National park · Tennessee

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Managed by National Park Service

Smokies weddings need a $50 permit applied for 12 months to 30 days ahead, with outdoor sites capped at 25 people for one hour and historic churches at 50 for 90 minutes. A parking tag is still required for each vehicle.

Verified November 6, 2026 2 official sources

Official permit page ↗ Eloping in Tennessee

PicturedLayered ridges at sunrise, Oconaluftee Valley, Great Smoky Mountains Photo: Great Smoky Mountains National Park from Gatlinburg, TN, public domain

01 The rules

Permit fact card

Permit: Required: Wedding Special Use Permit (weddings, vow renewals, elopements, commitment ceremonies)
Application fee: $50 non-refundable application fee (pay online; name on the payment must match the application)
Other fees: The park recovers costs of processing the application. Spence Cabin and Appalachian Clubhouse are rented separately on Recreation.gov before the permit application.
Entrance & parking: No entrance fee, but a parking tag is required even with a permit: $5 daily, $15 weekly, $40 annual (fees page last updated Nov 3, 2026).
Lead time: Application no later than 30 days before the event
Booking window: Up to 12 months in advance; sites awarded in the order applications are received
Group size: 25 people at outdoor sites (6 vehicles, 1 hour); 50 at historic churches (8 vehicles, 1.5 hours); vendors and their vehicles count
Caps & rules: Permitted time includes set-up, ceremony, photography and clean-up. No exclusive use. Up to 6 chairs only for guests with special needs. No amplified sound, drones, arches or tents; no petals, rice, birdseed or confetti. Spence Cabin seats 40. Kuwohi ceremonies are limited to the parking area.
Photographer: Photography and videography are authorized under the wedding permit without an additional permit as long as models, props or sets are not used. Hired officiants, photographers and planners must follow the permit conditions.
Seasons: Chimneys Picnic Area permits are issued 8–10 am, May 25–September 7 and all of October. The road to Kuwohi is closed seasonally, April 1–November 28.

02 Where

19 designated ceremony sites

As listed by the agency. Numbers in brackets are the group caps it gives.

Cades Cove Wildlife Overlook
LeQuire Cemetery Overlook and field (Cades Cove)
Cataloochee Valley overlook
Cataract Falls
Chimneys Picnic Area
Kuwohi (parking area only)
Foothills Parkway East and West overlooks
Gatlinburg By-pass overlooks
Heintooga overlook
Lakeview Drive
Maloney Point
Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area (not the pavilion)
Millsap
Mingus Mill
Newfound Gap
Oconaluftee overlook
Picnic pavilions
Historic churches: Cades Cove Methodist, Missionary Baptist and Primitive Baptist; Palmer Chapel (Cataloochee); Smokemont Church
Rentals: Appalachian Clubhouse and Spence Cabin (Recreation.gov)

03 Re-check log

Compared with our June 2026 guides

November 6, 2026

No change to $50, the 30-day-to-12-month window, 25/1 hour/6 vehicles, 50/1.5 hours/8 vehicles, 6 chairs. New today: full site list, Chimneys and Kuwohi seasonal notes, parking-tag prices. The NPS 30-day minimum contradicts older photographer blogs that cite 14 days.

Sources

Where each value comes from

Wedding Permits and Planning — Great Smoky Mountains (NPS), last updated Sept 24, 2026 ↗ Read on November 6, 2026
Fees & Passes (parking tags) — Great Smoky Mountains (NPS), last updated Nov 3, 2026 ↗ Read on November 6, 2026

Confirm with the agency before you book. Fees, calendars and site lists change, sometimes without notice. This page records what the official pages said on the date above; it is not legal advice.