Hi there! I am so happy that you clicked on this blog post and hope that it can be useful to you if you are thinking about planing your elopement in Glacier park! I get so many questions on this topic that I thought I would write a blog post about it to help guide you in your first steps. If you book with me, I will give you an even more extensive guide to eloping in Glacier along with an exclusive location guide. If you already know that you want to book me as your photographer, fill out the form on my inquiry page and we can get started!
Your Elopement Planning List
Before you dive right in, here is just an outline of the steps to help you with a basic guide
- Hire you photographer
- Figure out your date
- Figure out your ceremony location
- Fill out your permit and snag your vehicle reservation (if you need it)
- Book your flights and lodging
- Book your rental car (getting a jeep is fun)
- Book the rest of your vendors
- Tell you guests what to pack
- Fly in and check into the place your staying
- Make sure all your wedding outfits are steamed and ready to go
- Show up and HAVE FUN!!!
I have a full packing list at the end of this blog post too if you need it!
Choosing Your Photographer
Choosing your photographer early can make the process go way smoother! They can help you with locations, local vendor recommendations and point you in the right direction early on in the process so you don’t have to waste time researching. How do you know which photographer to choose? Well I’m glad you asked! See below my tops tips for picking the right photographer for you:
- your personalities align
- they seem excited and ready to help you with your special day
- they ask you about yourselves and your vision before you book to make sure they are a best fit
- they have a lot of experience photographing in Glacier Park
- their editing and style of photos are your jam
- their name is Christine…..
And just to shamelessly plug myself, I was born and raised right outside of Glacier Park and would be THRILLED to photograph your elopement (:
Pick Your Date
Now that you’ve chosen your photographer, it’s time to figure out what season you want to book! Your photographer should be able to help you out if you don’t already have a date chosen, but I also have some tips below of when to elope in the park depending on what you are going for.
The Best Time To Get Married In Glacier Park
So when is the best time to get married in the park?! Well that depends on what you want your experience to be like. There are three things to think about: season, time of day, and weekday vs weekend. First, lets tackle season.
Season
July to Early October
This is the most popular time to get married in the park because the weather is warmer and, going to the sun road will be open all the way.
The drawback to this date range (especially July – August) is that it’s tourist season so that park will be really busy. August through September is considered fire season as well, so the views could be impacted with smoke. Even though is it busy and sometimes smokey, people like to elope during this time the most because all the sections of the park are open.
July and August are great for wildflowers as well!
October
October can be a chillier month and going to the sun road, lodging, and shops in the park usually start closing down. But the fall colors are amazing and so worth it and the park is less busy as well!
May – June
If you are trying to get wildflowers in the park, this is the time for you! This date range is great if you are trying to avoid the crowds and access more parts of the park. The park won’t be fully open during this time usually, but you will be able to access more sections then in the winter. The weather will be more unpredictable and could snow and rain.
November- April
This is the least popular time to get married at in the park because it will be cold. Also, most of the park will be closed, but never fear there are some very beautiful spots you can still access! Your photographer should know what will be open so ask them.
An awesome up-side to eloping in Glacier park during this time is that there is almost no one in the park. I have been up there many times where no one is in sight and it feels like you have the whole thing to yourselves!
Sunrise, Midday, or Sunset
So which to pick from these? Let’s break them down below
Sunrise
Sunrise is perfect for the people that want the park to feel like it’s to themselves, and have evening plans that they would like to get to. PROS: You can get a beautiful sunrise, good lighting, feel like the park is to yourselves, and have time to go to dinner with your family. CONS: you have to get up supppperrrr early. Like 3 am kind of early or earlier because of hair and makeup, and you have to drive there in the dark.
Midday
This is great for people that don’t like to get up early and want to go to dinner or hang out with fam in the evening. PROS: don’t have to get up early or stay up late and don’t have to drive in the dark CONS: no glowly sunrise or sunset light, busier crowds.
Sunset
Sunset is awesome for those that don’t want to wake up early and want to have good lighting! PROS: good lighting, a possibility for stunning sunset photos in the park, don’t have to wake up early CONS: crowds (less than midday crowds though), driving home in the dark.
Weekday or Weekend
Weekday is the best choice for sure, there will be a lot less people then on the weekends.
Ways To Avoid The Crowds
Most people want to feel like they have the park all to themselves and avoid the crowds if they can. So is it possible to get this? Absolutely!!
- Elope on a weekday
- Sunrise or Sunset
- Visit during the shoulder season (June and October)
Pick Your Ceremony Spot
If you are planning on having a ceremony or exchanging vows in Glacier Park, you have to apply for a permit and do it at one of their designated areas. Glacier Park provides a list of these locations on their wedding locations website.
Depending on where you want to go in the park and how much time you want to spend in the park, ask your photographer what their recommendations for you are!’
My Top 3 Spots to Have Your Ceremony
Big Bend
10 people max peak season
10 people max non-peak season
Pray Lake
30 people max peak season
30 people max non-peak season
Sun Point
20 people max peak season
20 people max non-peak season
Applying for an Elopement Permit
Now that you know where to get married at in the park, the date, and you have your photographer, its time to apply for your permit and get your vehicle reservation (if you need it).
Glacier Park’s permit process is pretty easy but you can’t apply for a permit more than a year out from your date and no less then 20 days from your date. There are only so many permits that are allowed each day, so the sooner you apply the better!
To break it down more simply, these are the steps
- fill out the permit
- pay the nonrefundable processing fee of $125 with a credit card or mail in a check
- they will then email you back letting you know if your are approved or not
- make sure to bring a copy of this permit day of
Go onto Glacier Park permit website for more information and the full list of rules for your ceremony
Vehicle Reservation/ Entrance Fee
Before I get into the section, you might be thinking, is the vehicle reservation and entrance fee the same thing? The answer to that is nope! These are two separate things that you need to get into Glacier park. Let’s break down the difference below.
Vehicle Reservations
You will need a vehicle reservation to be able to access certain parts of the park during certain times of the year along with paying an entrance fee. These reservations start from June to September and required between 7am and 3pm. If you visit the park before 7am or after 3pm you do not need a vehicle reservation. The 2 areas of the park that require a vehicle reservation are the West and North Fork Entrance. You can apply for these online 120 days in advance, or the night before starting a 7:00pm MST.
If you already have a wedding permit you might not need a vehicle reservation. If you are wondering if you still need one you can ask your photographer who should know. I help all of my couples with the process so if you book me I would be happy to help you
I am going to repeat this because it’s super important: you can access any part of the park without a vehicle reservation if you enter before 7am or after 3pm.
You can book a vehicle reservation and read more about it on this website
*important note* Glacier tends to change and adapt their vehicle reservation rules every year so what I am listing above are the rules for 2025, they might change for 2026
Entrance Fee
An entrance fee is what you pay to be able to get into the park at the entrance stations. You can buy a week pass or an annual pass and these are able to be purchase online or day of at the entrance booth.
The Three Things You Need to Get Into the Park
- Entrance Pass
- Vehicle Reservation (depending on when and where you elope)
- Photo ID
Book Lodging
To book your lodging you need to decide whether you are staying inside or outside the park. My best advice here is to snag a campsite, stay at the lodges inside the park or stay at an airbnb that is located near the park.
If you want to check out where the campsites are and reserve one, you can find them all here.
Book your vendors
There are so many amazing vendors in the valley! I would book these next in your process and good vendors go fast. If you book with me I give you a list of my local recommended vendors that are awesome to work with!
Helpful Quick Links
List of ceremony spots in glacier park
Elopement Page On GNP Website with rules
Your Elopement Checklist
- Sunscreen
- warm clothes
- rain jacket
- extra shoes to change into
- small wedding cake
- champagne and glasses
- glacier park map
- elopement permit
- credit cards
- cash in case credit card readers go down
- drivers license for wedding permit and vehicle reservation
- download offline maps
- food
- makeup/extra hair stuff
- bobby pins
- bug repelent
- rings
- wedding attire
- bouqet
- something to change into afterward
- bear spray
- wedding license
- satellite phone
- umbrellas (i have umbrellas for my couples to use)
Why Book My Full Day Package?
My full day elopement package is up to 8 hours of coverage and includes the following:
- 75+ images per hour
- online gallery of high resolution images
- travel to any part of the park
- permit help
- elopement planning
- location guide
- elopement guide
- open lines of communication
- timeline help
Why book a whole day? One of the worst things that you can do the day of your elopement is rush through things. With this package we can take our time and be able to visit multiple incredible parts of the park. We also will have more time to capturing things like first look, getting ready photos, and details at the place you are staying at.
Why Book Me?
I was born and raised right by Glacier Park and my knowledge of the area is extensive! If plans don’t work out (and they might not because Glacier is unpredictable) I always have a backup plan. I know where to take you for the best views and fun local gems for you to experience. I know ways to get around the vehicle reservation system (without breaking the rules of course) to give you a day that goes off without a hitch! Also if you want someone that wants you to not only get those cool pics but to have fun as well I’M YOUR GIRL!!!
Still have more questions?
If you decide to book with me I will give you and even more in depth elopement guide that should answer all of the questions you have and if it doesn’t, I am available for any questions that you have! If you are interesting in booking with me, inquire here and we can start this awesome process!!