Every year, 25 million people visit the National Mall in Washington DC per the U.S. National Park Service. The National Mall in Washington DC consists of The Capitol Building and Capitol Visitor Center, The Washington Monument, The Lincoln Memorial, the World War II Memorial, and many other sites. This large attraction is one of the gems of DC for both locals and tourists, but what happens if you’d like to have your wedding on the National Mall?
In my experience as a Washington DC Wedding Photographer, I wanted to assist couples who are dreaming of gorgeous wedding photos on the National Mall. For some, it’s absolutely no question, but for many, other solutions may be needed.
Planning Your Engagement Session on the National Mall? Click Here
So be fair, there are only 3 national locations on or near the National Mall that may be used for your actual wedding ceremony:
-Jefferson Memorial (2 Hour Limit)
-George Mason Memorial (1 Hour Limit, no set-up is permitted)
-DC War Memorial (2 Hour Limit)
That means if you’re hoping to have your wedding at the United States Capitol, or on the Lincoln Memorial, you’re out of luck!
To have your wedding at the Jefferson memorial, George Mason memorial, or DC War memorial you can get a permit through the National Park Service.
But what if you really want some gorgeous wedding photos at the Capitol, the National Monument, or Lincoln Memorial? In my post about Planning an Engagement Session on the National Mall, I talked about getting photography permits for many of those memorials. As mentioned before, other than the United States Capitol, most of the memorial parks and attractions permits go through the National Park Service.
If you want your photos to look as if you rented out the National Mall to yourself for your wedding, I would suggest doing a post-wedding shoot. Post-wedding shoots are becoming more and more common as a way for couples to get photos in their wedding outfits in places they didn’t get a chance to be on their wedding day.
Here are some recent wedding and engagement portraits on the National Mall.
Are you thinking of having your wedding ceremony on the National Mall? What about photos in front of congressional office buildings? There are so many cool places and ideas in Washington DC for both wedding and engagement photos. Let me know if you have any questions about a particular location or idea!
See my work on Instagram or Facebook!
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To learn more about booking your Washington DC Wedding, Engagement, or storytelling session contact Adam via the Contact link in the menu, or email directly at WEB@ADAMMASON.COM
Adam is local to Washington, DC and is currently booking 2017 Sessions.
Adam Mason frequently travels for wedding, event, and non-profit portrait sessions and has clients from coastal Maui to Iceland. To find out details regarding his upcoming travel dates to a city near you or to book a custom travel session, please contact for more information.
