Utah is home to so many of America’s national treasures it is hard to pick which state or national park to visit, let alone have the wedding or elopement of your dreams in.  Utah boasts the five most breathtaking national parks: Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Zion National Park. As if narrowing down the options were not hard enough, Utah also has 43 awesome state parks. Many of their vistas rival any national park. Too many to cover all of them here, but some of my favorites are Goblin Valley State Park, Snow Canyon State Park, and Kodachrome Basin State Park.  Any of these choices are worth a hard look and contemplation.

One of the most popular is Zion National Park. It has iconic views that can not be beat. Because it is so popular, and they have had consistent record-breaking number of visitors some extra planning will be needed. Check the park’s website, www.nps.gov/zion/ when planning but also check it several times leading up to your wedding. Between rockslides, COVID 19 protocols, and the park shutting the front gate due to crowds, you will want to know the current situation.   

Another great way to stay up on what is going on in the park is to follow the park’s Instagram account, @zionnps. In addition to up-to-date information, you will see great photos and interesting facts about Zion National Parks plants, animals, and history. Cannot recommend it enough.

Here is a short list of things you want to be tracking to be prepared to get married in Zion National Park.

1-      KNOW WHERE YOU CAN GET MARRIED IN THE PARK! There are lots of places to take photos in the park, but there are only 6 places that weddings (even elopements) are allowed.

2-      Know if you will need to take a shuttle, and now the shuttle schedule,

3-      Rockslides and road closures,

4-      Weather,

One more “must do”, download your GPS maps! Do NOT count on having cell signal to help your GPS navigate you. So many times, I have had couples and wedding guests show up very late because they did not have signal to use Google Maps. If you are going to get married in Zion National Park, tell your guests to download their maps too.