Wedding Photographers & Videographers at Christ the King Chapel (Mercyhurst University), Erie

A wedding at Christ the King Chapel on the Mercyhurst University campus in Erie starts with a long walk. The center aisle runs 80 feet, which gives your photographer room to follow you from the doors to the altar and gives your videographer a slow, steady processional to record from start to finish. The chapel seats 360 guests, so even a big family wedding fits comfortably in the pews.

This is a Roman Catholic chapel under the rules of the Diocese of Erie, so it's a place for the wedding ceremony itself. Weddings here are open to Mercyhurst students, faculty and staff, recent graduates, and older graduates who are registered and active in a parish, and one of you must be Catholic. Your reservation covers the chapel, its foyer, the restrooms and parking. Space for getting ready is limited: the university offers restrooms in Old Main for the bride's and groom's sides, with no security for belongings, so most couples dress elsewhere and arrive ready.

Plan your reception at another venue. Timing matters here, because diocesan rules set Saturday weddings to begin no later than 3 p.m., and other campus events may come before or after yours. Mercyhurst asks that photography and video stay unobtrusive during the liturgy, so talk with your photographer and videographer about where they'll stand, and save your posed wedding photos and the big group pictures for after the ceremony.

• Request your date at least six months ahead (a year is preferred) through the Office of the Chaplain, and plan for Pre-Cana preparation.
• Talk through your music with the chapel's director of liturgical music.
• Read the university's wedding guidelines on photo and video, decorations and send-offs before the wedding day.

A little about Christ the King Chapel

Mercyhurst opened in 1926, founded by the Sisters of Mercy, and the chapel carries on that tradition for the university's students and alumni.