Photography at the chapel

Your photographer and videographer are welcome vendors — in the room from the minute your window opens to the minute it closes, chapel and grounds alike. Here's what helps them do their best work.

Plan the shot list backward from your window

All photography, including on the grounds, wraps when your window ends — so build the timeline from the close backward. On a 90-minute Signature that's roughly 20 minutes of photos after the ceremony; a 3.5-hour Premier leaves real time for a first look, family formals, and golden-hour portraits. See sample timelines, and send your photographer the day's timing in advance.

The light

The chapel is fully enclosed and air-conditioned, with white walls and a tall arched window behind the altar — soft, even light for the ceremony and portraits in any weather.
Every couple has the patio after the ceremony; Premier couples use it for the toast, cake cutting, and dances.
Late-day ceremonies catch the best outdoor light: the 4 PM Premier runs to 7:30, and the 6 PM Premier (daylight-saving months) runs to 9:30 with sunset in the middle of the celebration — the ideal setup for a Sparkler Send-Off.

Where to shoot

Two outdoor photo areas sit right beside the chapel: one along the side of the building, and a lower area beyond the end of it. Add the patio, the chapel's front doors, and the arched window inside, and your photographer has five spots within a minute's walk of each other.

Aerial photo of the chapel grounds with red labels: the chapel, the guest patio under shade sails, the Bride & Groom suites, the bathrooms in the Annex between them, a photo area beside the chapel and a lower photo area beyond it, the path up from the main guest parking at the bottom, and the side parking lot by the suites marked accessible, vendor, bride & groom, and family. — **Photo areas from above.** The photo area beside the chapel and the lower photo area past it, with the patio and the suites for context. Tap to open full size.

Seeing the chapel beforehand

Your photographer can scout on a Venue Tour with you, or at your rehearsal if you book one at the chapel. For engagement or bridal photos here, book a Portrait Session. More in Visiting before your wedding. Photos of the chapel to plan from are on chapeltx.com.

Drones

Drones are welcome outdoors only. No drone flies inside the chapel.

A note on usage

Photos and video from your day are yours to share and enjoy. Commercial use of the chapel building's likeness (selling images of the venue itself) needs our written permission first — your photographer's portfolio and social posts are always fine.