WOW VOWS : Picture Perfect : To be sure dark paneling and muted light don’t ruin shots of the reception, hold it in a park.

Anyone having a traditional wedding knows that finding the location for the wedding doesn’t necessarily mean you have found the right site for the wedding portraits.

The drawing room of Aunt Minnie’s Victorian is the perfect place for a ceremony, but the yard is small and butts up against a drive-in movie. In your dreams of a perfect wedding, the Terminator wasn’t a guest.

And that restaurant where the reception is going to be held has dark paneling and muted light. People will look at the photos and think you were married in a cave.

There is a solution. A number of parks around Ventura County can provide a picture-perfect background for any bride and groom. If only photos are being taken at a park and the wedding ceremony and reception are held elsewhere, no reservations are needed nor are fees charged. However, it’s best to call and check what activities are booked at the park for your day. You don’t want a softball knocking off the groom’s top hat or children at a company picnic leapfrogging across the bride’s train.

OJAI: Soule Recreation Area, 1301 Soule Park Drive. At this location, the bride and groom will be framed by the distant Topa Topa Mountains. This is a county park; call 654-3951 for information.

PORT HUENEME: Moranda Park, 200 Moranda Parkway. A wedding party could line up on the pretty wooden bridge that spans Bubbling Springs Waterway, where shore birds gather. Call the park at 986-6584.

Port Hueneme Beach Park is on Surfside Drive across from the Dorill B. Wright Cultural Center. From the large wooden gazebo, set in a grassy area, newlyweds will have a backdrop of the ocean and the pier. Call the cultural center at 986-6598.

SANTA PAULA: Ebell Park, corner of 7th and Main streets. The mature palm and live oak trees and an old stone building, now used as a theater, provide attractive background elements for photographs. Call the Santa Paula Recreation Department, 933-4226.

SIMI VALLEY: Rancho Simi Community Park, 1765 Royal Ave. The lovely lagoon where geese and wood ducks swim is a picturesque choice for wedding photos. Call Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District at 584-4400.

THOUSAND OAKS: Conejo Valley Community Park, 1300 Hendrix Ave. Oak trees and rolling hills provide a scenic setting at this spot. Call the Conejo Recreation and Park District, 496-4081.

VENTURA: Grant Park, on Ferro Drive off Cedar Street. From the cross high above the city, a wedding party will have a panoramic ocean view as the backdrop for their photos. This site is small and popular. Call Ventura Parks and Recreation at 658-4741.