Wedding Photographers & Videographers at Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Altoona

A wedding at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament means getting married in the cathedral of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. The cathedral stands on Cathedral Square in downtown Altoona, and the parish welcomes couples who prepare with it for the Sacrament of Marriage. For wedding photos and video, the cathedral's stained glass windows and the walk down the aisle give your processional a sense of occasion.

Your wedding ceremony is a Catholic celebration, held in the church before a priest or deacon, two witnesses and your guests. The cathedral is available on the wedding day after the noon Mass, from about 12:45 p.m., so plan your timeline, and your getting-ready pictures, around that start. Wedding music is arranged with the parish's Director of Music Ministry, and a wedding videographer should ask where cameras may stand during the liturgy and how sound carries in a church this size. Afterward, the front of the cathedral is a natural place for a picture of everyone together.

The parish asks couples to notify it nine months before the proposed date and gives each couple a Marriage Preparation Handbook with its policies. You'll meet with the priest or deacon four times, complete an approved diocesan marriage preparation program, and bring recently issued baptismal certificates. The date is set once the clergy confirm you're ready, and the rehearsal is the day before, when you hand over your marriage license.

• Contact the parish office at least nine months before your date.
• Call the office to schedule a tour, and bring your photographer if you can.
• Ask the parish about photo and video guidelines in the handbook.

A little about the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament

Altoona's first Catholic parish, St. John, was established in 1851, and its church became the cathedral when the diocese was formed in 1901. That church was razed in 1923 to make way for the present cathedral.