Spring Wedding Styled Shoot at The Swan House in Atlanta

From the Archives

All roads lead to Downton Abbey. Ok, not really but I felt like a guest at the wedding of Lord and Lady Grantham in England. One of the locations on my bucket list for a wedding or a styled shoot was The Swan House in Atlanta. It’s incredibly hard to schedule any kind of session there because fees for either a styled or real wedding are expensive. However, I promised myself that when the opportunity arose to attend a styled shoot here, that I would make the trip to Atlanta.

A Historic Mansion in Buckhead

If you’ve ever seen the Hunger Games movies, you will recognize the house as being the setting for The President’s House. The Swan House was originally designed for Edward and Emily Inman by Philip Trammel Shutze in 1928. Shutze utilized the architectural styles of Italian and English Classicism. In between the two staircases behind the house is a water cascade. This structure is inspired by the Palazzo Corsini in Rome, Italy where Shutze studied architecture. The Inman Family moved into the house in 1928. After both Edward and Emily passed away, the house was bought by the Atlanta Historical Society in 1965. It became the headquarters for the society and was opened to the public as a house museum in 1967.

The styled shoot was arranged by Audrey of Audrey Rae Photography. She invited ten other photographers to join her. Our models were Brittany and Walker and Sarah and Graham. Sarah and Graham were actually getting married the very next weekend. This shoot was fun practice for them before their own wedding! Our group started shooting Brittany and Walker first, and we headed to the front of the house.

The Swan House and Atlanta Historical Society own some old cars including a Hudson Super Six. Mr. Inman was a car collector and most likely did own a Hudson among the six cars he had in his collection. His garage is located behind the retaining wall which now houses the Swan House Coach Restaurant among other areas of the foundation. We were really fortunate to have the Hudson Super Six in the background of a lot of photos during this shoot, as well as an original restored Ford Model T.

We later moved to the Goizueta Gardens at the side of the house. This boxwood garden has been preserved to how it originally was laid out in the 1930’s. This specific area of the grounds was such a great spot for more couples portraits of Brittany and Walker. Once the groups were switched, we started working with Sarah and Graham for the second half of the photo shoot. We took pictures of them at the back of the house on the stairs and at a sweetheart table. Sarah and Graham slowly transitioned down the long staircase next to the water cascade.

In addition, we were also able to include a champagne tower on a gold glass cart for photos with both sets of models at the front of the house. I had so much fun at this wedding styled shoot, and I can’t wait to come back in the future! If you’re interested in seeing more of my sessions and weddings, visit my blog page!

Styled Shoot Vendors

Venue: The Swan House, Atlanta History Center

Planning: Audrey Rae Photography

Florals: Wonderstruck Florals

Cake: Bisoux Bakery

Hair and Makeup: Beauty and Beyond by Bri; Haley Mcelwaney

Dresses: Bridal Garden Studio; Salt Gowns

Champagne Toast and Sweetheart Table: Atlanta Vintage Glassware

Models: Sarah and Graham; Brittany and Walker