Alberta Legislature
(Bookings not available; indoor photographs are not permitted.)
 
The Alberta Legislature grounds is one of the most popular - and populated - parks in the city. With amazing variety of mature trees, beautiful architecture and plentiful flowers there are abundant photo opportunities here. There are often other weddings on the grounds as well as tourists, but there is so much space this rarely creates a problem.

Alberta Provincial Museum & Government House
Contact: Administration at (780) 453-9100
The Museum grounds and the Government House are very popular for wedding photos. An excellent blend of landscaping and architecture provide lots of visual variety within a relatively small area. This is a public park, so there is no charge to use the grounds or building exteriors for portraits. This is also a beautiful location to rent for an outdoor wedding ceremony, especially with the museum interior as a backup if it rains.

Citadel Theatre
Contact: Administration at (780) 426-4811
The Citadel theatre has a large indoor garden featuring an upstairs lake and a waterfall wall. An atrium upstairs also allows for indoor ceremonies. They do double-book their facility (meaning there may be more than one bridal party present taking photos). Daytime sessions are best as most of the interior light comes from their large windows.

Edmonton City Hall
City Hall is a beautifully designed building with a selection of railings, pillars, staircases and smaller features which keep portrait backgrounds interesting. A high-key (light) colour scheme dominates most of the interior. Most days the interior is fairly quiet although on a nice summer day the fountains outside do attract waders.

Devonian Botanic Gardens
Contact: Bookings at (780) 987-2496
Although this is an outdoor-only location - and a bit of a drive too - the Devonian Gardens provides almost unparalleled beauty and variety. The Japanese Garden features a waterfall, bridge, lake (with stepping stones), walkways, and varied foliage for a wonderful variety of beautiful photo locations.

Fort Edmonton Park
Contact: Phone: (780) 496-8787
For a stunning historical look to your portraits Fort Edmonton offers an amazing variety of beautiful locations. The river valley setting and the many different faces of this facility add a unique character to your portraits.

Hotel MacDonald
Another beautiful historical landmark, the Hotel MacDonald is most flexible when you are a) booked early, and b) booked into one of their suites. Wonderful turn-of-the-century type architecture and furniture as well as a carefully landscaped yard make this a good choice for portraits.

McGrath Mansion
Contact: Cheryl at (780) 471-5494   or   cheryl@northgate.ab.ca
Cost: $150 to take outdoor photos only (indoor photos not permitted)
The exterior of this home has been recently renovated to enhance its Victorian splendor. Beautiful landscaping including a fountain and mature trees compliment the turn-of-the-century style of this mansion.

Muttart Conservatory
Contact: Bookings at (780) 496-1403
Cost: Photography only - 90 Minutes for $135.00
Beautiful any time of year, the Muttart Conservatory contains four indoor gardens of differing style. Lots of flowers, indoor waterways and bridges, and paths through the greenery make for excellent photographs. You may book this location for your portraits or your entire ceremony and reception, but call early as it is popular and books up fast.

Neil Crawford Center
Contact: Bental Management at 990-7000
The Alberta Infrastructure Buildings along 111th Street both offer well landscaped indoor gardens. The Neil Crawford Center is one of the two buildings; it is well kept and provides a garden of good depth and variety.

Ramada on Kingsway (Edmonton Inn)
Contact: Banquet Manager at (780) 454-5454
The Ramada Inn has an indoor garden which photographs quite well. Although it can be difficult to accommodate groups larger than 10 or 15, the backgrounds can come out quite beautifully. The best time for photos is during the daytime when the sun is coming through their skylight; later evening portrait sessions may have a darker background.

Rutherford House
Contact: (780) 427-3995
This wonderful historical landmark shows a lot of variety, both interior and exterior. It has a lot of character - including historical interpreters if you have questions - and photographs very well. The interior does not easily accommodate large group portraits (10+) although the stairs outside are perfect in good weather.

University of Alberta - Arts Building
General Information Line: (780) 492-3111
The U of A has remarkable opportunities - including the Arts Building and the Timms Center to name a few. The indoor locations are beautiful and a large park outside the doors of the arts building also offers trees and pathways for beautiful photo opportunities.

West Edmonton Mall
For a little something different, our city's best-known landmark provides some unique portrait opportunities. The Santa Maria ship may be booked for portraits, and other corners of the mall (Europa Boulevard, Bourbon Street) can also create unique images - not to mention the fun of 'doing the mall' in your finery!

Red Willow Park - St. Albert
A beautiful trail system winds along the Sturgeon River, offering many possibilities for outdoor photos. Some special things to note are a large wooden train trestle, St. Albert Place (city hall) and various other bridges and parks along the trails

Alternative Ideas
 
Here's a brief list of alternative ideas you may wish to consider!
- Alberta Railway Museum - http://railwaymuseum.ab.ca
- Celtic Hall -
- Prince of Wales Armouries - (780) 496-8710
- Edmonton Art Gallery - www.edmontonartgallery.com
- Windship Aviation (Hot Air Balloons) - windshipaviation.com
- Edmonton Valley Zoo - www.gov.edmonton.ab.ca/valleyzoo
- Ukranian Cultural Heritage Villiage - www.cd.gov.ab.ca/uchv