Clockwise From Bottom Left: David michele, Cinematic By David M (2), Shane Carpenter, Amy Deputy, David Michele

On the way to their reception, Lisa and Patrick McComiskey took a couple of detours. They’d built a three-hour break into their wedding day schedule, between the ceremony, held at Loyola University, and the reception, at the Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel. One of their stops was at J. Patrick’s Irish Pub. But it wasn’t for a quick beer or whiskey, or even for a dose of the traditional Irish music that first brought them together. It was for a photo session. The bar, says Lisa, “is so important to us—it’s a landmark for our family and friends.” The couple envisioned a photograph in the exact spot where they had met.

The Locust Point bar wasn’t the only stop the couple made. With wedding party and photographer in tow, they stood on the bridge that crosses Charles Street at the Loyola campus while their photographer lay on the street below to get the right angle. They stopped at the Inner Harbor to be photographed by the water. They had planned a stop at the American Visionary Art Museum, to be photographed in front of the word “Love” along the side of the building, but time ran out. “We wanted to have pictures in our wedding clothes celebrating at all the places that mean something to us,” Lisa says.

And the photographer, Shane Carpenter, was happy to comply. Taking photos between the wedding and reception “is part of the formula of the day,” he says.

Frequently couples will factor in a substantial chunk of time in order to have elaborate photo shoots in their favorite places. J. Patrick’s Irish Pub “was a fun destination,” Carpenter says. “We brought the bride into this gritty bar in her beautiful dress and staged almost a fashion shoot.”

And while the bar was a little off the beaten path, the notion of photographing bridal parties at significant landmarks is becoming more and more common. Frequently, the bride and groom ask for pictures in front of the Washington Monument in Mt Vernon, or atop Federal Hill with the cityscape in the background. “Everyone has a special place,” says Carpenter, “whether it’s with their dog Fifi in the living room, or at the National Mall.”

Some locations prove easier than others. A sitting with Fifi, for example, doesn’t require a permit or advance planning. But other venues can prove tricky. “I once had a 28-person bridal party in D.C. that wanted to go to the monuments,” Carpenter recalls. Normally, it would have been easy, but in this case, the Book Fair was taking place on the Mall. “We had two stretch Hummers, a vintage car, and my car caravanning in front of the Capitol. We couldn’t get anywhere near the monuments.”

In many cases, permits are required, such as within the domain of the National Parks Service, and in Central Park and Battery Park in New York City. Carpenter once paid $100 for a permit to shoot for half an hour in Battery Park. Lucky he did: “The bicycle police were on us within 30 seconds,” he says.

Gary David says he’s never run into problems shooting wedding parties in Baltimore. The city, he says, “is more about scenery than monuments. People like the views of the skyline and the water.”

David, who works with partner Renee Michele as David Michele photography, says his most memorable wedding sessions incorporate Baltimore’s grittiness. “The back streets are wonderful locations. In Highlandtown, you have blocks and blocks of marble stairs” that make for a great backdrop, he says.

Courtney Pivec’s new groom, Brian Stamp, wanted to be photographed at the foot of the Washington Monument, but that was easy: It was right next door to The Walters Art Museum where their reception was held.

Not so simple was his photo session with the groomsmen at Camden Yards. Courtney’s father had contacts there, so was able to get the guys in earlier in the day. “They had to get all dressed up in their tuxes and then get dressed again” for the 5:30 pm ceremony, says Pivec.

Photographers recommend allowing a significant amount of time for photography. “It takes a lot longer than you think,” says Jocelyn Mathewes of Studio Mathewes. She recommends at least an hour for each location. “That doesn’t mean each photograph takes an hour, but it takes time to set up, and if people are wound up, they need time to relax and get into it.” For couples intent on a specific location, she recommends two hours between ceremony and reception. “That way, you’ll have time to stop somewhere.”

Couples who can’t squeeze the sessions into the day will plan photo shoots for after the fact. They’ll return at a later date, dressed in wedding regalia for a romantic shot at a special place, on a hill at sunset, or sitting in a canoe. Mathewes met up with a couple a week after their wedding for a session on the Mall in D.C. “They got back in their wedding garb and we took pictures near the reflecting pool.” The session was more relaxed than it would have been on the wedding day, she says.

Some wedding photographers offer add-ons to the wedding package; one is whimsically called “trash the dress,” in which the bride and groom can be photographed romping in waves at the beach or spraying each other with champagne.

And there’s always the engagement shoot, also part of many wedding packages, which can take couples to favorite monuments or neighborhoods in advance of the big day. Cicely Procopio got a call from a couple who wanted to do their engagement photos at a laundromat. The photographer looked around for a place with “a funky, vintage feel,” and settled on a location in North Baltimore. The couple posed with laundry baskets, and were caught reflected in the round window of the clothes dryer. It may not be the Washington Monument, but the photos are one-of-a-kind.