Artistic Paine Arts Center Wedding

What if you could get married in Wisconsin but feel like you were on a European estate? That’s the experience you get when you choose the Paine Art Center as your Oshkosh wedding venue. Lauren and Patrick hosted an elegant celebration with a garden ceremony and reception in the Tudor-style carriage house. I documented their stunning summer wedding with emotional film images. These photos feel as timeless as Lauren and Patrick’s love.

A Paine Art Center Wedding

The Paine Art Center and its gardens are spread over three acres. The center makes good use of every bit of land with meticulously manicured gardens. They’re inspired by French and early American gardens. The fountains, reflecting pools, and architectural features make you feel like you’re in Europe, not Oshkosh.

Because it’s so large and well-maintained, the Paine Arts Center offers multiple ceremony and reception locations. They include the Ceremony Garden, Formal Garden, Mansion, Carriage House, and Conservatory. All of them are beautiful, but the gardens, Mansion, and Carriage House are the best at conveying that sense of history and elegance that makes the Paine so amazing.

Built in the Roaring 20s, the mansion originally housed the Paine family. The family wanted to showcase the art, furniture, architecture, and gardens they’d come to love. The Paine family always hoped to open their estate to the public, so the Paine Art Center is very much in line with their original vision. It’s also an unforgettable wedding venue!

As a historic wedding venue, the Paine can be particular about some of the vendors you use. They have designated caterers with whom you can work. Rental fees for a wedding at the Paine Art Center can range between $1,200 for a micro wedding to $7,500 for a full-sized guest list. Depending on the ceremony and reception locations you choose, this venue has capacity for up to 200 guests.

The Paine is located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It’s about an hour and a half north of Milwaukee. You could easily make a whole weekend out of your wedding experience. Oshkosh is sandwiched between Lake Winnebago and Lake Butte de Morts. There are lots of parks. Since Oshkosh is also home to the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, there are some great restaurants.

Film Wedding Photography

I photographed Lauren and Patrick’s Paine Art Center wedding alongside Melissa Alderton Photography. Melissa documented the day on digital while I focused solely on film photography. I really loved having the opportunity to focus on creative composition and light. This wedding was so elegant and artistic. Only photographing film gave me space to really do that justice.

I absolutely love photographing film. It’s a big part of what I do because it expresses the emotional core of our relationships so beautifully. That’s true of these images from Lauren and Patrick’s Paine Art Center wedding. You can feel their love in the warmth of these photos. Being a garden wedding, it was so vibrant. I love the way the colors translated in film photos.

Some of the most unique aspects of film photos are things you can’t even plan. Two of the photos in this blog post have light leaks. An orangey pink glow spreads across the images from the right side. This happens when light gets into the body of the camera. Light leaks are technically a mistake, but they add so much character and beauty to a gallery. 

Lauren and Patrick’s Artistic Wedding

Everything about Lauren and Patrick’s Paine Art Center wedding felt like summer. The hydrangeas made a wall of pink and cream hues behind them for portraits. Fragrant lavender lined a reflecting pool, and deep purple salvia trailed over planters. The colors sang against the muted tones of the stonework. Lauren’s bouquet and Patrick’s boutonniere fit in perfectly.

After the garden ceremony, guests gathered outside the carriage house of the Paine Art Center for cocktail hour. Everyone loved sipping cocktails beside the Tudor Revival building. Lauren and Patrick got the best of both worlds with indoor and outdoor spaces for their wedding.

Would you like me to photograph your wedding on film? I’m a Milwaukee wedding photographer, and I would love to document your wedding day with photos you can feel. Inquire with me!