Wedding Photographers & Videographers at St. Hedwig Church, Erie

A wedding at St. Hedwig Church brings you to a Tudor Gothic church on a gentle hillside at Third and Wallace Streets, on Erie's historic East Bayfront. Its dark rose and beige faceted stone, sculpted tracery, heavy slate roof and copper spire over the bell tower give your photographer a facade that looks like it came from an English village, and the solid oak doors with their Tudor hinges frame wedding photos of the two of you stepping out as a married couple.

Inside, angels painted on the vaulted ceiling seem to process toward the altar, and European stained glass lines the nave. Your wedding ceremony takes place before a stone altar on a Gothic pedestal, with a rare woven hanging behind it showing Mary and the Child among angels, and a mural of the Trinity on the sanctuary wall. As you turn to leave, the great rose window over the back of the church glows in the afternoon sun, so a later ceremony gives your wedding videographer that light for the recessional. The ceiling, windows and woven hanging make this one of the richest settings in the city for wedding video and photos.

St. Hedwig belongs to St. Stanislaus Parish and is home to the Diocese of Erie's Latin Mass community, which celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass here on Sundays and Tuesdays. If you would like a traditional Latin nuptial Mass, or simply want to get married in this church, start with the St. Stanislaus parish office. The parish asks couples to contact the pastor at least eight months ahead and requires Pre-Cana. The church hosts the ceremony; your reception will be elsewhere on your wedding day.

• Call the St. Stanislaus parish office at (814) 452-6606 at least eight months before your date.
• Visit in the afternoon to see the rose window lit up.
• Ask about photo and video guidelines before your photographer plans the day.

A little about St. Hedwig Church

The parish was founded in 1911 for Polish families living near the bay. Parishioners built the present church during the Great Depression, using cobblestones from the city of Erie, and finished it in 1934.