Custom Weddings of Colorado
Rocky Mountain National Park elopementpermits, sites and guest limits.
10 permitted ceremony sites, each with its own guest cap — and one park permit process that trips up most couples planning from out of state. We apply on your behalf.
The permit, honestly
How an RMNP wedding permit actually works
Rocky Mountain National Park is the strictest place we work — and one of the few where the park lets us apply for the permit on your behalf, so you never fill in a federal form or chase a ranger by phone.
Apply early — up to a year ahead
The park accepts wedding permit applications about a year out, and the popular lakeside sites on June and September weekends are claimed first. Dates are not held while an application is pending.
One approved site, one approved time
Your permit names a single site and a one-hour window. You cannot move the ceremony to a prettier spot down the trail on the day, and the ranger office does check.
$300 permit fee plus park entrance
The wedding permit fee is $300, paid to the National Park Service and separate from your package. Every car also needs a park entrance pass, and timed-entry reservations apply in the busy season.
Hard guest limits, no exceptions
Each site carries its own cap — 15 people at 3M Curve, 20 at Alluvial Fan Bridge, 30 at Sprague Lake and the meadow sites. The count includes you, your photographer, your officiant and every child.
Where you can marry in the park
Every permitted RMNP ceremony site
The park approves ceremonies only at these designated sites. Guest counts below are the park's caps, and they include your vendors. Sprague Lake and Lily Lake are the two most requested; 3M Curve is the smallest and the most dramatic.
3M Curve
Up to 15 people$300 park permit
A scenic overlook along Trail Ridge Road popular for sweeping mountain-view first looks and small ceremonies.
year-round, permit booking a year out
Alluvial Fan Bridge
Up to 20 people$300 park permit
A bridge site near a rocky alluvial fan with rushing water sounds and mountain scenery.
year-round, permit booking a year out
Copeland Lake
Up to 30 people$300 park permit
A quieter lakeside site on the park's southern side offering a smaller-crowd alpine lake ceremony.
year-round, permit booking a year out
Harbison Picnic Area
Up to 30 people$300 park permit
A west-side picnic area within RMNP offering a casual, meadow-adjacent ceremony spot.
year-round, permit booking a year out
Hidden Valley
Up to 30 people$300 park permit
A former ski-area valley within RMNP now used as a scenic, tucked-away ceremony spot.
year-round, permit booking a year out
Lily Lake
Up to 30 people$300 park permit
A small lakeside dock and trail offering multiple ceremony vantage points with mountain reflections.
year-round, permit booking a year out
Moraine Amphitheater
Up to 30 people$300 park permit
A built-in amphitheater with seating set against Moraine Park's meadow and mountain scenery.
year-round, permit booking a year out
Sprague Lake
Up to 30 people$300 park permit
A serene alpine lake site within RMNP offering reflective mountain views for a simple, permitted ceremony.
year-round, permit booking a year out
Timber Creek Amphitheater
Up to 20 people$300 park permit
A campground amphitheater on the Grand Lake side of RMNP with built-in seating.
year-round, permit booking a year out
Upper Beaver Meadows
Up to 30 people$300 park permit
An open meadow site within RMNP framed by surrounding peaks, ideal for a simple vow exchange.
year-round, permit booking a year out
What the park allows
The rules couples are surprised by
- No chairs, arches, aisle runners, tables or staging at most sites — the built-in amphitheaters are the exception.
- No thrown petals, rice, confetti, birdseed or bubbles, and nothing left behind.
- No amplified music or sound systems.
- No dogs at ceremony sites, even leashed.
- Personal bouquets and boutonnieres are fine; standing florals and installations are not.
- Drones are prohibited park-wide.
If you want chairs, a bench, florals on an arch or music through a speaker, we will point you to a site just outside the park boundary where all of that is welcome — often ten minutes from the one you had in mind.
Which park site fits your day?
Answer nine short questions and I'll match three sites to your vision, group size, budget and month — with weather, ceremony timing, a real budget and whether a park permit is the right call for you at all. Free, about four minutes.
Build my plan — free