Roc Focus is a Rochester husband and wife team that specializes in journalistic storytelling for engagements and weddings. Roc Focus captures authentic and emotional moments of your wedding day through photography and video. Based in Rochester, NY and willing to travel anywhere.
No place is more historic or elegant in Rochester than the George Eastman House. When you are walking around the grounds it feels like you have been transported in time with how well it has been preserved. You can have your ceremony inside or out. The West Garden is beautiful for your ceremony and sets up perfectly for a bride to walk down with the house behind as an amazing backdrop. I love the dark greens of the gardens up against the tan stone of the house. The property is really well maintained and there are many great spots for portraits.
Brief History
The Eastman House is named after none other than George Eastman, the founder of Eastman Kodak Company and a pioneer in popular photography; he built this colonial revival mansion in 1905, and lived there until his death in 1932.
In his will, he bequeathed the house to the University of Rochester, and expressed his wish for the estate to serve as the university president’s residence. However, the house proved far too big for that purpose, and it was later chartered as a photography museum in 1947. Today, it is the oldest photography museum in the world.
At the time of its opening in 1949, it was one of only two museums in the US with dedicated photography and film departments. In 1951, the museum also added the now famous Dryden Theater.
As the museum’s collection of photographs and films increased, there was a need for a dedicated storage facility. For this purpose, a state-of-the-art storage climate-controlled facility was constructed on the grounds in 1989 and the museum’s collections were moved there. Now that the estate itself wasn’t housing the collections anymore, a group was formed to restore the mansion to its original state based on vintage photographs and other documented accounts. This restoration lasted two years and returned 85% of the original furnishings of the estate.
It’s thanks to those renovations that the mansion itself and the gardens provide an absolutely stunning venue for your weddings. We’ll tell you more about the aesthetics below.
Aesthetics
The Eastman House is one of only two National Historic Landmarks in the Greater Rochester area, and probably the most iconic wedding location in Rochester. The estate and the gardens provide elegant indoor and outdoor venues where you can have your wedding ceremony.
Outside, you have two options. The first one is the West Garden, featuring a beautiful aisle leading towards the arches of the mansion. The second outdoor venue is the terrace garden, which is famous for its greenery and the colors of its flowers.
Inside, you have another two options; the George Eastman Conservatory, located in the center of the mansion, and the renowned Grand Staircase. Both of these provide an intimate and private setting for your most important day, and the Grand Staircase is famous for the backdrop it provides for wedding photographs.
Noteworthy Features
- Ideal location: Eastman House is located near downtown where all the hotels, restaurants, and other attractions of Rochester are concentrated. Combined with these, the gorgeous estate makes for one of the most convenient yet beautiful wedding venues in Rochester.
- Historically rich: Apart from the historical background of this venue mentioned earlier, the place is also rich with history in the form of a museum. All the events have the added option to include tours of this museum as well as exhibitions that might be going on.
- Event rentals: Corporate members, schools and universities, photo studios, and organizations can use the Eastman Museum’s facilities, which include theaters, gardens, and portions of the museum and historic mansion. Whether it’s for a huge group presentation or a small gathering, audiovisual accommodations are provided by the venue.
- Indoor/outdoor spaces: Eastman House features many event spaces both indoors and outdoors as well. The Dryden Theatre is perfect for corporate presentations and screening events. The Schuyler C. Townson Terrace Garden offers picturesque views of brick pathways and blooms. There are many others, so, depending upon your preference, you can choose an indoor or outdoor space that suits your needs.
- Convenient parking and handicap accessibility: The venue also has convenient parking for the guests, and the majority of its areas are handicap accessible. The few that aren’t can also be accommodated if you contact the management beforehand.
Accommodations for Ceremonies and Receptions
- Indoor weddings: George Eastman Conservatory serves as the main space for all indoor weddings taking place at the museum. It can accommodate up to 120 guests. All the ceremonies are restricted to the conservatory if opted for indoor weddings.
- Outdoor weddings: All the outdoor weddings are hosted in the museum’s West Garden, which can accommodate up to 180 guests. The Grand Staircase area is also available as a rain emergency space for the guests.
- Dinner rehearsals: The Potter Peristyle, which is located off of the museum’s main University Avenue entrance, and the mansion, are available to host rehearsal dinners. Both the spaces have a capacity for up to 100 guests.
- Waiting area: All the wedding bookings, both indoor and outdoor, include access to the Council Room. The space is designated for preparations, and also serves as a waiting area for the wedding party.
- On-site wedding photos: The event space fees include on-site wedding photo sessions. The venue assigns guests a staff member to handle artifacts of the museum. But you will have to book your own photographer.
Pricing
The indoor space is available all year round and comes with a base fee of $5,000. The outdoor space, which is only available between May 1 and October 1, has a fee of $3,000. These are only the fees for the event spaces, which do not include additional accommodations.
The guests are also to follow strict guidelines for using the event spaces, which include ceremonies only after 4 p.m., no runners on the grass, only poly folding chairs, etc. Read here for more details.
Eastman House is renowned for its exceptional backdrops, which make for mesmerizing wedding photos. Check out more of our favorite Rochester Wedding Venues, with real weddings that we have shot on our Rochester Wedding Venue page.