Wedding Permits

Permits

Gatherings and commercial activities in national parks often require a special use permit. The purpose of these permits is to ensure the protection of the park's natural and cultural resources, as well as to minimize conflicts between park visitors and your guests.

This page is for you if you are interested in holding a wedding ceremony in the park. There are certain requirements that apply to all wedding permits. Read below for information on regulations, fees, and how to apply.

Locations

We permit weddings at the following locations. All are located at Island in the Sky.

• Grand View Point
• Green River Overlook
• Mesa Arch

Regulations

• Your group size is limited to 25 people.
• We will evaluate use of folding chairs on a case by case basis.
• You are responsible for site clean up.
• Your continuous time occupying the area under or adjacent to any arch is limited to 10 minutes when other visitors are present. You must provide a break of at least 10 minutes to allow for unobstructed viewing and photography by other park visitors.
• You must restrict wedding activities to slick rock, dry washes, or maintained areas of the park, and you must be in compliance with all park rules and regulations.
• You may not occupy more than half of a parking lot or pull-out. You must allow for free traffic flow for visitors.
• Any wedding locations requested other than above locations will require a full compliance review.
• Your event must comply with all other park regulations.

The following activities are prohibited:

• Use of rice, birdseed, or any non-native plant seed.
• Releasing butterflies, doves, or any other wildlife.
• Conducting a wedding within any cultural resource site.
• Establishing tents, caterers, sound systems, tables, etc.
• Use of alcohol
• Playing musical instruments
• Amplified sound

Permit Fees

• Non-refundable Application Fee - $55
  The non-refundable application fee must accompany each application. This fee is based on an average time it takes to provide initial contact and consultation with permittees and initial review of a standard application or project.

• Administrative Fees - $130
  Once a request is approved, this fee covers the costs associated with issuing a standard permit. This fee includes, but is not limited to, the average time it takes for processing fees, permit development, consultations with the permittee, managerial consultations and billing. Administrative fees include a minimum two-hour monitoring charge. If additional monitoring is required, a charge of $50 per hour/per employee will be assessed.

Total fees for an approved permit: $185

Entrance Fees

The standard park entrance fee also applies. We encourage wedding attendees to carpool; space is limited in some places.

How to Apply

Please complete Form 10-930s [831k Word document] and mail it (along with credit card information in the application, or a check or money order made out to National Park Service) to the address below.

Special Park Use Coordinator
Southeast Utah Group
2282 S. West Resource Blvd.
Moab, Utah 84532

We will handle applications in the order we receive them. We can process standard requests in 10 business days. Projects that need additional environmental compliance require a minimum of four weeks to process.

The Chief Ranger's Office issues special event permits by authority of the park superintendent.

For questions or additional information, please contact the Special Park Uses coordinator at (435) 719-2121 or via email.