Three Mile Bay, New York · Wedding Photography & Film
A Waterfront Wedding at Sally Port View
Carolina and Josh married at the water’s edge at Sally Port View, a private waterfront venue on Lake Ontario in Three Mile Bay, New York. They got ready in the event center with the lake in the windows, said their vows under a wooden arch on the shore, celebrated in the main hall, and ended the day back by the water in the evening light. BlackTie Brothers photographed and filmed all of it.
Sally Port View · Three Mile Bay
A lakefront campus where the ceremony, the party and the portraits share one lawn.
What the venue says. Sally Port View describes itself as a private waterfront venue on a 57-acre campus in Three Mile Bay, on Lake Ontario near the Thousand Islands region, about an hour and a half north of Syracuse. For weddings it lists a climate-controlled main hall that seats up to 250 guests, glass bi-fold doors that open onto a wrap-around patio in the warmer months, a private ceremony area just feet from the water, a Bride’s Suite and a Groom’s Suite, and five year-round cottages. The name comes from the owners’ military ties: the arched entrance at the base of the viewing tower is the sally port.
What we saw. The event center is a white building with a covered porch along the front and the tower at one end. Upstairs, the getting-ready rooms have tall black-framed windows that look straight at the water, and the light through them is soft and even. The main hall is white under dark timber trusses, with a wall of glass doors facing the lake, so the water stays in the background of indoor portraits, toasts and dances. Outside, the ceremony was set on the lawn at the shoreline with open water behind the arch, and in the evening the light came in low across the grass.
Our part. Photography and film for Carolina and Josh, working alongside their planner, Bianca Finucane of Stunning and Brilliant Events (opens in a new tab) (more about Bianca below).
Chapter one · Getting ready
The morning, with the lake in the window
Carolina and her bridesmaids got ready upstairs in the event center, where her dress hung in a window over the water long before anyone was in it. Josh and his groomsmen spent the morning on site too, with a stop at the bar. Before the ceremony the wedding party went down to the shore, and the breeze off the lake took charge of the veil. Tap any photograph to see it larger.
Chapter two · The ceremony
Vows at the water’s edge
The ceremony was set on the lawn at the shoreline: rows of dark cross-back chairs facing a wooden double arch, with open water behind it. While the site sat ready, Josh waited inside at the open glass doors. Carolina walked out of the event center and down the aisle on the lawn, and the recessional ended in a dip and a kiss in front of everyone.
Chapter three · The main hall
A white room with the lake along one wall
The wedding party photographs, dinner, the toasts and the dances all happened in the main hall. White walls and tall glass doors keep the room bright through the afternoon, and later in the day the same doors frame the dancers against the water. Somewhere in between, Carolina’s heels were traded for white sneakers, a decision we fully support.
Chapter four · The evening
Golden hour on the shoreline
In the evening Carolina and Josh went back to the water with us: the arch where they had married, the shore under the trees, a rowboat with a Just Married sign, and a slow walk back across the lawn toward the event center and its tower. The dog came along too and did not stay in the background.
Twenty-four photographs here. 1,284 in the full story.
The complete gallery is the whole day as Carolina and Josh received it, including the family photographs, the reception and the small details we did not have room for on this page. It opens in a new tab.
The wedding trailer · Sally Port View
Watch the Wedding Trailer
Photographs hold a moment still. Film adds what they cannot: movement, sound and the pace of a day as it unfolds. Carolina and Josh’s trailer plays right here on the page. The full wedding film is available on request.
Wedding trailer · Carolina & Josh · Sally Port View. The trailer plays from our YouTube channel when you press play. You can also watch it on YouTube (opens in a new tab). The full wedding film is available on request: ask us and we will send it to you.
Planning photography and film at Sally Port View
Notes for your own day on the water
Our recommendations, drawn from Carolina and Josh’s wedding and from how we plan waterfront days in general. Access, timing and policies belong to Sally Port View, so where something is theirs to decide we have written it as a question to ask them.
Plan for a breeze at the shoreline.
The veil photographs on this page show what a breeze off the water does. It is lovely in pictures and a nuisance for hair, veils, arch flowers and paper programs. Pin the veil securely, ask your florist to anchor anything tall, and put one bridesmaid on veil duty. We will use the wind rather than fight it.
Protect the ceremony audio.
Wind is hard on outdoor audio. For film we put small microphones on the people speaking and, when the DJ allows it, record a feed from their board as well. Carolina and Josh’s officiant used a handheld microphone, which helped the guests and helped us. Tell us early who is speaking and who is running sound.
Budget the walk between locations.
The upstairs windows, the shoreline, the ceremony lawn and the lawn in front of the tower all sit on one campus, and Carolina and Josh’s photographs use several of them. Still, the paths are grass and gravel and a full gown moves at its own pace. Give every move in the timeline a few minutes, and choose one short loop in the evening instead of five stops.
Know your indoor option before you need it.
The main hall’s wall of glass doors kept the water in the background of the wedding party photographs, the dances and the toasts. That makes it a strong place for portraits if the weather turns. What happens to the ceremony itself in rain or high wind is Sally Port View’s decision, so ask them early and tell us the answer.
Save a few minutes for the shore at the end of the day.
Some of our favorite photographs from this wedding came from a short evening walk back to the arch and the water’s edge. We look up sunset for your date and plan around it with your planner and DJ. The sky is not ours to promise, so the plan always has a cloudy version too.
Photography and film on the same timeline.
With the getting-ready rooms, the ceremony site and the reception close together, a coordinated team can cover both sides of the morning and still be in place for the ceremony. We build one timeline with your planner, agree on portrait time once, and split up only when two things are happening in two places.
Questions worth asking Sally Port View
- Is the whole campus reserved for our wedding, or part of it, and for which hours?
- What is the rain or high-wind plan for the waterfront ceremony, and when is that call made?
- What time can we get into the Bride’s Suite and Groom’s Suite, and when will the main hall be set?
- Will the glass bi-fold doors and the patio be open on our date?
- Which cottages come with our booking, and who can stay in them?
- How does the 10 pm end for outdoor music affect toasts, games or a send-off outside?
- Are sparklers, a drone or a boat on the water allowed?
- What step-free routes are there to the ceremony site for guests who need them?
Nothing on this page is a venue policy. The 250-guest main hall, the 10 pm end for outdoor music, the cottages and the catering arrangements (a Jefferson County licensed caterer approved by the venue, with Sally Port View serving all alcohol) come from Sally Port View’s own website. Confirm them for your date.
Photography and film, one team
One plan, two crafts, the same day.
Most couples come to us for photography first. Carolina and Josh wanted film as well, and when both come from the same team the practical gains are simple: one timeline instead of two, portrait time agreed once, and a photographer and a filmmaker who already know where the other one will be standing.
That is a coordination benefit, not a claim that one person working alone does worse work. It simply takes a layer of logistics off your list and off your planner’s. Collections and current details are on our pricing page.
- A shared scheduleOne timeline built with your planner, so photography and film are never competing for the same five minutes.
- Portrait time planned onceWe agree where and when portraits happen, then both crafts work from the same moments instead of repeating them.
- People who talk to each otherThe photographer and the filmmaker stay in contact through the day, so when two things happen at once, both are covered.
Sally Port View wedding questions
A few things couples ask.
Have you photographed a wedding at Sally Port View?
Yes. BlackTie Brothers photographed and filmed Carolina and Josh’s wedding at Sally Port View in June, from getting ready in the event center through the ceremony on the shore, the reception in the main hall and evening portraits by the water. It is the wedding shown on this page.
Can we see a complete wedding gallery from Sally Port View?
Yes. Carolina and Josh’s complete gallery, all 1,284 photographs, is linked on this page, their wedding trailer plays here too, and the full wedding film is available on request. A whole gallery is the fairest way to judge any photographer, so we are always glad to share one.
Can we book photography and film together?
Yes. Most couples come to us for photography first, and film is available through the same team, with one coordinated plan and one timeline. Current collections are on our pricing page, and we recommend coverage once we know your date and how your day is laid out.
How should we plan time for waterfront portraits?
Plan a short portrait window after the ceremony and a second, shorter one in the evening light. At Sally Port View the shoreline, the ceremony site and the lawn are close together, but grass, gravel and a full gown slow everyone down, so build walking time into the timeline. We check sunset for your date and plan around it with your planner.
What should we discuss with the venue about rain or wind?
Ask Sally Port View what the rain and high-wind plan is for a waterfront ceremony, when that decision is made and how the main hall would be set if the ceremony moves inside. Share the answer with us so the photography and film plan moves with it. For portraits, the main hall’s glass doors keep the water in view even when you are indoors.
How do we check whether you are available for our date?
Send us your date, your venue and whether you are thinking about photography, film or both through the inquiry form linked on this page. We reply with availability and a coverage recommendation that fits your day.
Wedding team
Credits
- VenueSally Port View, Three Mile Bay, New York
- PlanningBianca Finucane, Stunning and Brilliant Events
- Photography and filmBlackTie Brothers
Planning a wedding at Sally Port View?
Tell us your date and what matters most.
Share your wedding date, your plans for the ceremony and reception, and whether you want photography, film or both. We will confirm availability and recommend coverage that fits the way your day is laid out. BlackTie Brothers is a national wedding photography and film company serving Upstate New York, New York City, Florida and Hawaii, and we build each team around the couple and the place.