Arches National
Park Wedding
Guide
Moab, UT
Arches national Park 101
Arches National Park is a beautiful backdrop for a destination wedding or elopement. With its famous rock formations and stunning vistas, it's no wonder that so many couples choose Arches National Park as the location for their weddings.
Arches basically consists of one 18-mile in-and-out road with a bunch of viewpoints and small side roads along the way. You’ll pass petrified sand dunes, towers, and of course, the famous arches.
In addition to shooting weddings, I used to guide hiking trips in Arches National Park and my favorite section has always been the Windows. It contains more prominent arches in one small space than any other part of the park and that adds a lot of variety to your images. And though it gets crowded, I’ve worked there enough to figure out the “flow” of the other visitors. The “hikes” are also all very easy, though there is a bit of scrambling to get to the best spots.
location
Arches National Park is located just north of Moab, UT. The Arches visitor center and entry station is just 5 miles outside of Moab, but the exact distance to the wedding ceremony sites within Arches varies.
Arches is just one straight, 18-mile road to Devil’s Garden and back. Getting to the furthest part of the paved road (Devil’s Garden Trailhead) from Moab takes about an hour.
Arches National Park offers several incredible locations for your elopement ceremony, including the Windows section and Sand Dune Arch. Any location will be beautiful but there are some locations and times that will shine the most for your wedding.
In general, I recommend avoiding Delicate Arch - I have never seen it not obscenely busy at any time of day or year. I even guided a midnight hike once and was surrounded by astrophotographers who made the trek in the dark, too. Photoshop has come a long way but if you’re not used to photoshoots with crowds and getting a lot of attention, it will be an overwhelming experience.
Wedding Ceremony
Locations in ARches
Arches National Park only allows weddings at specific of locations in the park:
3-10 guests
Delicate Arch
Landscape Arch11-25 guests:
the Windows Section (North Window, South, Window, Turret Arch, or Double Arch)
Sand Dune Arch
Delicate Arch Viewpoint
Pine Tree Arch
Park Avenue26-50 guests:
La Sal Mountains Viewpoint
Panorama Point51- 80 guests:
Devils Garden Campground Amphitheater
PERMITS
All weddings in Arches National Park require a $185 special use permit, which can be obtained through the park's website. It’s not a particularly difficult permit but I can help you with the permit application process.
Be sure to apply for your permit well in advance to ensure that you can secure your desired ceremony location. The park requires 4 weeks or more to process a permit, so don’t slack! Weddings can be booked up to 1 year in advance.
If you have a special recreation permit, you won’t need to make a timed-entry reservation. But if we’re just doing a bridal shoot or engagement in Arches National Park, be sure to look into the timed-entry reservations well in advance (see more info here).
Don’t forget to bring a hard copy of your permit on the day of your wedding!
Larger, more complex weddings will require monitoring by Arches + Canyonlands rangers. This will incur an additional fee, and this will be quoted upon issuing the permit.
Wedding permit Conditions
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Permit Conditions
A permit does not grant exclusive use of the area and the area will remain open to the visiting public. Permittees may not ask the public to alter their visitation in any way. Additional permit conditions are imposed as follows:
Natural Resource Protection: Wedding activities are restricted to slickrock, dry washes, or maintained areas of the park to protect fragile biological soil crust and plant life.
Bouquets: To prevent the introduction of invasive species into the park, dried plants, including grasses, are prohibited in bouquets.
Releases: Butterfly releases, and all other living and/or inanimate object releases or dispersal, including birdseed and rice, are prohibited. The permittee is responsible for site cleanup.
Decorations: The use of balloons, arches, or any other type of decorations will not be authorized.
Obstructions: Permittees may not obstruct sidewalks, trails, parking lots, or other visitor facilities. This includes the use of tents, tables, or other furniture. The park will evaluate folding chairs on a case-by-case basis.
Food: The establishment of caterers or any food service is prohibited.
Audio Disturbance: No public address system is permitted and music volumes are highly regulated (Re: 36 CFR 2.12). Noise levels must not exceed normal speaking volumes.
Vehicles: All vehicles must be parked in designated areas only; no off-road traffic. Carpooling is recommended and may be required at specific locations.
Pets: Pets are typically not allowed at ceremony sites, particularly those areas off pavement or in other undeveloped locations.
Drones: Operating a drone is prohibited.
Monitor: Activities will be monitored or spot checked by NPS personnel for compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit and to ensure that no resource damage or visitor conflicts are occurring.
Time limit: If requested ceremony location is under or immediately adjacent to an arch or scenic feature, then the ceremony may have a required time limit of 15 minutes, depending on time of day, time of year, and other visitation patters and factors. Locations likely to contain a time limit in the permit conditions are The Windows Section, Sand Dune Arch, Pine Tree Arch, and Park Avenue due to the congested nature of those locations.
Transportation
Guests will still be responsible for the entrance fee, so it’s best to coordinate carpooling ahead of time to save money. You could also arrange a shuttle from town. Parking can be a pain in Arches so carpooling will help with that, too.
Season
Spring (March-May) and Fall (September-October) provide the most comfortable temperatures in Moab. Mornings and evenings in March and April are still pretty chilly though, and Arches is a bit higher elevation than the rest of Moab.
Spring will be windier than the fall but you will see more flowers, like Paintbrush and Globemallow. Fall is less windy and has beautiful fall colors on the Cottonwoods, but you won’t see many of those of apart from Cottonwood Wash in Arches.
Summer is scorching and has frequent monsoons and flooding and is generally not recommended.
Have a great wedding day
More Moab Wedding Venues
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Do you want perfect sunset lighting for your Moab wedding? Enough said. Dead Horse it is!
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If giant cliffs, easy hikes, and incredible lighting are your vibe, consider Canyonlands for your wedding.
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Dreaming of an arch wedding with a bit o a hike and less NPS hassle? Check out Corona Arch.
About Your Wedding Photographer
I’m Danielle, a Moab elopement photographer who spent several years living along the banks of the Colorado River in this little red rock town.
Nowhere has ever resonated with me the way Moab does. As a wedding photographer who thrives in untamed landscapes and seeks genuine emotion, I’ve discovered that Moab isn't just a backdrop. It’s a creative sanctuary, a place to witness love stories that are both deeply personal and beautifully honest.
Between work as a hiking guide and life in Moab, I witnessed these canyons and arches at every time of day. I know the way our weather builds and breaks in monsoon season and where the most beautiful viewpoints hide. Whether your day involves a small gathering of loved ones in Arches National Park or just the two of you on the edge of the world beneath the rising sun, I’m here to guide you with the ease and skill that only a true local can.
Contact
vilaplanaphoto@gmail.com