Wedding Photographers & Videographers at St. Francis Xavier Church (McKean), McKean

A wedding at St. Francis Xavier Church in McKean puts your ceremony at a church on the edge of town on West Main Street, with a bell tower out front. It's a newer building for one of the oldest Catholic communities in the area, and its quiet, small-town setting makes for relaxed wedding photos, from the bell tower outside to the processional inside. Your photographer and videographer can take their time here, so visit together before the wedding day to see the church and the grounds at the hour of your ceremony.

Here you'll hold the wedding ceremony; plan your wedding reception at a hall in McKean, Edinboro or Erie. Most couples take their family pictures in the church right after the ceremony, so ask the parish office how long you'll have afterward and whether there's a room for the wedding party to wait in. The parish office is on the west side of the church, handy for questions on the day.

The parish asks couples to make arrangements with the priest at least six months before the wedding. You'll meet with the priest for marriage preparation and also take part in an Engagement Encounter weekend or a Pre-Cana conference. As you plan the music, tell your wedding videographer what to expect so they can record your vows clearly, and ask whether the bell can ring as you leave, a lovely sound to end a wedding film on.

• Contact the parish at least six months ahead.
• Plan for marriage preparation plus Engagement Encounter or Pre-Cana.
• Ask about photo and video guidelines and use of the grounds for pictures.

A little about St. Francis Xavier Church

St. Francis Xavier Parish dates to the 1830s, when a bishop came upon a settlement of Irish and German families near Elk Creek, and it is older than the Diocese of Erie itself. The present church, the parish's third, was built in 1968, and its bell tower was blessed in 1980.