all of your portraits.
We like to take our couples on a little tour of the property throughout the day. We can photograph along the water, on the docks, in front of the clubhouse, around the grounds, inside the beautiful hallways, on the large staircase, and upstairs when the space is available.
The architecture alone gives us some great options, especially the large windows and beautiful arched doorways. Then you step outside and suddenly you've got Lake St. Clair, boats, greenery, and the waterfront.
It gives your wedding gallery a lot of variety without having to load everyone into a car and drive somewhere else.
And the natural light is one of the biggest advantages. There is beautiful light throughout the property, so we're not dependent on one specific time of day to get great portraits.
Our Experience Photographing Weddings at Gpyc
Our first GPYC wedding was Kristen and Scott's on March 13, 2022.
It was actually the earliest wedding we've ever photographed. We started at 7:00 in the morning for a 10:00 ceremony and wrapped everything up around 3:00 in the afternoon.
And it was COLD.
There was snow covering the ground, and being right on the water made that March morning feel even colder. But honestly, you'd never know it by looking at the photos.
Kristen and Scott looked incredible, and GPYC gave us so many different places to photograph them. We used the property from just about every direction, including the docks outside, the front of the venue, the hallways, and the big staircase. We even had beautiful indoor options when we needed to escape the cold.
We photographed and filmed their wedding, and it was such a great experience that our relationship with them didn't end when we delivered their wedding photos and film. We're actually going to be photographing their maternity session as well.
That's one of the best parts about this job. Sometimes a wedding becomes the beginning of a relationship that lasts well beyond the wedding day.
Our second wedding at GPYC was Amy and Bryant's on June 7, 2025. This time we photographed the wedding rather than filming it.
Amy was actually a bridesmaid in another wedding we'd photographed, so we already knew her before her own wedding day. That made this one especially fun because we got to celebrate with one of our previous couples again.
Amy initially wasn't sure she wanted her wedding photos shared because she was worried about how she would look.
Then she saw them.
She was so excited about how beautiful she looked and how the photographs turned out that she ended up being completely comfortable with us sharing them.
That is one of the best compliments a photographer can receive.
And again, GPYC gave us an incredible setting. We photographed throughout the property, using the water, architecture, windows, and grounds. We also had the opportunity to go upstairs into the library overlooking the water, where we photographed Bryant.
It's another example of why we love this venue. Every time you walk around GPYC, there's another place that works.
The Waterfront
Obviously, one of the biggest draws of GPYC is Lake St. Clair.
Having the water and harbor right outside gives us a completely different look than what we can get inside the clubhouse. The docks, boats, shoreline, and open water make beautiful backdrops for couples, bridal parties, and individual portraits.
For family photos, we generally prefer taking everyone outside when possible. The waterfront or the area in front of the venue gives us a clean, beautiful backdrop while keeping everyone together.
For couples and bridal parties, though, we can pretty much go anywhere.
That's one of the things we love about GPYC. We're not stuck in one designated "photo spot."
What Happens if it Rains?
This is another reason we really like GPYC.
If you're planning an outdoor ceremony and the weather doesn't cooperate, you're not suddenly left with an ugly backup plan.
The interior of the yacht club is beautiful enough that an indoor ceremony can be just as impressive. The large windows bring in plenty of natural light, and the architecture gives us beautiful backgrounds throughout the building.
In fact, some couples may be surprised by just how good the indoor options are.
We've photographed in the hallways, on the staircase, around the windows, and throughout the interior spaces, and there's no shortage of places to create great images.
One Thing We Recommend Planning Ahead
There is one part of the day that we think is worth planning carefully at GPYC: family photographs.
We prefer doing family photos outside whenever possible. The space and backgrounds are great, and it keeps the photographs clean and organized.
Indoor family photos can absolutely be done, but they require more planning. The staff may be moving around and turning the room over from the ceremony to the reception, so it can become difficult to find enough open space at exactly the right moment.
This isn't a dealbreaker at all. It just means that if you're getting married at GPYC, we'll want to build your family photo plan into the timeline ahead of time.
For couples portraits and bridal party photos, there's much more flexibility.
The Light at Gpyc
If we had to pick one architectural feature that we really love at GPYC, it's the windows.
They're large, they're beautiful, and they let so much natural light into the building.
The light works throughout the property, which means we're able to create beautiful portraits at different points throughout the day instead of waiting for one perfect window of time.
And then there's sunset.
One of our favorite things about the front of the building is what happens when the sun starts going down. The light can come through those huge windows and actually spill across the dance floor.
It's one of those little things that you might not think about when you're touring a venue, but it's something we notice immediately as a photographer.
Why We Love the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club
There's not one single favorite photo location at GPYC.
Our favorite spot is really the entire venue.
The water. The architecture. The windows. The landscaping. The docks. The boats. The hallways. The staircase. The views.
Everything gives us something different.
And that's exactly what we want from a wedding venue.
We want to be able to photograph your wedding without making you spend your entire day traveling around for photographs. We want to be able to take you outside for a few minutes, walk through the building, find some beautiful light, head toward the water, and keep moving.
GPYC makes that incredibly easy.
It's also close to home for us, which is always a nice bonus. But even if it weren't, we'd still be excited every time we got a wedding there.
Grosse Pointe Yacht Club Wedding Photography & Videography
Whether you're looking for wedding photography, wedding videography, or both, GPYC gives us an incredible canvas to work with.
We've experienced the venue from both sides. We photographed and filmed Kristen and Scott's wedding, and we photographed Amy and Bryant's wedding. We've seen how the property works during a real wedding day, not just during a venue tour.
That matters.
Because our job isn't simply to show up and take pictures of what happens. We're constantly looking for the best light, the best background, the best angle, and the little moments happening around you.
At GPYC, there are opportunities everywhere.
And when the wedding day is over, that's what we want your gallery and film to show. Not just what your wedding looked like, but what it actually felt like to be there.
Getting Married at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club?
If you're planning a wedding at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club, you're already starting with an incredible location.
Our advice is simple: book it as soon as you can.
Beautiful Michigan wedding venues like this don't stay available forever, and GPYC has everything we love in a wedding venue: incredible architecture, beautiful grounds, Lake St. Clair, tons of natural light, and enough variety that we can create an entire wedding gallery without ever running out of places to photograph.
And if you'd like us to be the ones documenting it, we'd love to be there.
We've already fallen in love with this venue.
Now we'd love to photograph your wedding there.
