Top 10 Churches to Rent for Filming in Los Angeles
What do The Graduate, The Godfather, and Sex and the City: The Movie all have in common? Aside from being cinematic masterpieces, they all feature iconic wedding scenes. In fact, based on a recent ranking of The Top 100 Movie Weddings of All Time eight Best Picture winners feature a wedding scene: Gone With the Wind (1939), The Sound of Music (1965), The Godfather (1972), The Deer Hunter (1978), Out of Africa (1985), Dances With Wolves (1990), Forrest Gump (1994), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
While weddings scenes come in all shapes and sizes, the old fashion church wedding is a great place to start. Fortunately, there are a bunch of film-friendly churches and temples of worship around Los Angeles. Whether you're looking for an Old Western chapel, an ornate Cathedral, or Vatican-style gardens there are great options available on Giggster.
To make your search for film-friendly churches a little bit easier, we've gone ahead and picked our 10 favorite God-friendly filming locations in Los Angeles. Take a look at the full list below:
1) Modern Methodist Church in DTLA
This modern Methodist church in DTLA is a beautiful and affordably priced filming location. There is a large organ is placed on the back wall, and glass windows line both sides of the church (providing a rare amount of natural lighting for this location category). In the back section of the church is a large lecture hall/secondary altar as well as an auditorium and classroom.
Rent a location for your next film or photo shoot project on Giggster – A better way to book locations.
2) Mission Style Rock Church in Rural Acton
This mission-style church is a rare find, and definitely a worth a tech scout if your filming a Western around Los Angeles. In addition to the authentic chapel location there are many other native stone buildings on the 40 acres property. A short drive north of Los Angeles, the location is only 1.66 miles beyond the 30-Mile Studio Zone near Santa Clarita, California.
3) Old Southern Church in Pasadena
The charming community church located in the city of Pasadena boasts a lovely walkway through the grounds, front yard, playground, and indoor gym. In addition to the large chapel, and auditorium there are also numerous small rooms rooms used for classes and private counseling. The church features stained glass windows and updated light fixtures, making it appear event more scenic and camera ready.
4) Church Worthy Colonial Grounds and Event Space in Central LA
While not technically a church, this location makes the list based on its charming Spanish colonial aesthetic and rare "old world" charm. A favorite filming location of the entertainment and media communities for over fifty years, it offers four floors of distinctive spaces with available on-site parking for base camp, crew parking, or equipment, making it an ideal setting for motion pictures, television, music videos, still photography.
5) Little White Church in Pasadena
Built in 1906, this charming church not only looks quaint and cute, but is also deeply rooted in the history of Pasadena, California. The entire church has recently been restored with much care being taken to retain as many of the original elements as possible, such as the stained glass in the sanctuary, original walnut floors and the many arched windows throughout. The restoration has allowed for modern amenities such as central air conditioning, security system, and technology.
6) Simple Methodist Church with Choir Option in South Park
This large mid-century church is a great all-around day rental option with flexible parking, affordable rates, and a multitude of unique rooms and backdrops around the property. High ceilings provide beautiful acoustics, and 14 rows of pews provide seating for a crowd of several hundred people. The best part, you can even request for a choir while making a booking for this simple Methodist Church in South Park.
7) All White Church in Pasadena
Titled the "Mini White House" on Giggster, this Pasadena church is a rare and flexible filming location that can easily be decorated to fit a variety of filming needs. Featuring well-manicured grounds, a children's nursery, large pillars throughout the building, and large auditorium tile floors and lots of sunlight. If you're scouting a location for vintage period drama this a fantastic option.
8) Baroque Italian Cathedral and Ballroom near Little Tokyo
Set in the heart of downtown, this grandiose venue boasts Italian baroque inspired interiors and expansive gardens. Originally built as a cathedral in the late 1800's the location is now used as an event venue. While it lacks the religious paraphernalia of some of the other locations, with minor set dressing, it can easily be transformed back into it's original state.
9) Retro Stone Church, Abbey and Dungeon near Highland Park
This stone-walled property has the look and feel of a 16th century monastery and features an abbey, chapel, cellar, and a dungeon. Inside the abbey, the interiors are decorated with a variety of scavenged relics and collected treasures. Antique furniture and old musical instruments are scattered throughout, and ornate window fixtures makes this place the holy grail of ceremonious locations. Old tile and gigantic spaces/hallways make for incredible acoustics as well.
10) Colorful Spanish Church with Ornate Altar near Silverlake
This small beautiful church near Silverlake is one of the most popular religious-themed filming location on Giggster. Colorful, charming and vibrant, there is tremendous camera potential at this listing. In addition to the immaculate altar and interior decorations, the church also features a charming garden and banquet hall.
This list should have you pretty much covered when it comes to tracking down an affordable church location in the city of angels. And in case you've any concerns about the how's, we've summarized it for you in this neat blog all on how to rent a church for filming and photo projects. However, there maybe a small chance where you want to explore more churches. If that's the case, do follow this link to explore our catalogue of churches available for rent in Los Angeles.