Wedding Photographers & Videographers at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church (Altoona), Altoona

A wedding at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Altoona carries more than a century of family celebrations at the corner of Eighth Avenue and 11th Street. This is the city's Italian parish, the one with the summer festival and the homemade cookbook, and it has a warm, neighborhood feel your photographer can capture from the front door to the altar. The parish even keeps a video archive and a YouTube page, so a wedding videographer won't be the first camera through the doors.

Mount Carmel is a church for your wedding ceremony. Franciscan friars serve the parish, and the parish has been raising money for a pipe organ, so ask the office about music and whether an organist is available for your processional. The parish also has a second place of worship, Assumption Chapel on Hileman Street in Pleasant Valley, which may suit a smaller wedding; ask whether weddings are held there too. The website has no wedding page, so plan your reception at a separate venue.

Weekend Masses are on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and Sunday at 8:00 and 11:00 a.m., so ask which times are open on your wedding day. Every couple getting married in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown takes part in marriage preparation through the diocesan Family Life Office, in person or online. Ask early about the parish's guidelines for wedding photos and video, including where cameras may stand during the vows.

• Call the parish office at 814-942-8501 well before your date.
• Ask how marriage preparation works and register for the diocesan course.
• Walk the church with your photographer and videographer, and ask about photo and video guidelines.

A little about Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church

The parish began in 1905 to serve Altoona's Italian immigrants and took the name Our Lady of Mount Carmel soon after. Franciscan friars of the Third Order Regular have led it since 1909, and Assumption Chapel opened in 1925.