Absolutely! The Whiteface Club offers a variety of spaces to get ready.  Whether you're dressing in the tucked away bridal suite, or in one of the rentable condos and homes on the property, you'll have ample space for your wedding parties to prep for the big day. Need a morning activity? The Whiteface Club boasts a stunning golf course overlooking the lake, which is sure to impress!

Recommended ceremony times differ on the time of year you'll be getting married. In the summer, we recommend a ceremony around 4 or 5pm - the heat of the day will be lessening and the outdoor ceremony location always gets a nice breeze. Keep in mind that the Adirondack High Peaks and its lakes can have more extreme weather shifts throughout the day, so be sure to provide fans or shawls for guests. If you are planning a winter wedding, you'll be able to utilize the boathouse as an alternative to the garden/lakeside site. With an early sunset time, you'll want to leave time for photos in the daylight post-ceremony.  Keep in mind that the Adirondack Mountains surrounding the venue are quite tall - which means they will block the sun earlier than "sunset time." Want a sunset wedding? Plan to have a first look and take your formal photos pre-ceremony so you dont need to worry about losing daylight for photos.

The Whiteface Club is one of our favorite wedding venues in Lake Placid - partially because it offers a little bit of everything for photos. If you are having a ceremony lakeside,  that can double as a great spot to do family photos. Located right next door are the wooden docks, gardens and boathouse- a perfect rainy-day backup location. Do you have family or guests who aren't mobile? The Club provides limited parking spaces by the ceremony site as well as a shuttle from the reception venue to ensure everyone can enjoy family photos and the ceremony by the lake.

There are many beautiful photo opportunities on property, so we recommend scheduling your first look at least 2 hours before your ceremony. This provides ample time to travel around property and get photos in all of the best locations. Setting the first look this early can also assure we'll have you tucked out of sight by the time your guests begin to arrive. 

One of the best features of this lakeside venue is the opportunity to take a boat ride on Lake Placid in one of the famous Adirondack wooden boats.
A 15 minute cruise on the lake is great for calming nerves, taking a break from guests or simply enjoying the lake and taking photos with Whiteface Mountain in the background. Be sure to leave extra time for this stunning wedding day experience! 

We recommend scheduling at least 1.5 hours of time for portraits. This provides ample time for couples photos (about 45 min to an hour) as well as family and wedding party photos (20 min each). If you are not doing a first look, your formal photos will take place during your one hour cocktail hour. It is important to note that photos during cocktail hour will require the full hour (30 min couples, 15 min wedding party, 15 min family). To help with this, you may consider allocating extra time during your getting ready time to capture individual family and wedding party photos without your spouse.

Here are several quick tips that help make the photos run smoothly:

- Keep the getting ready space clean. Set aside a space for wedding party belongings that is out of the way so you have a clean photo environment for photos. No one wants to see half eaten food and drinks in the background of a beautiful makeup photo.

- Make a list of the family members you'd like in photos. Make sure to tell these people to wait to go to cocktail hour until after their photos have been taken. Remind them. And remind them......and remind them again. 

- Make a simplified timeline for the wedding party and family. Provide copies they can refer to if they have questions about when/where they should be. They don't need to know when your florist or DJ arrives, but they DO need to know when to be ready for photos!

-Trust your photographer! We know the venue like the back of our hand and can make a plan to travel the property in the most efficient way in the timeframe provided for photos. We also know the best lighting in any given location at any time - we have a lot of location planning going on behind the scenes!

-Let us take the lead on family photos. It may be tough but randomly calling out family combinations allows for too many cooks in the kitchen and only delays photos and creates stress. Discuss the photos you'd like with your photographer before the day and they will help you to make a plan. This is also a good time to discuss any family dynamics we should be aware of. Make it clear to friends and family that your photographer is in charge of the order of photos taken. Don't worry - we'll always double check we've gotten all the family photos combinations you'd like!

- HAVE FUN! It may seem obvious, but it's easy to get swept up in planning and coordinating on the day. Let your vendors take care of the logistics so you can relax and enjoy the ride. Plus, couples look the most beautiful in photos when they are happy, relaxed and enjoying one another on the day.