Wedding Photographers & Videographers at Goodell Gardens & Homestead, Edinboro

A wedding at Goodell Gardens & Homestead in Edinboro is a garden wedding in the truest sense: the venue is a public botanical garden and accredited arboretum on an old family farm. Roses and herbs in the Welcome Garden, rhododendrons in the Heritage Garden, plus an observation deck over Edinboro Lake Cove give your photographer and wedding videographer color and texture from spring through fall.

Wedding packages include use of the gardens, so your whole wedding day, from the wedding ceremony to the last dance, can stay on the grounds. The reception moves into a 40 by 80 foot events tent with a permanent floor, bistro lights and removable windowed sides, which you can open on a warm evening or close if it turns cool. A restored 30 by 40 foot Victorian-era barn with its own bistro lighting adds a second space, a nice spot for cocktails or a quiet portrait in soft light.

Tables and chairs come with the package, along with a modern restroom trailer, and the professional staff guide you through the plan. The garden publishes a weather protocol for events, worth reading before you decide where your vows will be. Among the trees, look for the state champion paper birch and the Dawn Redwood, which make memorable wedding photos, and ask your videographer to scout the lake overlook for a calm moment on film.

• Contact the events organizer early; dates fill up.
• Walk the gardens with your photographer in the season you're getting married.
• Ask about photo and video guidelines and the weather and cancellation policy.

A little about Goodell Gardens & Homestead

The farm belonged to the Goodell family from 1876, and the last two Goodell sisters arranged for it to become a public garden. It became a nonprofit in 2001 and is the only Level II accredited arboretum in northwestern Pennsylvania.