Our Review of Pretty Place Chapel as Professional Videographers.
Pretty Place Chapel is one of if not the most popular wedding destinations in the Upstate, so it comes as no surprise you're looking at getting married here! (I even got engaged here!) There is nothing like walking down those first few steps and being greeted with a view just like the one above! However, despite its breath taking views there are a few things that you need to know before you say "I Do" at Pretty Place Chapel.
1. The Time Crunch
One of the main things that might surprise you is that most time slots for Pretty Place Chapel are short, like, really short! For example, The wedding showcased at the beginning of this article had the chapel from 4pm-6pm. That means, decorating, ushering guests, getting dressed/ ready, your ceremony, and taking pictures/ video in just 2 hours. Now if this sounds like a lot to fit into 2 hours you're right! But with a tight timeline, a good wedding planner, and a great photographer/ videographer it can be done! Now you can rent Pretty Place Chapel for longer but that can quickly become expensive and take more of the wedding budget than you're comfortable with. I definitely recommend taking extra time to plan out your time at Pretty Place in detail in order to do everything you want. Pro Tip, bring any and all wedding decorations in boxes for quick setup and tear down!
2. Proximity to Other venues and hotels.
While The views of Pretty Place are beautiful don't forget you'll need to take into account a reception space since Pretty Place Chapel doesn't have a reception space. In fact the two closest major cities in the area, Greenville, SC and Asheville, NC are a little over an hour away from Pretty Place. However, there are several great reception venues to explore in nearby Brevard, NC, Hendersonville, NC, and Travelers Rest, SC. While Brevard is the closest town that has reception venues, most couples I've worked with book Venues in Greenville due to the large variety of venues in the area. Greenville also has a TON of hotel and even airbnb options for wedding guests so I recommend booking your reception venue/ hotel in Greenville.
3. The Drive to Pretty Place Chapel
If you've mainly only seen pictures of Pretty Place Chapel you might be surprised that the drive up is rather fun. and by fun I mean a narrow twisting and turning mountain road that goes on for about 13 miles. If you get motion sickness easily, packing dramamine or any other kind of motion sickness medicine IS A MUST!!! Something else to think about is if you have any older guests attending you might want to give them a ride or even hire a shuttle service if your budget allows. If you're coming to and from Pretty place from Hendersonville or Asheville you won't have to worry about the drive as much since the roads are much less winding.
4. Getting the Right Photographer and Videographer
As someone who has filmed at Pretty Place Multiple times I can tell you its not easy to expose pictures there correctly. The inside portion of the chapel is dark, while the background of the mountains is incredibly bright! If you've ever tried taking a picture at sunset and you ended up as a dark outline while seeing the sky perfectly this is the exact problem a photographer faces at Pretty Place. If you hire someone thats just starting out as a photographer or videographer you might end up as a dark outline with a beautiful sky in the background! Fortunately we've filmed here multiple times which allows us to give you to best looking video possible! If you're interested in having us film your wedding check out our available packages here.
5. Other Considerations
Last on our list is a few other things to consider when getting married at Pretty Place. Cell service can be spotty so make sure your DJ has all of the music downloaded to his device along with managing expectations if you want to live stream your wedding. If you end up going past your reserved time limit park staff will start allowing guests back into Pretty Place which could ruin your photos with a bunch of tourists! They are by far the most strict venue in upstate SC when it comes to time so use it wisely! When it comes to the wedding party it might be a good idea to get ready before you get to Pretty Place. While Pretty place does have a large changing room for Brides and their Bridesmaids your time would be better used taking photos and not rushing the ceremony.
In Conclusion
Pretty Place Chapel is a great place to married! The views are hard to beat and they are arguably some of the best in the entire south east. While time and travel are concerns to take into account don't be afraid to make your dream wedding happen exactly the way you envision it! Should you need any advice or want to explore having us film your wedding give us a shout! and remember, you got this!
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