Wedding arch a popular addition to weddings

Placing an arch near the focal point of the wedding is very popular for today’s brides and grooms. Arches seem to be particularly popular when weddings are outdoors.

In my humble opinion, speaking as a photographer, I think it’s best to not use an arch — even more so if the wedding is outside.

Here’s why. It gets in the way of your photography and videography.

I’ve worked at weddings where the arch, while lovely, blocks the view of the bride and groom. This is especially true of stationary video cameras that are placed in front.

When I do wedding video, I put at least one video camera up front where the couple is standing if possible. This camera is almost always in front of the couple behind the officiant. Cameras cannot be placed directly in front of the couple in the front because the officiant would block their view. So typically the cameras are placed at an angle to get a look at the faces of the bride and groom. Oftentimes, a wedding arch is in the way.

Consider placement of arch

When an arch is present, the movie camera often has to be moved even farther to the side, which means the view of the faces of the bride and groom will not be as good.

An arch isn’t generally an issue for the photographer if the wedding is inside a church. However if the ceremony is outside, the photographer will tend to move around more to shoot the ceremony from various angles, and then the arch could again be in the way.

I agree that wedding arches can be beautiful, so here is my suggestion for brides and grooms. Go ahead and use the arch but move it back farther away from the couple and officiant. It will still be seen from the front but there is less chance it will be in the way of the cameras. Of course you don’t want to have it too far back so it looks like it’s not a part of the wedding, but I suggest consulting with your photographer and videographer when placing an arch at your wedding ceremony.