We highly recommend the Troy Museum and Historic Village for your photography venue.

We found it to be a great alternative site to the A-list sites like Cranbrook or Meadowbrook for a few reasons. First, the Troy Museum is nice because it is compact and does not get as much foot traffic as the A-list sites yet it has enough scenic variations and backdrops to make for some striking wedding day pictures. With less crowds you won't have to wait for pedestrians to move out of the way of your pictures. The museum grounds are on about 1 acre of land so it is substantially more compact than the other sites. In Troy, the buildings are nice and close together -- that means less walking for you and less chance you will get grass stains on your wedding dress or rental tuxedo.

Second, the museum has charming backdrops (see village pictures). The Troy Historic Village looks like a mid-1800s small-town scene plucked from Davy Crockett (but in the midwest). If you're familiar with the metro Detroit area attractions think Greenfield Village but reduced down to a handful of buildings on 1 acre of land. The museum website has several pictures of the village. Troy's historic village features a variety of quality photo spots. We used the log cabin, a small church, a great one-room school house, an elegant large gazebo in the middle of the village, the print shop with a long porch, and some of the rusted wagons they have lying around. These little buildings make interesting backdrops for your photography.

Third, price and convenience. The museum is less than a 5 minute drive from the Troy Marriott so it is convenient while being surprisingly picturesque. Definitely better than taking pictures in the hotel lobby. The cost to reserve the museum site for the afternoon was a mere $50 security deposit and $50 usage fee for our entire wedding party and immediate family members. In contrast, Cranbrook charges $100 PER PERSON to photograph on their grounds. For our large party of 5 groomsmen, 5 brides maids, and 8 family members Cranbrook would have cost $1,800 just to be there for two hours. I may be a Cranbrook alumnae but that screams RIPOFF.

In addition, the Troy museum's employees were nice and even let us sit in some of the air conditioned employees-only areas because it was really hot out during our photo session. They were very kind. By comparison Meadowbrook states very specifically in their contracts that photography groups may not enter any of the buildings nor may they use the facilities. That's just jerky.

Thus, if you're having a wedding in Troy, take a look at the Troy Museum and Historic Village. You will not be disappointed.

Reference:

Troy Museum and Historic Village
60 W. Wattles Rd (at Livernois Rd)
Troy, Michigan 48098

Troy Historical Society

If you want full details, download the PDF I received from the Meadow Brook offices.

Meadow Brook Photo Shoot Guidelines

• $250 for 2.5 hours. Wedding or engagement photos.
• $1,250 for 4 hours.
• $2,500 for 8 hours.

Meadowbrook is a beautiful historic mansion in Rochester Hills, MI. They can accommodate large weddings in their facilities. I personally have not been to a Meadowbrook wedding but I hear that it is very nice.

We hope to go to Meadowbrook for wedding day photography because it is about 15-20 minutes from the Troy Marriott and should have exceptional scenery. I hope there isn't another wedding over there to prevent us from taking pictures.

Be wary of their catering restrictions if you want ethnic cuisine at your wedding. Meadowbrook does not allow outside caterers. My parents went to an Indian wedding at Meadowbrook that had bad Indian food (curry, vegetarian dishes, etc.) because it was prepared by the in-house Meadowbrook staff who made the dishes from recipes given to them. Without the proper training or familiarity with a cuisine, how could they expect to replicate authentic Indian food? I'm sure they do a great job with more familiar Western cuisines like Italian or French.