Wedding Permits for Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park wedding and commitment ceremonies may be scheduled any time within the same calendar year but may not be scheduled less than 10 working days prior to your ceremony. Please complete the wedding application form (pdf - 20kb) in as much detail as possible to avoid delays in permit approval due to incomplete information. Be sure to include the nonrefundable application fee of $50 with your application, paid by check or money order only, made payable to the National Park Service. Mail your application and payment via U.S. mail to:

Acadia National Park
Attn: Special Use Permit Coordinator
P.O. Box 177
Bar Harbor, ME 04609

After favorable review of your application, you will be asked to sign the regulating permit indicating that you have read and will abide by the special conditions listed. Please keep a copy of the permit for yourself.

The approved permit must be in your possession at the time of the ceremony. Entrance fees into the park are not waived for either participants or guests.

Acadia National Park Headquarters: 207-288-8791

When Permits are Not Required

Simple ceremonies of up to ten people (including the officiate) may be conducted without a permit, subject to the following restrictions:

• All vehicles must be parked in designated areas and not off-road. Event participants are encouraged to carpool, utilize the Island Explorer, or use shuttle vehicles from outlying parking areas.
• The use of voice amplification, any sort of public address system, or any audio device is prohibited.
• The installation of any signs (including road markings, roadside signage, etc.) is prohibited.
• To protect parklands and wildlife, the releasing of balloons, doves, or butterflies and the throwing of rice, birdseed, flower petals, or other natural or artificial material is not allowed.
• No enhancements of any sort (chairs, arches, decorations, etc.) are permitted.
• The ceremony may not interfere with other park visitors’ use of the area or the normal flow of vehicle or pedestrian traffic in any way.
• Participants should stay on sand, trails, rock surfaces, or other durable surfaces during the ceremony.

Restrictions

The permit does not allow your ceremony to restrict other park visitors from your chosen location, nor does it guarantee you a specific site. To have more privacy, it is recommended that you avoid sites that attract a large number of visitors, or schedule your ceremony for early or late in the day. Time allowed for outdoor events is normally one hour or less. Permits will not be issued for heavy use periods at certain locations. Maximum usage limits have been established for certain areas in the park.

Possible Additional Charges

An additional charge of $60 per hour may be incurred for an event monitor if there is potential for any interference with visitor use, impact on park resources, or congestion of a highly visited area.

Note: The information on this page is from the Official National Park website as of 4/16/2012. Refer to the following National Park page to verify current information:

Weddings - Acadia National Park