Wedding Photographers & Videographers at St. Joseph Church (Sylvania), Sylvania

A wedding at St. Joseph Church in Sylvania takes place in the parish church on Main Street, home to one of the area's long-established Catholic communities. The parish music ministry provides cantors for weddings, so a trained voice leads the psalm and hymns during your ceremony, something your videographer will want to record cleanly. Talk with your photographer and videographer early about where they can stand during the liturgy, because every parish has its own guidelines.

The church is a place for your wedding ceremony, with or without a wedding Mass depending on what you and the priest decide. The parish office schedules sacraments, including weddings, and it is the first call to make once you have a date in mind. Your reception will be elsewhere, so ask how long the church is yours on your wedding day, before and after the ceremony and whether there is a room where the wedding party can get ready.

Before the day, visit the church at the hour your ceremony will start. Notice where the light falls on the aisle and the altar, and where your families will sit, then share that with your photographer. Ask your videographer to listen to the room during your visit, because organ and voice sound different in every church. After the ceremony, the front of the church is a natural place for a picture of the whole wedding party, if the parish allows it and the weather cooperates. Your wedding photos at the altar usually come right after the recessional, so plan family groups in advance.

• Call the parish office as soon as you have a date in mind and ask about marriage preparation.
• Ask whether the music ministry will arrange a cantor and accompanist.
• Ask about photo and video guidelines before your photographer plans the timeline.

A little about St. Joseph Church (Sylvania)

St. Joseph began in 1855 as a station of a Toledo parish serving Irish Catholic settlers, and its first church was built in the early 1870s. The present church was completed and dedicated in 1967.