A Carondelet House Wedding: Briana and Peter's Candlelit Downtown Evening
A real wedding at Carondelet House in downtown Los Angeles: exposed brick and iron, a pear diamond beside an emerald band, and a ceremony aisle lined with hundreds of candles under crystal chandeliers.
Carondelet House is a 1928 Italian villa tucked into downtown Los Angeles, exposed brick, iron gates, wood-beamed ceilings, and crystal chandeliers, and it is one of the most atmospheric small wedding venues in the city. Briana and Peter came to us through a vendor referral and chose it for an October evening built entirely on candlelight.
An intimate brick venue asks for a particular kind of photography: warm, close, and unhurried, letting the architecture and the candles do the lighting. It is one of our favorite kinds of days to shoot.
A Pear Diamond and an Emerald Band
The rings told their own story: a double-halo pear-shaped diamond paired with a gold band set with emeralds, jewel tones that set the palette for the whole wedding. Briana got ready in the villa's light-filled rooms in a beaded lace gown and fingertip veil, her bridesmaids in black, and the detail coverage leaned into the deep, rich color the venue is made for.
When a couple's jewelry carries this much personality, we photograph it like a portrait, because those images anchor the first pages of every album.
Portraits in Brick and Iron
Carondelet gives you two worlds within a few steps: the raw brick archway on the street, where we made the hero image with Briana's veil sweeping across the sidewalk, and the villa's whitewashed Spanish arcade, cool and quiet, where her cathedral train fanned across the flagstone.
This range is exactly why photographers love this venue. One wedding, two completely different backdrops, and no travel between them.
A Ceremony by Candlelight
The ceremony is the image that defines this venue: a wood-plank aisle lined on both sides with hundreds of pillar candles, farm tables and cross-back chairs down the length of the hall, and two crystal chandeliers hanging from the beams. Briana came down that aisle to Peter in a room lit almost entirely by flame.
Shooting a candlelit ceremony is a craft of exposure and restraint. We add just enough light to hold the faces and let the candles keep the mood, because the whole point of choosing Carondelet is that glow.
Planning a Downtown Los Angeles Wedding?
Carondelet House proves that an intimate venue can be every bit as dramatic as a grand one, in the right light with the right team. Our venue guide index covers the Los Angeles venues we know first-hand, and our Ebell of Los Angeles wedding shows another historic downtown evening.
Check your date and build live pricing, or start a conversation. We photograph weddings across Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, and worldwide.
