Wedding Photographers & Videographers at Prince Gallitzin State Park, Patton

A wedding at Prince Gallitzin State Park near Patton puts water behind you in nearly every picture. Glendale Lake spreads across 1,635 acres here, with 26 miles of shoreline and the wooded hills of the Allegheny Plateau rising around it, and the park's vistas look out over all of it. For wedding photos and a wedding film, that means open sky and a long, quiet horizon instead of a wall.

Pennsylvania state parks do allow a wedding ceremony, but every one needs approval from the park office first, so call before you choose a spot. The park has five picnic pavilions that can be reserved for a fee up to 11 months ahead, a natural fit for a small ceremony or a picnic-style get-together afterward (ask the office which ones work best for a wedding). A pavilion that isn't reserved is first come, first served, which isn't something to count on for your wedding day. There's also a beach on the east side of the park and a marina, so ask about busy summer weekends.

The state keeps a few rules for weddings in its parks. Throwing rice or birdseed isn't allowed, and neither is releasing doves or butterflies, while bubbles are possible with written permission. If you're hiring a professional photographer or videographer, the state asks you to talk it over with the park office, and it's a good moment to ask where they can go along the shore for pictures. Outdoors by a big lake, wind can carry your vows away, so your videographer may want small microphones on you and your officiant.

• Call the park office early for approval and a pavilion reservation.
• Visit at the hour of your ceremony to see the light on the lake.
• Ask the office about photo and video plans and any areas that are off limits.

A little about Prince Gallitzin State Park

Its name comes from Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, known as the Apostle of the Alleghenies, who helped settle this part of Cambria County. Plans for the park were announced in 1957, and the dam that holds back Glendale Lake was finished in 1960.