Bella Weddings | Nashville Wedding Planner

There’s a place deep in the Mississippi Delta that few outside the state have ever heard about. A place of antebellum historical signifiance that’s
almost empty of people (alive that is) but full of some of the coolest shots for brides & couples – a photographer’s dream backdrop.
The ghost town of Rodney, Mississippi & the antebellum Ruins of Windsor.
I went back again last year with my daughter on a hot July weekend. Bad idea being that the mosquitoes down there
are leftover from the Dinosaur era. They have teeth, they’re huge & boy do they pack a punch!
So unless you want to know first hand what it was like to live there during an 1800′s summer, then July is probably not ideal.
Especially if you’re a bride wearing a wedding gown because the humidity will wrap around you like a wet blanket!
Still, whatever the season, it’s a place that I’ve never grown tired of seeing. A step back in time any photographer, amature or pro, will love.
Time has not been very kind to these buildings but that’s the beauty of it. At both places you’ll find kudzu & wisteria have
taken over the ancient live oaks & you’ll hear nothing except maybe the whisper of the river beyond the trees.
You’re allowed to walk among the town’s remaining buildings & among the ruins as long as you want (no one there to tell you no anyway).

In the ghost town of Rodney, Mississippi there are several places for great shots.
Once off the highway, you travel to Rodney via small dirt & gravel back roads. That’s the best way out of the town as well.
Even though the few remaining buildings in Rodney are on the National Register of Historic Places, they’re in sad disrepair &
won’t be around after a few more years. So grab the chance to photograph a forgotten piece of Southern history while you can.
Stand at the doorway of the brick church & look up. That’s a cannon ball you see in the brick above the door. It landed there one Sunday morning during church service from a boat on the river during the Civil War.  How it has stayed there all this time is completely baffling to me.
It’s been stuck in the doorway right where it landed for nearly 150 years. You’ll leave Rodney thinking you’re as far from civilization
as you can drive, but no – you’ll go back even further to travel to the Ruins of Windsor.

As a native Mississippian, I grew up knowing about the Windsor Ruins as a staple in Mississippi Delta history & folklore.
While there last year, my daughter & I were the only ones for miles it seemed. Errily peaceful, I wouldn’t have been surprised to have seen a ghostly apparition walking among the columns. What was once a giant among river plantation homes (Mark Twain compared it’s size to a college) now only 23 of the 29 columns & wrought iron from the balcony remain – reduced to this condition
in 1890 because of a careless weekend party guest & the ashes from his cigarette.   
Windsor was slave labor & New England craftsmen built in 1859 & decorated with only the finest furnishings from New Orleans,
New York & Europe & were delivered on riverboats via the the Mississippi River (less than two miles away) & via the Natchez Trace.
The history is heavy there. You’ll feel this when standing in the middle of where the stately house once stood way out in the middle of nowhere. The numerous out buildings have long disappeared & the nearly 3000 acres of cotton fields that were tended by slaves & sharecroppers 
were long ago swallowed up by trees or brush or sold off in bits & pieces.
Later as we were leaving, a photographer drove up & said she was there to hide & capture a proposal that was to take place.
Friends of the groom-to-be also arrived to place a bouquet of roses at the base of one of the columns so he could surprise his girlfriend when he proposed. Unique is an understatement as the opportunities for photographers at the Windsor Ruins are one of a kind.
Yes, the place is that cool.

Just a few miles west of Rodney off Hwy 61 & close to the Natchez Trace is a resturant in a 100+ year old building called the Old Country Store. Devout & strict foodies declare the owner there to make the holy grail of fried chicken – the best in the world. It’s the kind of place you want to keep to yourself. But thanks to some high profile celebs the word is out because when we stopped for lunch & found the resturant closed for vacation, many disappointed travellers from all over America had left notes on the door & window to Mr. D with promises to return.
So after you’ve worked up an appetite visiting ghostly places have some iced tea & fried chicken at the Old Country Store.

Granted, for a Middle Tennessee photographer it’s a long drive. But it’s worth the trip. You could plan a long weekend & stop over 1rst in Memphis. From there, drive to Rodney then back a little north to the Ruins. Windsor is close to the small town of Port Gibson – a town that according to General Grant in 1863 during his time in the state, declared Port Gibson “too beautiful to burn” as he had other towns.
There you have even more chances for some cool photography - old homes, churches & really cool storefront facades for great backdrops.
A great stop over at the end of your day is in Vicksburg – another hictorical river port town full of photography opportunities.
And you’ll also have occasions for shots of the Mississippi River from overlooks along the way.
Cool bridal or engagement shots with a Mississippi River bridge in the background!
Yeah, I know. You can thank me later.

Mississippi husband & wife team April & Paul Russell have documented the Windsor Ruins for their brides through their fabulous photography.
They’re based in Hattisburg but travel throughout the state photographing interesting places for their clients. I love their work of the Windsor Ruins as they have perfectly captured a timeless & rustic Southern elegance. A juxtaposition of the decaying beauty of the ruins & a lovely modern bride – as only an artist can document. I think their pictures are beautiful snapshots in time. Check out their work below & here.
Certainly not to be compared to April & Paul’s shots, also below are some pictures I took of all three places.

You’ll not find many pictures of the Ruins or Rodney on the internet. Just too far out of the way I guess.
All the more reason to take advantage of this little known area. Think of the great shots you can add to your portfolio that few others have!
So if any of you Middle Tennessee photographers decide to plan a few days in the Mississippi Delta & need some advice let me know.
Better still, if you need a tour guide & someone to carry your photography gear then I’m your gal. Yea! Road trip!
{click to find out more about Rodney, Mississippi & the Windsor Ruins}.

But don’t finalize your Delta travel plans just yet!
If you think these are great ideas, I have more out-of-the-way-little-known-Mississippi Delta-places to add to your trip coming up on a future blog. So leave a comment – let me know what you think, if you’ve been or if I’ve inspired you to plan a trip!

{All photos are property of April & Paul Russell or Bella Weddings. Please DO NOT COPY without emailing for permission!}

Old Country Store ~ Lorman, Mississippi…  

Rodney, Mississippi  ~ closest towns  St. Joseph, Louisiana  &  Lorman, Mississippi…

Ruins of Windsor ~ Claiborne County  ~ Port Gibson, Mississippi