When looking for the perfect wedding venue, the Fox Chapel Golf Club is a beautiful choice for a variety of reasons. Of course, I am partial to all of it's scenic locations right around the club building for wedding photos - it makes the day easy! If you're looking for a wedding venue in the Pittsburgh area that has a really classic vibe with gorgeous, outdoor scenery, then the Fox Chapel Golf Club is probably a really great one to consider!
The Fox Chapel Golf Club hosts numerous weddings throughout the year. The nice thing about the club? You have lots of different spaces to use for your wedding portions of the day. I love that! Here are some more details about the individual spaces inside of the clubhouse to give you an idea of what the club has to offer for your wedding!
I love that the bridal suite has changed - it used to be the women's locker room, but now it is a room upstairs on the main level of the clubhouse. This new room is large for your wedding party, and has a lot of natural light with his big windows. Most of my brides have a catered breakfast as well, and so the space is perfect for hair and makeup, changing into dresses, grabbing a coffee, and enjoying time together before the big event. The bridal suite also has access to a small rooftop terrace, which makes for pretty pictures overlooking the golf course!
Many of my grooms get ready in the Pittsburgh Room at the Fox Chapel Golf Club, which has a more masculine feel and makes for great groomsmen 'getting ready' photos. This meeting room has a large table for all of the guy's things, and makes for a nice, clean background for some of those important tuxedo pictures!
If you look at photos of the FCGC, you'll always see photos of it's gorgeous Atrium - that's because it's one of the selling points of the club. Your wedding guests will love sitting in the airy, bright space surrounded by huge trees and a fountain in the middle. My wedding couples often decorate the stone fountain with lots of flowers, and sometimes floating candles as well, which are a nice touch! This is almost always used as a dinner space, and the atrium also connects to the Ballroom and the Dining Room. The atrium is also where the ever-popular balcony is located, so your guests will likely gather in this space for your big introduction into the wedding reception. The balcony is wonderful! One of my favorite photo-spots in the golf clubhouse!
I tried to find the right word for this space, but unfortunately I'm not sure what they call it other than "where the bridal head table goes"! You'll have to ask the venue coordinator :) The wedding headtable is typically placed between the columns that run between the atrium and the dining room. This is the perfect space for your head table, because not only is it central but it's elegant and classy. You can place flowers and candles all down the middle of the table, and you can sit at the head of the table and look out at all of your guests! Wedding toasts are great in this space too, since the speaker can look in both directions to see all of the wedding guests as they talk.
The other space for reception dinners is in the dining room, which flows right after the atrium and columns. If you think of the atrium, columns, and dining room as one big space, then this would be the main dining area for you and your guests during your wedding reception. The dining room has large windows overlooking the Terrace and golf course, and provides an elegant backdrop for your wedding guests as well. There is also a large fireplace in the dining room, which can make for pretty family portraits!
Ready to dance? The Ballroom is where that will happen! For your cocktail hour, guests will likely be outside on the Porch area, and then they will be directed into the adjoining ballroom for your wedding reception events like cake cutting, introductions, and dances. The ballroom has large chandeliers in the middle, and is large enough for either a band or a wedding DJ. There is also space for a bar in the ballroom, and plenty of space for small cocktail tables for your guests to be seated if they need a break from the dance floor.
What about your wedding ceremony? We just talked about all of the spaces for your wedding reception, but where would you get married if you were keeping your entire event at the golf club? The ballroom! Not only is this space a lovely party area, but it also doubles as a pretty wedding ceremony backdrop. The staff at the venue will setup your chairs, and you can get married in front of the fireplace. I especially love the big chandeliers in this space to add to the elegance of a wedding ceremony
Now that you have an idea of the locations inside of the clubhouse for your wedding events, let's talk about all of the pretty outdoor scenery that is available to you for wedding photos! There are so many spaces - it's hard to narrow them down! The good part? We can usually hit a lot of these spots on a wedding day, because they're all within walking distance around the wedding venue!
An absolute MUST! Every one of my couples wants photos in front of the Fox Chapel Golf Club house - the iron rails and gates are simply beautiful, and the entire clubhouse really shines in this spot. This is also a really great location for family photos, since the couple of stairs leading into the front door make a great place to add lots of family members into a group photo.
Also directly in front of the club is the valet roundabout and front lawn. This space gets beautiful light in the evening, and great shade during the high-noon hours, which makes it a great place for group photos! I love getting a wedding part in this area for pictures - plenty of room for everyone!
If you walk from the front of the clubhouse to the left side (looking at the building), you will be close to the pool area. On this side of the building, it is quiet and there are some really sweet little spots for photos. I love the chimney with all of the ivy, and I also love the staircase that leads down toward the golf course. These area both wonderful places for some private wedding photos on the side of the building!
The back patio has a lower walkway that makes for great pictures - it's also a great spot for a wedding day first look! I love this space because it overlooks the golf course. Of course, if you want to hop on a golf cart and get out on the course we can do that! There is some beautiful brick in this area, and I love how the walkway really gives a long-lens view of the golf course scenery.
Another classic photo location at the club - the clock! This just screams 'old elegance' to me, and I make sure that we photograph you in this spot! Here are some favorite photos of couples at the golf clock:
If you keep walking around the building past the clock, you get to a little gem of an entrance that has more of a 'tuscan' vibe with it's big light fixtures and rounded arch. This can be a nice spot to stop and take a few photos since it's away from the view of the guests and really just gives an entirely different look to your wedding images:
Have you been waiting for this one?! Of COURSE every Fox Chapel Golf Club bride needs a photo on the balcony overlooking the atrium!! You'll want to spread out your wedding dress train and really show off the venue AND the dress in one great photo. And then your groom can get in the picture too :)
The space is beautiful, no?! YES! I absolutely love photographing weddings at the FCGC - it's one of the classiest and most elegant venues in Pittsburgh. The space, however, is vast and separated, so you want a photographer who is familiar with all of the different areas and how to move through them and photograph them in a way that really shows off all of the space.
Need lights in the ballroom? I set those up to really create fun, crisp dancing photos.
Need to capture the elegance of your dinner? I know how to maneuver around the dining space to capture toasts and guests in a way that doesn't interrupt the events.
Want to really have beautiful getting ready images? Being familiar with the layout of the space I know how to keep the bride and groom separate before the ceremony, while still capturing your getting ready in a lovely way.
I would love to photograph YOUR wedding at the Fox Chapel Golf Club!
Leeann is the best! She captured our day perfectly and the quality of the images she delivered couldn't have been better. Not only will you receive photos that you will cherish forever but Leeann will also make your wedding day a breeze. She is organized, on track and lets you enjoy your wedding day without worrying about the photos. I highly recommend her, you won't regret it!
Location: 426 Fox Chapel Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15238.
