Wedding Photographers & Videographers at Cathedral of Saint John Gualbert, Johnstown

A wedding at the Cathedral of Saint John Gualbert starts at the bronze doors on Clinton Street in downtown Johnstown. The four doors, cast in Italy, show scenes from the life of the cathedral's patron, and above them rises a 180-foot Italianate bell tower inspired by the campanile in Venice. Your photographer will want the wedding party out front for a picture with that tower overhead, and your videographer can follow you through those doors and up the aisle.

Inside, round arch windows, Corinthian-capped pilasters and a coved, coffered ceiling frame your wedding ceremony. The pipe organ has 1,929 pipes, and the parish music director helps couples choose cantors, organists and music, which must be sacred (no recorded music), so plan for live music in your wedding video. If both of you are Catholic, the ceremony is usually a Mass of about an hour; otherwise it runs about 45 minutes.

Ceremonies are usually held at 1 p.m. on Saturdays, and none take place on Sundays, during Holy Week or on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Couples who grew up in Johnstown but live far away can come home to get married here, and much of the preparation can be done at their current parish. The parish policy also covers where the bridal party gets ready (there's no covered walkway to the church, so have a rain plan), flowers, and guidelines for photographers and videographers, including when wedding photos in the church need to wrap up on your wedding day.

• Schedule 9 to 12 months ahead, starting with a meeting with a cathedral priest or deacon.
• Plan for marriage preparation, including Pre-Cana classes.
• Read the parish's marriage policy and share its photo and video guidelines with your photographer and videographer.

A little about the Cathedral of Saint John Gualbert

Construction began in 1895, and the church is now the co-cathedral of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. Its bell fell from the belfry of an older church during the Johnstown Flood of 1889, survived, and was recast in 1890.