Allyn Lodge at Skaneateles Fields · Skaneateles Falls, New York
Allyn Lodge Wedding
Photography & Films
A 25,000 square foot timber lodge with a wall of glass, a stone fireplace and a private deck over a pond, just outside the village of Skaneateles in the Finger Lakes. We have photographed and filmed three weddings at Allyn Lodge, so we already know where the light falls at the window wall, which bank of the pond gives you the whole building at sunset, and how to cover an entrance down the staircase from two levels at once. This guide is written for couples and planners who are considering the lodge or have already booked it: the rooms as they really look, seventeen photographs from two of those weddings, a sample timeline from our real days there, and the questions worth asking the venue early.
A timber lodge in the Finger Lakes
One great room,
and a pond to walk around.
Allyn Lodge sits on State Street Road in Skaneateles Falls, a few minutes from the village of Skaneateles and about 25 miles from Syracuse Hancock International Airport. The venue describes it as the largest freestanding timber structure in New York State, 25,000 square feet under one roof, with floor to ceiling windows, a stone fireplace and a private deck looking over a pond. It is named for the Allyn family, its previous owners, and many people in Central New York still know it as the Lodge at Welch Allyn.
What makes it unusual for photography is that almost everything happens in one soaring room, and that room has a wall of glass on one side. Ceremony, dinner and dancing all sit under the same timber frame, the mezzanine looks down on all of it, and the deck outside opens onto water. Light changes hour by hour through that glass, so we plan the order of the day around it rather than fighting it.
The spaces themselves
Glass on one side,
timber overhead.
The rooms you will spend the day in look like this. The great room is a single open volume under a timber frame, with a mezzanine along one side, a stone fireplace, and a wall of windows that faces the deck and the pond. Ceremonies here happen at that glass. Dinner and dancing happen in the same room, and the mezzanine stairs become the entrance. The photographs in this section carry our studio watermark because they come straight from our client galleries.
Real weddings at Allyn Lodge
The deck, the pond
and the staircase.
Two summer weddings, Erica and Cameron and Maggie and Michael, photographed across the deck, the pond, the woods and the great room. One had the ceremony at the window wall, the other arrived from a church for the reception. Tap any photograph to see its full composition.
Planning photography and film
Three things worth
deciding early.
Face the glass on purpose.
Ceremonies here happen in front of the floor to ceiling windows, which means daylight behind you and warm timber around you. It is a beautiful combination and a demanding one, and it is the reason to hire a team that has shot it before. We position for it, expose for both, and plan your ceremony time against the sun so the glass glows rather than glares. A 5:00 PM ceremony in July and a 3:00 PM ceremony in March sit in completely different light at that wall, and your timeline should know that.
Budget time to walk around the water.
The deck gives you the lodge and the fountain behind you within a few steps of the room, so it is where we do formals with your families and party during cocktail hour. The far bank of the pond gives you the whole building, lit from inside, at sunset and again at blue hour, and that is the photograph at the top of this page. A protected block of about thirty minutes near sunset covers both without pulling you away from your guests. Late July sunsets here fall around 8:30 PM, late August closer to 7:50 PM, mid October around 6:20 PM.
Plan the room on two levels.
Couples make their entrance down the mezzanine stairs into the great room, and the mezzanine itself is the best seat in the house for the wide view of dinner and dancing. With photography and film from one team we put one camera up there and one on the floor, so you get the entrance from above and the reaction from below without two vendors negotiating for the same spot. Agree with the venue and your DJ on lighting for the stairs, where guests stand, and any spark effects, so the entrance is lit and clear.
A sample day at Allyn Lodge
What a full day here
has actually looked like.
This is the shape of a summer wedding with the ceremony on site, drawn from the timelines we built for real couples at the lodge. Your times will move with your ceremony time, your season and your sunset, but the order and the reasons behind it hold.
- MorningHair and makeup in the bridal suite at the lodge, or across the street at the resort. Our couples have had access to the suite from the morning. Confirm your access time with the venue.Coverage usually begins about ninety minutes before the first look, for details, the dress on the mezzanine and the last of getting ready.
- 2:30 PMFirst look and private vows, before guests are anywhere near the building. The deck, the fireplace and the window wall are all empty at this hour.Skipping the first look is fine. It moves family formals and most of the portraits into cocktail hour, so tell us early.
- 2:45 to 4:00Portraits with the two of you, then the wedding party, then families, on the deck in front of the fountain and along the birch path.Hidden away by 4:00, because guests start arriving around 4:30 for a 5:00 ceremony.
- 5:00 PMCeremony at the window wall. A thirty minute ceremony adds to the five hour reception block in the venue’s packages, so this is where the clock starts.We photograph and film from the floor and the mezzanine at once.
- 5:30 to 6:30Cocktail hour. Guests move to the deck if the weather allows. Any formals that did not happen earlier happen now, and we get the room set for dinner before anyone sits down.
- 6:30 PMEntrances down the staircase, then dinner, speeches and cake in the same room. Parent dances and the first dance usually sit right after dinner.Some couples skip the grand entrance and do a small introduction during cocktail hour instead. Both work.
- SunsetFifteen minutes before sunset we walk the two of you out to the far bank of the pond, then back for blue hour on the deck. Thirty minutes, and your guests barely notice you left.Late July, about 8:30 PM. Late August, about 7:50 PM. Mid October, about 6:20 PM.
- Until 10:30Open dancing under the timber frame. A late send off, if you want one, gathers at the front of the lodge.Every wedding we have covered here has ended at 10:30 PM. Confirm your end time with the venue.
The complete work from the day
Beyond a handful
of favorite photographs.
Seventeen photographs cannot carry a whole wedding. Maggie and Michael’s complete gallery holds their full reception at Allyn Lodge, from the deck at cocktail hour through the staircase entrance, dinner under the timber frame and the last dance. The gallery asks for an email address before it opens. Erica and Cameron’s gallery is available on request.
Allyn Lodge wedding questions
A few things to know.
Where is Allyn Lodge?
Allyn Lodge is at 4355 State Street Road, Skaneateles Falls, New York 13153, just outside the village of Skaneateles in the Finger Lakes and about 25 miles from Syracuse Hancock International Airport. It is part of Skaneateles Fields Resort and Spa and was previously known as the Lodge at Welch Allyn. Confirm directions, parking and arrival arrangements directly with the venue.
Can we hold the ceremony at Allyn Lodge?
Yes. The venue offers on site ceremonies, with a private getting ready suite for couples who marry there, and a thirty minute ceremony adds to the five hour reception block. The couples we have photographed there held their ceremonies inside, at the window wall. Ask the venue about outdoor options and rain plans for your date.
How many guests can Allyn Lodge hold?
The venue lists capacity of up to 300 guests, and states that when you reserve your date the building is exclusively yours for the day. Confirm the layout for your guest count with the venue.
Where do guests stay?
Skaneateles Fields Resort and Spa, an 89 room property, sits across the street from the lodge, and the village of Skaneateles is a few minutes away. Ask the venue about room blocks.
Who handles catering and the bar?
The venue states that all food and beverage is provided in house by its own kitchen and bar staff, that outside catering and outside alcohol are not permitted, and that wedding cakes come from local bakeries. Tables, chairs, linens, china and glassware are included in its wedding packages.
Can we do a sparkler or confetti exit?
The venue asks couples to avoid rice, glitter and confetti. Its website does not state a policy on sparklers or cold spark fountains, so confirm those directly with the venue before you plan an exit or an entrance around them.
How much time should we set aside for portraits at the lodge?
With a first look, about seventy five minutes before guests arrive covers the two of you, your wedding party and both families on the deck and the grounds, and then thirty minutes at sunset for the walk around the pond. Without a first look, plan on the first twenty minutes of cocktail hour for families on the deck and the same sunset block later.
Do you need to visit Allyn Lodge before our wedding?
No. We have photographed and filmed three weddings there and we know the window wall, the deck, the pond and the staircase. We will still walk the building with you on the day if you want to, and we check in with the venue coordinator on arrival.
Has BlackTie Brothers photographed weddings at Allyn Lodge?
Yes. Our experience here includes three weddings, covered by one coordinated photography and film team. The photographs on this page are from two of them, and one complete gallery from those days is linked above.
Planning a wedding at Allyn Lodge?
Tell us your date
and what you have in mind.
Share your ceremony plans, your guest count and whether you are looking for photography, film or both. We will confirm availability and help you choose the right coverage. We are a wedding photography and film studio based in Vestal, New York, and Skaneateles is a regular drive for us: Finger Lakes and Central New York weddings are a large part of what we do.