No Permit? No Problem
The demand for weddings in Grand Teton is at an all time high. Spots are incredibly competitive, even more so because the park started requiring monitoring and thus limiting the number of weddings a day last year.
If you want to get married in Grand Teton still but weren’t able to get a spot, or if you’re just tentatively thinking about eloping, it’s not a completely lost cause. Below, I’ll get into the options you have to still have a lovely wedding in Grand Teton.
Be flexible on your date and time
This is the best advice I can give anyone who is getting married in Grand Teton. There’s a high likelihood that even if you get a permit, you won’t get exactly what you wanted, so being flexible is key. Especially because there is no wrong answer–it’s Grand Teton! Everything is beautiful.
If you’re open to a weekday (Sundays oddly are also less busy), you have a lot more options. It won’t necessarily get you a permit in the park at this point, but it will open the door to some of the options below.
Book a private venue
You only need permits for the ceremony portion of your day, so if you book a private venue, you can still take photos in the park. This is a much more expensive route to go though, since venues often require planners and the venues themselves are very pricey.
Book The Wedding Tree
The Wedding Tree is one of the most in-demand wedding venues in Jackson Hole now but you’re not limited the way you are in the park. Booking is an easy online process and you can see the availability in real-time. Saturdays book up well in advance but if you’re flexible on time and/or date, you can definitely find space at The Wedding Tree.
Choose a Small Dispersed Ceremony permit
Grand Teton has two types of permits: Large, Site-Specific Permits and Small Dispersed Ceremonies. Small Dispersed Ceremonies are available all year and cannot take place at the traditional spots like Mormon Row or Schwabachers Landing, though we can still take photos there.
The downside is that Small Dispersed permits are limited to 12 people total, including me, you two, and your officiant (having one of your guests officiate is a good workaround). But in exchange for this intimacy, you have a much wider range of venues available to you. I’m not going to give all of my secret spots away, but some of the most beautiful sites are only available as Small Dispersed Ceremonies.
If you want to invite more friends and family than you’re allowed, my advice is to invite them to take photos elsewhere and have a nice reception. There’s no real way around the number limitations but you can still have a joyful time together in Jackson Hole.
Only available as a Small Dispersed Ceremony location
4. Book a Bridals session instead
Sometimes a destination wedding just isn’t in the cards, and that’s okay! One of my couples had to cancel their wedding for family reasons last year but they still came to the Tetons to take photos in bridal attire. You can display these at your wedding or just frame them at home still to commemorate a beautiful time in the Tetons.
