This week we sat and talked a little about our favorite shoot locations of the 2017 wedding season! You can check out the video below!
We decided to count down our 10 favorite wedding shoot locations from this past season. This is the part of the wedding day where the wedding party and the videographers and photographers do the video and photo shoots. It’s one of the most fun parts of the day!
So what do we look for in the best locations?
Probably the most important factor to locations for weddings is the couples comfort level. Usually they have ideas in mind, from research they’ve done or special places to them. It’s their day after all and places they love always turn out amazing! Other factors we looked for on our are lighting, parking, how busy it will be and weather adaptability.
With out further adieu!
Number 10: Albright Knox / Hoyt Lake / Delaware Park
This location is extremely popular and for good reason. Plenty of options when around Delaware park. Form the art gallery to the lake it offers a wide range of different looks and feel. Weather you want the beautiful stone columns of the gallery to the nature and wide open views of the lake. As a bonus these are all a one minute walk from each other. This is always a very reliable go to for amazing shots, but to the same account there are still some downsides. Because of its popularity there are often multiple wedding parties gathered here through out the season, so occasionally you have to wait for your turn at shooting. During the summer months the park is also pretty busy, with plenty of people around. Luckily the space is large enough where when people see cameras and the whole wedding party they stray away from interfering.
Number 9: Central Terminal
Central Terminal is one of Buffalo’s most amazing spots. With one of the most distinct looks it makes for some amazing shots. People love the Art Deco architecture as well as the amazing history that it represents. Being an indoor location it is perfect for the times of year that the weather isn’t always guaranteed to be nice for outdoor shoots. The only caveat to this is that it is by appointment only and is not always available, but this does mean you will get the entire place to yourself with no interruptions.
Number 8: Baseball Diamonds
We had the pleasure this year to go to baseball diamonds with a wedding party to film. This spot was very cool because we were able to completely utilize the space. We ad equipment to actually play ball and it created for some amazing moments. This is a great example of going a little outside the box to a location that isn’t a historic or known place, but one that is very important to the couple. When we get to do these sort of shots it makes for a lot of fun for the bride and groom as they usually have history with the spot and their comfortability comes across well on camera. These are often childhood places, spots where they met or even just a favorite date spot. Often the only tough part sometimes can be the unpredictability of shoot conditions. Where many of the other places on this list are done multiple times a year the videographers and photographers have plenty of experience with them. With the locations like this it allows your video/photographer to get out of the comfort zone and get really creative.
Number 7: Knox Farm State Park
Knox Farm is an unbelievably beautiful location in East Aurora, NY. The vibe here is very country, out doors, and nature oriented. With beautiful lines of trees, lots of fields, and the farm houses there are plenty of amazing spots here to get different looks with great backdrops. (there is also a full dog park, so bring the furry friends!) Being all the way in East Aurora, it is about 40 minutes form downtown Buffalo and lots of the venues so it’s not always good for a tight schedule or if you want to hit a few locations during the day. Arguably the best times for Knox farm visits is for the fall weddings. The colors are AMAZING and the views become even better with the leaves beginning to fall.
Number 6: Gallagher Pier / Beach
Located at the outer harbor of Buffalo, Gallagher Pier offers something special and unique. Combining a beach front pier with the old industry of Buffalo, old grain elevators over look the beach and can be used as awesome back drops along with the lake. Certainly the board walk and the pier itself make for excellent shots as well. The location is great because in the hot summer months it offers the breeze coming off the water, which also makes for some great flowing dresses and veils for the shoot. (but be warned hair may be affected).
Number 5: Broderick park
This small but amazing park is downtown on the Niagara River directly on the boarder of the US and Canada. The back drop to the park is the Peace Bridge which makes for an awesome shoot opportunity and a grand and romantic feel. The park also offers paths with lines of trees and a stage with stone steps for all your shooting looks. The best part of the park is the Water Walk, which is a path on a break wall that goes right under the Peace Bridge! This allows to have amazing rock formations, the bridge and the river on both sides of you for amazing and romantic shots. This one is gaining and popularity and we hope to be back here a few more times next season!
Number 4: Ted’s Hot Dogs
Yes Teds. In Buffalo, we love our amazing and local food joints. We’re famous for some of the best food in the country and we are not afraid to live it. Our local eateries become staples of the community and the people. As a hub for this we’ve had couples that have met at these spots and they become very important places to them. Also through out the wedding day you may find yourself get a tad hungry, and where a lot of people have some catering in the limo stopping for a bite to eat at a amazing spot is always a fun option and it will hold you until the dinner which may seem forever away. You certainly don’t want to end up hangry.
Number 3: Cobblestone District
One of downtown Buffalo’s coolest districts. The Cobble Stone district gets it famous name from.. well… the cobblestone roads, who would’ve thought. Anyways this area is beautiful for very industrial looks, the stone, the brick work buildings and the colors offer amazing looks for any shot. It is just a small area consisting of only 4 streets so it is a quick one to hit for a few amazing shots. We love coming here it is always fun and we can’t get enough of the way it looks, and during the times we typically have the shoots it is usually pretty clear of people and cars.
Number 2: Theatre District
Ah the Theatre District, another of Buffalo’s most famous locations, possibly the most well known actually. Located on Main street downtown, the area is home to the famous Shea’s Theatre, among others in the area. That provides a great backdrop to it self and the sign is a staple of Buffalo. The surrounding area is also very “city” so you get a lot of the great architecture that buffalo is known for. The Metro rail also runs on Main street so people love using the crossing tracks and as a nice spot. Around the corner is an amazing gigantic mural on the side of the 710 Main Theatre which provides an explosion of color for a background for fun and different shots.
AND FINALLY
Number 1: Japanese Gardens
The Japanese Gardens of Buffalo were our favorite place this year! As a part of Delaware Park the Japanese Gardens sit behind the Buffalo History Museum. There is amazing trails, statues and stone works, trees, plants of all sorts and the lake. What more could you need! On a nice day you will never want to leave. Even into the fall months the location changes again with the different colors and falling of the leaves. Every time we come here we find a new way to use the space. It seems to never run out of angles and shots. Also a 3 minute walk up to the Museum gives us a lot of the shots with the stone pillars for a look similar (but better in my opinion) to the Art Gallery. There is also Abraham Lincoln so yeah. Now the location is not flawless there can be a few wedding parties here at the same time but it never really is an issue. There are so many spots that not everyone is trying to get the same shot like other spots and we share and all sort of rotate around so it makes for good fun!
That was our Top 10 Locations from this year! Have others you want to share? Comment Below!
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