Wedding Photographers & Videographers at St. Peter Cathedral, Erie

A wedding at St. Peter Cathedral in Erie comes with one of the longest aisles you'll ever walk: 120 feet from the back of the church to the sanctuary, under a ceiling 75 feet overhead. For your wedding videographer that walk becomes a long, unhurried processional, and for your photographer the red sandstone front on West 10th Street, with its tall center steeple and twin spires, is a grand setting for wedding photos of everyone on the way out.

Inside, color from more than 3,000 square feet of restored stained glass spills across the marble and wood, and clear glass around the windows lets daylight into the church. That matters, because the cathedral's guidelines don't allow flash during the wedding ceremony. The Casavant Frères organ fills the space, and the music is led by the cathedral's own organist and cantor, so your film will carry the sound of the room itself. Weddings are celebrated on Saturdays at noon and 2 p.m., with Friday evenings on request.

The cathedral hosts the ceremony only, so you'll plan your reception somewhere else. There is no dressing room: arrive ready, and the bride and bridesmaids gather in a screened space in the vestibule while the groom and groomsmen wait in Synod Hall. On your wedding day you may arrive 30 minutes before the ceremony, photos inside afterward are limited to about 30 minutes, and receiving lines are discouraged so the next couple can begin. Guests can park in the lot at the southeast corner of 10th and Sassafras, and the wedding cars can wait right out front.

• Request your date with the online request form; Catholic couples should contact the cathedral at least six months ahead.
• Couples who don't belong to the cathedral parish need written permission from their own pastors.
• Read the cathedral's wedding packet, including its photo and video guidelines, and share it with your photographer and videographer.

A little about St. Peter Cathedral

St. Peter is the mother church of the Diocese of Erie. It was built between 1874 and 1893 of red sandstone in a Gothic style, and its center steeple rises 265 feet, cross included.