10 tips for getting married in one of South Australia’s national parks

South Australia’s nation­al parks pro­vide gor­geous nat­ur­al sur­rounds for a unique wed­ding loca­tion at min­i­mal cost com­pared to a more tra­di­tion­al loca­tion. What’s not to love about that!

But before you jump head-first into plan­ning your wed­ding at a nation­al park, there are a few logis­tics you need to consider.

Here are our top 10 tips for plan­ning a wed­ding in a nation­al park:

1. Find the park for you

Think about which facil­i­ties you’ll want access to on your spe­cial day. Do you want a spot that’s got vehi­cle access, con­ve­nient park­ing, spe­cif­ic open­ing times, toi­let facil­i­ties, shel­ter, or a wide open space for a cer­e­mo­ny? Not all nation­al parks have the facil­i­ties to hold a wed­ding, so do your research and find one that has exact­ly what you need.

Hot tip: Use the find a park tool on the Nation­al Parks SA web­site to search for parks based on the facil­i­ties they offer.

2. Choose your per­fect spot

The best way to find out if a park is right for your wed­ding is to go and check it out. Grab your fiancé and go explor­ing! Don’t for­get to take some pic­tures so you can show your fam­i­ly, and so you can com­pare poten­tial locations.

Hot tip: Check out ​‘A Belair Nation­al Park Wed­ding’ by Love Cher­ish Adore for a dose of wed­ding inspo.

3. Fig­ure out your wed­ding format

Do you want the cer­e­mo­ny and recep­tion in the park, or just the cer­e­mo­ny? Some nation­al parks, par­tic­u­lar­ly those around met­ro­pol­i­tan Ade­laide, have spe­cif­ic clos­ing times and lim­it­ed facil­i­ties, so you might find that the best option is to have the cer­e­mo­ny in the park and then move onto anoth­er loca­tion for the reception.

Alter­na­tive­ly, if you’re just keen on a nat­ur­al set­ting for your pho­tos, head to a nation­al park for your wed­ding par­ty photography.

4. Apply for an event permit

You will need an event per­mit to hold your wed­ding in one of SA’s nation­al parks. The per­mit requires infor­ma­tion about how many peo­ple are like­ly to attend, equip­ment require­ments, and food and bev­er­age details.

5. Plan for rentals

Depend­ing on your wed­ding plans, you may need to hire some chairs and tables for your cer­e­mo­ny. Have a think about how and when they might be deliv­ered to the park.

6.Cater­ing and fire restrictions

If you decide to have your recep­tion in a park, make sure you shop around and find a cater­er who is expe­ri­enced in pro­vid­ing food in an out­door space with lim­it­ed facilities.

Be aware that many nation­al parks have restric­tions on using gen­er­a­tors, as well as oth­er fire restric­tions. These might impact on what you are able to cook, so always check with the spe­cif­ic park staff ahead of time so you know what’s allowed by vis­it­ing the park’s web­page.

7. Throw­ing con­fet­ti and flower petals is a no-no.

It is against nation­al parks rules to lit­ter in a park, which includes throw­ing con­fet­ti, rice and flower petals. We know what you’re think­ing – ​‘what harm could petals do?’ Exot­ic flower species and petals have the poten­tial to be car­ry­ing dis­eases, which could harm the native plants with­in the park.

8.Be aware of park clo­sures

Many nation­al parks are closed on days of cat­a­stroph­ic or extreme fire dan­ger. This is always going to be a risk when plan­ning a park wed­ding, but if you’re real­ly wor­ried about it, try to get on the front foot. Choose a time of year when the weath­er is milder and there’s less risk of bush­fires and clo­sures, such as late spring or autumn, or have a back­up loca­tion in mind just in case.

9.Clean up

Remem­ber, there are no bins in nation­al parks so you’ll need to arrange to take your rub­bish with you – leave noth­ing behind. Per­haps flag this with your cater­er or bar staff so they can take their rub­bish with them when they leave.

10. Ask the experts

We get it, your wed­ding day is poten­tial­ly the biggest cel­e­bra­tion of your life. If you have any ques­tions about hold­ing your wed­ding in a nation­al park, or want some advice about the best park loca­tions, get in touch with our friend­ly parks staff.

Has one of SA’s nation­al parks been the per­fect back­drop for your spe­cial occa­sion? We’d love to hear all about it – plus any tips you might have – in the com­ments sec­tion below.

Images: Thanks to Erin and Andy Shriner for let­ting us use your wed­ding pho­tos!All images cour­tesy ofEvan Bai­ley Pho­tog­ra­phy.