Couple the beautiful natural chapel of the Smoky Mountains with the relatively minor requirements for getting married on the Tennessee side of the Smokies and you will understand why a Smokies wedding and honeymoon is second in popularity only to Las Vegas. Couples can be joined in holy matrimony in a chapel, the National Park or the privacy of their cottage or cabin.
Chapel Weddings
Chapels around the Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg area in every shape form and fashion. You can find one to fit any budget or style of wedding. Whether you are looking for something quite & quaint or maybe a little more upscale there are chapels all over the Smoky Mountains.
Cabin Weddings
Maybe you have rented a cabin for your honeymoon. If the group coming to your wedding is small enough, or your cabin is large enough, you can always have the wedding at the cabin. Hire a local minister or get a justice of the peace to come out to the cabin and have a nice intimate ceremony with just your close friends and family.
National Park Wedding
Or maybe, just maybe, you are wanting to have your wedding in the grandeur and beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Here is a quote from the documentation from the Park Service about weddings:
“Persons wishing to conduct a wedding in the Park must complete the standard Application for Special Use Permit and return it by mail along with a non-refundable application fee. CUA holders may submit an application on behalf of their clients along with the required fee. Applications must be received by the Park no less than 14 days in advance of the wedding date. Applications for weddings which require exemptions from the standard permit conditions must be received no less than 21 days in advance of the wedding date. Exceptions/exemptions will not be granted to weddings planned or conducted by a CUA holder.”
Marriage License
Both parties must be present to obtain the marriage license from the County Clerk’s Marriage License Centers (Gatlinburg Shilling Center, Pigeon Forge City Hall or Sevierville Courthouse). There is no waiting period and an appointment is not necessary to obtain the license. Proof of age is required by a driver’s license, state-issued picture ID, a valid passport or certified birth certificate. A blood test is not required and applicants need not be residents of Sevier County to be wed there. Couples may also bring a valid Tennessee marriage license from anywhere in the state of Tennessee but remember that the license is only valid for 30 days after the issue. If applicants are under the age of 18, both parents or legal guardians must sign the marriage certificate.