Going to the Chapel......

This is the second in a series of blog posts about locations for your ceremony.

Your church may be a large part of your life. You go there for solace, friendship, comraderie.
Your faith is a part of who you are, you couldn't imagine getting married anywhere else!
Or perhaps your family has a long history at a particular place of worship and you want to continue that tradition.
Whatever the reason, and whatever the season, sometimes a church is just the right place to be.

Some of the local churches that we've been to include:

St. Mary's in Fishkill.

 This view is from the front of the church, there is a beautiful garden in the front with memorial bricks.

 This view of the altar area before the ceremony shows the clean, uncluttered lines of the church, with a glimpse of the choir loft at upper right.

 Stained glass in this church is a beautiful touch.

 A view from the back of the church during the ceremony. There is a center aisle, plus two side aisles, this helps with being an unobtrusive photographer during the ceremony.

The choir loft enables us to get views that you just can't get on the floor of the church.

The next house of worship that we'll visit is the United Methodist Church in Red Hook:

 Exterior with a beautiful steeple and door details.

 Entrance (with a ramp to make it easy to walk in while you're dressed in along gown - no tripping).

 Beautiful stained glass windows

 View from the back before the guests arrived. This church actually sloped down from the back to front (like a movie theater). This makes it much easier for your guests to observe the entire ceremony and makes it easier for the photographer too! No center aisle in this church, 2 side aisles do the job here.

Th entrance to the church opens directly onto one of the side aisles.

Our next church is Our Lady of the Rosary in Poughkeepsie. St Peter's in Hyde Park is the parish. This beautiful stone chapel on the former Hudson Valley Psychiatric Center grounds has been completely restored.

 The landscaping surrounding this church is unique, large trees, gardens and private worship areas abound.

 The completely renovated and restored stone chapel has amazing architectural details, stained glass and marble appointments.

 The reveal of the bride and groom offers an opportunity for tossing rice over the happy couple to wish them well in their new life.

 Some of the landscape just naturally makes for a beautiful photograph. The lovely curved bench perhaps....

Or this private nook.


Our last church is Mt Carmel in Poughkeepsie:
This brick church in the traditionally Little Italy section of Poughkeepsie has a river view and can easily be seem from the Walkway Over the Hudson. The cross on the top of the steeple glows in the sunlight.

 Interior views show the gorgeous stained glass and truly stunning detail.

 The choir loft gives the bride and groom a "birds eye view" of their ceremony.

I hope that this pictorial essay on churches gives you ideas for your own wedding (or even a friend's wedding). If you have questions or comments, please let me know.

Next up: Ceremony and receptions at the same venue!