I’m here to tell you everything about my experience photographing a Cave Without a Name Wedding.

Maybe you stumbled onto this blog post because you were scrolling through my website, googling unique ways to get married, or, you actually ARE planning on getting married in a Cave! Either way, your interest is peaked.

I photographed Jacquelynn & Joe’s wedding in Cave Without a Name in Boerne, Texas. This was my first time photographing in a cave, so naturally lighting was a huge concern for me! I didn’t know what to expect.

Gear I used

Here is the gear that I used to shoot this wedding:
Canon R6 (I couldn’t find the R6 Mark I, so here’s a link to the Mark II, the newer version!)
Canon RF 28-70mm f/2.0
Godox AD200Pro x2
Magmod Starter Flash Kit x2
& Honestly just some cheap Amazon Basics light stands to hold my Godox Pocket flashes.

The HUMIDITY!

The hardest part about photographing in this Cave was the humidity. Almost 100% of caves will contain at least some level of humidity. For photographers, this can mean foggy lenses and SWEAT lol. Caves are definitely a few degrees cooler than the outdoor, but being that this cave is in Texas, it was still pretty warm. Not to mention, the steps going up & down carrying your equipment can be hard on the back.

126 Steps…

Speaking of steps, that was one of the biggest things to consider when making the Timeline for this wedding! Additionally, nobody can be left unattended in the Cave. This meant that a guide had to be present when going up and down the cave stairs, and when being in the cave itself. Because of this, time was needed before we could even enter the cave, to make sure a guide was available, and that the majority of the group was present. (Any stragglers unfortunately would have to wait for another guide!)

This Cave was 126 steps down, and 126 steps back up. Unfortunately this means that it is not a handicap-friendly location, but it still makes for an epic adventure for those who can make it.

Not as small as you would think!

Once we were all settled down at the bottom of the Cave, chair were pre-set up for all of the guests, allowing them to find their seats and wait for the show to begin. There was plenty of room within the Cave to not only have the ceremony, but also a few hidden areas for the bride to hide/make her appearance walking down the isle.

Pretty Good Ambient Lighting

For this lighting set up, I mostly only used 1 of my Godox lights in the back of the ceremony space, so that way mostly everyone was lit up. It worked out well that there was some warm lighting present in the Cave also, so I was able to grab shots of most guests at the ceremony (Though seriously needing to abuse the De-noise tool in Lightroom afterwards)

For portraits, I was actually able to get away with no-flash for some of the couples photos. The other situations where a flash was needed, I still used my off-camera Godox flashes! Thankfully, I had an extra set of hands (aka Brides bestie lol) to hold my light stand off to the side, pointing down on them to properly expose their faces. It turned out so beautiful, and we were still able to get the ambient lighting of the cave in the photo too, not hiding the absolute beauty of the cave itself.

In Summary

So in summary, here’s a few things to keep in mind when planning a Cave Without a Name Wedding:

• Have plenty of lens wipes and towels to fight against the humidity.
• Having an extra set of hands to help you carry/hold your gear when traveling up and down the steps, and when using off-camera flash, is SUCH a good idea.
• Keep in mind that this is not a handicap-friendly venue.
• Account for time going up/down the stairs, and the need for a guide, when making your timeline.
• Plan for some additional Portraits outdoors, once you’re out of the cave. 🙂

Thank you for reading!! Would you get married in a Cave?

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