Wedding Photographers & Videographers at Kings Gap Cameron-Masland Mansion, Carlisle

A wedding at the Kings Gap Cameron-Masland Mansion takes you to the top of South Mountain near Carlisle, where the sweeping view of the Cumberland Valley is what everyone remembers. Your photographer and videographer can use the panorama of mountain and valley, the stone mansion itself and the mansion's garden for wedding photos and film. The drive up is part of it too: a winding, paved road climbs 3.5 miles through the forest before you reach the mansion area.

Full-service weddings are available at Kings Gap, the state says, both indoors and outside. The mansion and grounds can be reserved for your wedding ceremony and your wedding reception, and the mansion has meeting rooms, food service and guest rooms for overnight stays, so your family can stay on the mountain. Because the setting is open and high up, ask your wedding videographer to plan for wind when recording your vows outside.

Rentals of the mansion and grounds run from mid-April through mid-November, and the center office handles availability, prices and reservations. Parking is in several lots beside the education building and the mansion, and visitors follow one-way signs in the mansion area, which is handy to share with guests. If your wedding includes a commercial photographer or caterer, the state asks couples to discuss those details with the park office, and the parks ask guests not to throw rice or birdseed or release doves or butterflies. Bubbles may be allowed with written permission.

• Call the center office early to check your wedding day.
• Visit at ceremony time to see where the light falls on the valley.
• Ask about photo and video guidelines and plan a rain option.

A little about Kings Gap Cameron-Masland Mansion

The 32-room stone mansion was built as a summer home around 1908. A carpet company later used it as a guest house, and the state bought it in 1973 for the environmental education center that opened in 1977.