As an Atlanta wedding photographer I have always enjoyed visiting some of the great historic places of worship.  Some of the oldest and examples of grand Atlanta architecture are found in these historic churches and temples.  Let’s explore some of Atlanta’s greatest landmarks and wedding venues.

One of my favorites is Christ the King.  The parish was formed in 1936 during the great depression. Today it is thriving pillar of the community with 5,000 families.  When the  building was completed in 1939 it was officially declared by Architectural Record Magazine as “the most beautiful building in Atlanta”.  It is in the heart of Buckhead on Peachtree Street. You enter through the grand entrance in the front with a large staircase leading to double doors that are adorned with two tall spheres with a stained glass window at the top. It has tall stained glass windows down the sanctuary with a handmade organ in the back.   On the second floor under the sanctuary they have a huge Bridal room to handle any size bridal party.  Many people use this church for its beauty and central location to other Atlanta reception halls.  If you are getting married their wedding guild members are some of the most seasoned professionals in Atlanta doing sometimes hundreds of weddings a year.

Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception dates back to the 1840s, making it the oldest church in north Georgia and Atlanta's first Catholic church. Construction on the building at Central Avenue and MLK, Jr. Drive, just south of Underground Atlanta, commenced following the Civil War and finished in 1873. Heavily damaged in a fire in 1982, the building was reconstructed to the original design by W. H. Parkins. The details within the church are stunning. There is stained glass in the balcony surrounded by the magnificent pipe organ which gives your wedding a feeling of grandeur. The sanctuary has large arches that rise to the tall ceiling. The staff are so gracious! I have worked with Monsignor Henry Gracz on several weddings. He is so thoughtful and accommodating.

The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral was started in 1905. The congregation first started meeting on the second floor of a sporting goods store. Its members then relocated to a Presbyterian Church and then a Jewish Temple until they raised enough funds to build their own facility on Clairmont Road. The church is based on the Byzantine style of architecture. There are two sanctuaries: a small intimate sanctuary located next to the business offices and a large sanctuary which you see from the road also connected to the reception area and kitchen, where they make all the goodies for the Greek Festival they have there every year. The larger sanctuary has a hand painted ceiling and walls with beautiful stained glass accents.

The Temple, established in 1860 to serve the needs of the German-Jewish immigrants, is the only non-Christian historic house of worship in Midtown. The neoclassical Temple was designed by noted Atlanta classicist Philip Trammell Shutze in 1931. While dramatically scaled back from the pre-Depression plans, the sanctuary takes cues from Venetian churches Shutze saw while studying in Rome. During the 1950’s and 1960’s, The Temple was a center for civil rights advocacy. Its civil rights role was one of the central themes in the movie Driving Miss Daisy.

Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, founded in 1905 was the first sanctuary of the congregation located downtown. It started out as a mission congregation. The present location in Midtown, built of Tennessee quartzite and Indiana limestone, is a quasi-Gothic sanctuary featuring sleek lines and almost Art Deco massing that belies its 1952 completion. It is a beautiful church that is centrally located next to the Georgian Terrace, where your out of town guest can stay, and right across the street from the Fox Theatre, where you can hold your reception. It is a large church with many opportunities for wedding photos inside and out.

Historic Places of Worship in Atlanta

• Ebenezer Baptist

• The Temple

• First United Methodist Church

• Central Presbyterian Church

• Cathedral of St. Philip

• St. Luke's

• The Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

• Conception | Atlanta (catholicshrineatlanta.org)

• Christ the King

• The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation