Here is everything you need to know about planning your wedding at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, one of the most beautiful Catholic churches in Denver and Colorado for weddings.
As Catholic photographers, we take seriously our duty to be reverent and discreet throughout the nuptial wedding Mass. At Our Lady of Lourdes, photographers are allowed down the center aisle and along the left and right aisles of the church and in the choir loft, but not in the sanctuary.
We photograph easily in Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church without flash photography, using fixed-focal-length lenses — 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm and 135mm, all with apertures between f/1.4 and f/1.8 — that allow us to capture wide angle shots of the striking blue sanctuary, the icons of Mary and Joseph and others in low light. We also use mirrorless cameras so that those in attendance don’t hear shutter clicks throughout the Mass.
During family photos in front of the altar after the ceremony at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, we will using a large flash with an umbrella because it allows us to balance the lighting on the crucifix and the altar (which are bright) while ensuring enough light hits the faces of the subjects.
For couples who do not want to see each other before the ceremony, the adoration chapel at Our Lady of Lourdes is an ideal location to reverently pray before our Lord before your wedding nuptials. We work to ensure the groom is positioned in the chapel, then bring in the bride from the adjoining bridal suite, and then step out to let you pray together before taking the bride back to the bridal suite.
The Narthex — just outside Our Lady of Lourdes Church — is typically where parents take crying children during Mass. But it’s also a great place for setting up first looks and doing final prep work with groomsmen before the nuptial wedding Mass, including pinning on boutonnieres, photographing lay flats and rings.
After taking family and wedding party photos in Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic church, couples usually want to venture outside for photos together or with their wedding party. While many will want to head closer to their reception venue, Our Lady of Lourdes offers great options nearby.
Pictured above, The Grotto at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church sits on the church property and is a place many of our couples want to capture pictures. It sits between the church and the school, so it’s just steps away from the ceremony. It includes a long, grassy walkway that’s great for walk-and-talk photos, poses and more, with leafy backgrounds. During the spring, summer and fall, the Grotto also offers lots of shade, which makes photographing in the middle of the afternoon — when the sun is highest and least flattering on subjects — much easier.
Across the street from the church sits Harvard Gulch Park, a space with wide open fields with green grasses in the summer and a sidewalk covered with trees alongside South Logan Street. At the back end of the park, we can capture walk-and-talk photos alongside a fench. During the summer months, this can be a harder spot to use during the middle of the afternoon for Catholic weddings because there isn’t as much shade, but there are places we can use.
Call Mary Rogers at the parish office at 303-722-6861 ext. 226 as soon as you’re engaged. The church hosts several dozen weddings per year, and space fills up quickly. The Archdiocese of Denver also requires at least each months of preparation before the wedding.