Planning a Wedding inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park? Plan to Pay a Fee

If you are planning a wedding or destination wedding to the Great Smoky Mountains, this blog entry is for you!

According to a recent AP article reprinted on Knoxville, Tennessee’s WBIR.com, on October 1, 2006, the Park Service is going to start charging a $50 non-refundable permit fee for weddings inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Additionally, businesses that put together wedding packages for use in the park will have to pay a fee. Here are two important facts from the article:

Businesses which put together wedding packages and want to use the park will pay for a $200 application fee and $10 per month during the 24-month life of the permit…

The ordained ministers of local area churches are exempt from the commercial use requirement, provided they don't perform more than four park weddings a year and don't advertise their services.

The article has more information so you may want to click over and read the actual article for more details AFTER you read the rest of this blog post because…

Something is glaringly missing from the article: it doesn’t tell couples and businesses how to go about getting one of these permits. I have done the research and here is what I found on the Great Smoky Mountains Web site:

Wedding and Special Event Permits
Weddings and other special events require a permit and must follow specific guidelines.

If you wish to hold your special event on the Tennessee side of the park, please call (865) 436-1266 for permit and regulation information. If you would like to hold the ceremony on the North Carolina side of the park, please contact (828) 497-1930.

Helpful Links:

• Smokies officials to start charging fee for weddings in Park – WBIR.com
• Great Smoky Mountains Web Site
• Gatlinburg Weddings – Planning a Wedding in Gatlinburg, Tennessee
• Smoky Mountains Weddings – Planning a Wedding in the Smoky Mountains
• Tennessee Weddings – Planning a Wedding in Tennessee
• North Carolina Weddings – Planning a Wedding in North Carolina

Photo: Free Photo Download from the National Parks Services Web site