Christina + JR — A Historic Garden Estate for Dreamy Engagement Photos

This soon to wed couple chose the Inn at Irwin Gardens as the backdrop for their engagement session + it provided the sweetest scenery!

As a local photographer that’s been documenting love stories for over a decade, I was absolutely in shock that none of those previous stories had never landed me in this romantic spot. The Inn at Irwin Gardens immediately took my breath away and it wasn’t even in full bloom yet for the year. After this engagement session, where we spent our time strolling between fountains and along intimate paths, I am already so eager to go back!

I’m a big believer that your engagement session doesn’t need to happen at the “perfect” picturesque location. I often encourage it to be somewhere that means something to you like a favorite restaurant or the neighborhood where you live. But every once in a while, you find a place that gives you so much to play with creatively that it feels like a piece of the story. That’s Irwin Gardens + that’s how it felt with these two.

The property has so many different visual moments tucked into it that we found ourselves moving around and exploring without the session ever feeling like we were just checking off a list of backdrops.

The Inn at Irwin Gardens is a historic property in Columbus, Indiana, originally built in 1864. The home was later renovated in the Edwardian style, and the surrounding gardens add an entirely different layer to the property. Today, the venue offers both indoor and outdoor event spaces, making it a really unique option for couples capturing engagement photos or planning a wedding in Columbus.

And if you’re anything like me, the history is part of the fun. I love when a venue has a personality of its own. You definitely find that here with he architecture, the old details, + the gardens that have lived through decades of other people's stories.