Get Me to the Church on Time!

So, as I mentioned before, Al only had one real adamant "condition" about getting married and that was that we HAD to have a church ceremony.

I didn't neccessarily have my heart set on a specific location/environment, so that was fine with me.

Since we met, we had been regularly attending the Catholic center at Georgia Tech, which was totally fine, except that it's not structurally a church.

So I suggested to Al that we visit some other churches in town to see if we "fit". Of course I had an ulterior motive. I really wanted to see if I could envision myself walking down the aisle and having the priest marry us.

Around this time, there were a few different occasions which allowed me to be a part of a few different weddings. The first event was the wedding of a college girlfriend who got married at Sacred Heart.

I was immediately in love. The exterior was gorgeous and gothic and very historic to Atlanta's history. The structure itself is of this unique brick colored stone, turrets and beautiful stained glass. The interior was a bit dark with an overwhelming red color scheme. It was completely gorgeous, but just not right for me. I also have this originality thing that prevents me from doing anything wedding related that is similar to any of my friends who have gotten married.

The second glimpse of Sacred Heart was through a vendor's eyes. I was second shooting a wedding and experienced the church from the Vendor's side. I was not pleased. Perhaps I caught the wedding guild lady on an "off " day, but she treated us pretty harshly. In addition, the balcony (where the photographer's are restricted to) is HOT.....I mean sweltering hot and the only relief is a small floor fan which is laughably ridiculous. I have no idea how their choir members can stand it. I stood next to the bag piper and we joked as sweat poured down our faces that it could always be worse......

One good thing I did notice were the soft rules on flash photography. We could use the flash during the procession and recession, however, during the ceremony it had to be completely off.

We were allowed to travel up to 5 pews from the back and had the choir loft/balcony to ourselves.

Another con.....the wedding homily was exactly the same as my friend's wedding. I can't fault the priest too much on this one, but again, personalization of some sort is paramount to me....so....yeah....not for me.

However, I do highly reccomend this church to anyone over Christ the King, not only for it's beauty, but it's photographic quality and amazing priest (despite the impersonal wedding homilies) who wears socks and birkenstocks underneath his robes.

Ahhh...Christ the King.....where do I start.
From a parishoner's perspective:

Al and I have attended this church on a few occasions and each visit was worse than the last (including a DISASTEROUS midnight mass for Christmas).

They have a system of potluck priests, so you never know which one you're going to get. Two of them (Irish and Indian) I can't understand to save my life. Each time I have attended a service, there has inevitably been a screaming child and thus resounding echoes coupled with a delusional parent who doesn't know how to control their child or at the very least, remove them from the main sanctuary.

In addition, the pews are uncomfortable and so close together, that unless you are under 5'5, you can't fit your body into.

It's so dark in there that it feels like a dungeon with the only light source being the blinding light at the altar; and it is a horrible environment to shoot in from a photographer's perspective.

The main stained glass window over the altar is SO incredibly beautiful and looks to be a replica of the mosaic of the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. The side stained glass is also very beautiful and all are done in a purple/blue motif which adds a soft etheral effect to the overall mood, however, the windows are so high, that as a parishoner in the church, you don't really notice the effect unless you're standing in the balcony looking down. The church is huge and a bit cavernous.

From a photographer's perspective:

It is a BEAR to shoot pictures in this environment. It's VERY dark and no flash photography is allowed at all until after the ceremony when the guests have left.

My all time worst con about this place is the center aisle....which I only noticed because I was shooting from the balcony. There are these horrendous orange colored inverted V's on the center aisle. They're just plain ugly and completely ruin the grandiose aura the place is trying to create.

If I could, I would photoshop it out of every picture, but that would take WAYYYY to much time.

Christ the King is also a wedding mill. They do 3-4 weddings almost every single Saturday and are ALWAYS booked....(I have no idea why).

So there's almost always an overlap of guests coming and going.

If you want to do portraits before the ceremony, you have to be careful that you don't get mixed in with the previous wedding's exit......UGH!!!!

There is a VERY beautiful courtyard (so picturesque) that is hidden within the bowels of the church and can be found by making your way through a maze of hallways, rooms and doors that you just aren't sure where they go to. And, if you're unlucky, the HEAVY door will shut and lock, leaving you trapped......NOT COOL!!!!!!

Ok....enough Christ the King church bashing.......

And, now, for the shining glorious winner of our Church hunt:

The Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (angelic voice can be heard as a single shaft of light shines down).

Not only is this now our "home" church, it is (in my opinion) the most beautiful of all the churches. Inside it is open, light and airy. There are beautiful paintings of the saints that cover the sides ceiling over the center aisle. There floors are wooden with a red carpeting down the center aisle and up the steps to the altar.

Father Henry Graz is the coolest priest I know and makes his relationships with the parishoners personal. He gives his homilies while walking around and standing where the pews begin instead of on the altar.

The church is VERY involved in community outreach and house a soup kitchen every Saturday for the locals around Atlanta as well as various ministries with HIV/AIDS, Homeless shelters, and various other organizations.

The people are so diverse and it truly is a melting pot parish.
I'm looking forward to doing an official tour and getting all my questions answered.
I just have this huge sense of relief that this is THE CHURCH!
The church that I'm getting married in.....oh my gosh......