Location for taking outdoor wedding photo? (Alexandria, Jefferson: credit, shop, garden)

[Natthapol]

Hi,

We are looking for a good location in NOVA and DC metro area to take outdoor wedding photos. Any thoughts are appreciated. We are thinking about:
- Meadowlark garden
- Dumbarton Oak garden
- garden in front of the National Cathedral.

Any other thoughts? Any recommendations is appreciated!

Nat

[live_strong28]

Originally Posted by Natthapol

Hi,

We are looking for a good location in NOVA and DC metro area to take outdoor wedding photos. Any thoughts are appreciated. We are thinking about:
- Meadowlark garden
- Dumbarton Oak garden
- garden in front of the National Cathedral.

Any other thoughts? Any recommendations is appreciated!

Nat

Jefferson Memorial.

Great Falls Park.

Washington Harbour - Georgetown

[slduvall]

Depends on the time of year. The memorials would be great any time, but some of the gardens might not be as great, depending on the time of year. National Arboretum might be nice as well.

[themommy]

Just a heads-up: If you choose to use the memorials on the National Mall, then you'll need a photography permit. Here's the application. Your photographer will probably be familiar with filing it; if not, you can always call the number on the application if you have questions. The office that processes these is very helpful.

Other locations to consider:

• In Georgetown, the C&O Canal area
• There are lots of great places in Old Town Alexandria
• Glen Echo Park
• Great Falls (already mentioned, but worth a second vote IMO)
• Warrenton (the old downtown area)

Judging from the three places you listed in your post, it sounds like you're looking for a nice natural area. If you're open to something more urban, though, then I've also seen some great wedding/engagement shots taken down around K Street, using the glass office buildings as backdrops.

And if you're open to any indoor photos (or if you want a rain plan), then the National Gallery is a fun place for some shots. No permit required, as far as I know!

Have fun!

[Natthapol]

Thanks guy for your wonderful suggestions.

Yes, we do love natural settings like garden but we are open to urban settings too!

[slduvall]

Originally Posted by themommy

Just a heads-up: If you choose to use the memorials on the National Mall, then you'll need a photography permit. Here's the application. Your photographer will probably be familiar with filing it; if not, you can always call the number on the application if you have questions. The office that processes these is very helpful.

I didn't know that...good information. Haven't opened the permit, so that might answer my ? but does that apply to taking semi professional shots - I'm having a photographer friend take some pictures of family for holiday shots, she doesn't do lighting etc but it will take awhile, and we thought the memorials would be great location.

[themommy]

Originally Posted by slduvall

I didn't know that...good information. Haven't opened the permit, so that might answer my ? but does that apply to taking semi professional shots - I'm having a photographer friend take some pictures of family for holiday shots, she doesn't do lighting etc but it will take awhile, and we thought the memorials would be great location.

Yeah, I think the Park Service's official position would be that you still need the permit. You can always chance it, though. (For that matter, so can the OP.) The thing is that if you chance it and go without the permit, then you can be asked by the park police to stop your photoshoot, which, especially for something that's one-chance-only like wedding shots, would really stink. My rule of thumb is, if you're going to look like you're doing anything more involved than getting tourist snapshots, then you should either get the permit or have a backup plan in place.

If you're strongly tied to the idea of the monuments for holiday shots, then consider getting the permit. If you don't want to pay the money or are willing to chance it, then the U.S. Capitol would make a good alternate/backup location for your family's holiday pics. There's no permit required there unless your photographer will be using a tripod. If the photog will be using a tripod, then you get the permit for that though the U.S. Capitol Police.

[Mrs. 14th & You]

A quick note about the Cathedral: The garden is known as Bishop's Garden because it truly is considered the domain of the Bishop of Washington. You will have to call his office to request permission for photographs there. However, permission is likely to be granted unless there is a wedding party at the Cathedral or St. Albans church who have already requested use of the garden.