What You Need to Know About Eloping in a National Park

Not only are national parks some of the most beautifully scenic places on the planet, they are also the an amazing place to marry your partner and begin on your adventure of marriage together.

With over 60 national parks in the United states, there are countless backdrops, hiking trails, and wildlife that you could be surrounded by on your elopement day. From mountains and seashores in Alaska, to red rock canyons in Utah, to the lush forests of Washington, the possibilities are endless.

As a national park elopement photographer, I am constantly helping couples plan their elopement days, throughout many national parks. And although the landscapes and wildlife may be different, there are a few things that almost every national park elopement has in common;

• Designated Ceremony Locations
• Permit System
• Rules & Regulations

These systems and guidelines are in place in nearly every national park to help couples like you elope within a national park.

What Is a National Park Elopement?

Its Simple! A national park elopement is when a couple gets married in a national park surrounded by some of nature’s most beautiful landscapes, and a few guests if they choose.

Elopement ceremonies in a National Park are typically much smaller than a traditional wedding ceremony, but both are beautiful & legal! After a traditional wedding ceremony, there is typically a reception to celebrate the newlyweds, and while large & formal receptions are restricted within national parks, there are endless ways to celebrate. Celebration options for a national park elopement range anywhere from;

• an adventure in the national park, like a hike, or any other activities allowed within the park,
• a picnic or meal, with any guests
• celebrating at an airbnb with food, chatting, and dancing
• taking elopement photos in the national park to commemerate the day
• and more!!

National park elopements are best suited for couples who love to travel and visit the National Parks, enjoy spending time outside doing their favorite outdoor activities, and want to keep their wedding or elopement more intimate, with or without guests.

But before you run off to your favorite national park to marry your true love, there are a few things you should know about eloping in a National Park

Designated Ceremony Locations

Nearly every national park has established areas where couples are allowed to get married within the national park. Commonly these locations are in easy to reach areas, have a significant scenic background, and are out of the way of most other visitors.

Often these locations are easy to walk or hike to, and in most national Parks they have at least one ADA accessible ceremony location. They want to ensure that these locations are easy to reach, not only for you and any potential guests, but also in case of emergency and for monitoring purposes.

As a national parks choose these designated ceremony locations, they are still ensuring that you are getting the scenic views that you came to the park to see. Just because most of these locations are out of the way of other visitors, doesn’t mean they aren’t beautiful!

For national parks elopements and weddings, these locations have been chosen so that not only are you not disturbed by other visitors, but you are not disturbing the experience of other visitors as well. Even on your wedding day, it is important to follow Leave No Trace principal #7 , be considerate of others and not harm the experience of fellow visitors.

Where can you find the designated ceremony locations? The easiest way is to Google the name of the national park, followed by “wedding regulations”. Click on the nps.gov link that appears in your results. You can also search from the specific National Parks home page.

On this page, it should tell you if there are any designated ceremony locations within the park and any other rules and regulations you need to know about getting married in that specific park. Almost every national park has designated ceremony locations for elopements and weddings, but not all. If you don’t see information regarding designated ceremony locations, I suggest reaching out to the specific national park.

Most Parks have a guide that outlines the designated ceremony locations and give you all the necessary information you would need. These guides or website pages will tell you, approximately where they’re located within the park, the number of guests you are allowed to have with you at the location, the locations accessibility, and some even have pictures attached.

Choosing a designated ceremony location can be tricky, as many of them are breathtaking. If you need help deciding on a ceremony location, look up the location on AllTrails, Google photos, contact the park, or talk to your elopement photographer.

To secure a ceremony location for you and your partner, you will need a permit.

Permit System

I know permits sound scary, but they aren’t! You will need to apply for a special use permit for the park you want to get married in. These permits, although can sound intimidating, are quite easy to fill out. Some parks have you fill out a general special use permit, while others have a specific wedding ceremony permit. Either in the instructions on the website, or on the permit, it will tell you exactly where and how much to pay for your application fee, and your permit.

It’s important to note that just because you apply for the permit does not guarantee that you will be granted the ceremony permit. Your application, is not your permit.

There are deadlines as to how for an advance your application needs to be submitted. For some parks its a few weeks, for others it’s a few months., but just like traditional wedding venues, there is the opportunity for spots and some dates to fill up more quickly than others. I recommend at the very least submit your ceremony application no later than 12 weeks before your elopement day.

Permits are an important part of the national park system, and any regulated outdoor system, as they ensure visitors be safe, have the best experience possible, and help keep these natural wonders protected.

Rules & Regulations

Just as if you were visiting the park has a regular visitor, there are rules and regulations that you will have to follow for your national park elopement. In addition to the rules and regulations of being a regular visitor, most National Parks have set out additional specific rules that elopement couples and guests must follow.

These rules consist of,
– no throwing confetti, rice, flowers (or throwing pretty much anything)
– no real or dried florals (I recommend folk silk bouquets, and you can read all about them here)
– no sparklers or fires in undesignated areas
– no setup of tables or chairs (some parks allow this in a select location, or some parks have areas that already have seating available)

The park service and myself are very excited that you are getting married, but we want to ensure that it doesn’t leave a negative impact on the park that you are getting married in. Any park specific rules and regulations are listed in your permit, and it’s required that you agree to them in order to be issued a permit.

Following the rules and guidance set out by the National Park service, not only allows you to have a stress-free elopement day (without large fees and fines), but allows others the opportunity to get married in national parks as well.

Should I Get Married in a National Park?

Do you love the outdoors and spending time in it?
Do you have an appreciation and respect for mother nature?
Do you want to be surrounded by immense natural beauty on your wedding day?
Can you follow leave no Trace principles?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, a national park would be an amazing place for you to have your elopement!

The possibilities are endless, get married how and where you want!

If you need help planning your National Park allotment, and need someone to capture the special day for you, please reach out to me and I would love to help you!