If you’re doing research for your wedding or elopement in The Grand Teton National Park and stumbled upon this blog, you’re in the right place. While the official park website (link here) has a ton of helpful information to ensure you get where you need to go, there are a few key things it lacks. Being wedding & elopement photographers in the Jackson Hole area, we usually end up filling in the gaps for our couples when it comes to the planning process and specific questions they may have about each of the 6 designated site specific ceremony spots (technically 7). The two biggest questions we typically get about each location are something along the lines of:
“Is this a good spot for photos?”
“Is there anything important we should know about any of these spots?”
To answer the first question above, yes. Every single one of these spots can be great for photos. As with any location, time of day, weather conditions, etc. can always affect anyone of these spots, but in general on nice days, they are all beautiful and do a great job of showcasing the grand tetons which is likely one of the big reasons you decided to say your I dos here in the first place. Our goal for the rest of this blog is to answer that second question. We’ll provide visuals of ceremonies in these locations so you can determine if that is the look you were going for, for your ceremony spot. We’ll also provide what we find to be relevant information for our couples who may not be as familiar with the park. Some of this information will just be basics that you can find on the official park website but the bulk of it will be our personal feedback from having photographed each of these locations multiple times. As with any of our informational blogs, feel free to hit us up if you have more questions about the overall process or any of these locations. We’ve included a few pertinent pieces of information directly below regarding types of permits and locations (all of which can be found in greater detail on the park's official website).
Types of Permits
There are reserved site specific ceremony permits and small dispersed ceremony permits. We get questions about this all the time so to keep it simple, If you’re having more than 12 people total (this includes vendors, guests, etc) you’ll need to apply for a site specific ceremony permit. If you’re having 12 or less, you’ll have the option of applying for a dispersed site ceremony. As of this writing, the park will sometimes approve a small dispersed site ceremony permit for the six site specific spots (with the exception of Schwabacher). Small dispersed site ceremony permits also allow you to do your ceremony somewhere outside of these 6 designated site specific areas. There are a few spots you still cannot have a ceremony even if it’s a small dispersed permit, for convenience, here’s a quick list below of locations that you cannot have a ceremony (as of this writing):
-All things Jenny Lake
-Hidden Falls
-Inspiration Point
-String Lake “developed” area and trail
-Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve
-Park partner facilities (you’d have to contact the park for a list of these facilities - we’ve never had anybody ask about these)
-Within proximity of places where weddings are being managed by a chapel or concessioner (e.g., the Chapel of the Transfiguration)
-Park cemeteries
Questions about the Chapels in the park?
Chapel of the Transfiguration, 307-733-2603 or https://www.stjohnsjackson.org/
Chapel of the Sacred Heart, 307-733-2516 or http://www.olmcatholic.org/
Schwabacher Landing
Distance from popular lodging locations
Downtown Jackson - 26 minutes
Victor, Idaho - 1 hour 7 minutes
Driggs, Idaho - 1 hour 17 minutes
Google Maps Listing - click here
Size Limit:
25 people
Easy access for mobility issues:
No
Feedback:
Schwabacher Landing is an amazing location and by far the most popular location in the park for couples looking to get married or take portraits. With this, we also wanted to provide relevant feedback based on the this location that isn’t always clear when you decide to hold your ceremony here. As with all of the site specific locations for wedding ceremonies, there is a designated spot at Schwabacher that you have to hold your ceremony. In our experience, unless told by us, just about every couple does not know this. They arrive at Schwabacher thinking they are going to have their ceremony right at the mouth of the iconic snake river bend with the Tetons reflecting off of the water. While you can come back here and take portraits, you cannot hold your ceremony here. The ceremony site is about a 3-4 minute hike on the main trail from the parking lot. It is still a beautiful location, but we find it’s not usually the spot at Schwabacher they thought they were getting. While we always recommend checking with your photographer about the best time of day for their shooting style to ensure you get the images you want, this is especially true for Schwabacher’s ceremony location as it’s typically always going to be backlit and it’s right on the water, so the potential for haze is quite high unless you’re having a morning ceremony. Overall this is one of our favorite spots and it's made extra special by the potential for wildlife in your backdrop.
Mormon Row North
Distance from popular lodging locations
Downtown Jackson - 27 minutes
Victor, Idaho - 1 hour 8 minutes
Driggs, Idaho - 1 hour 18 minutes
Google Maps Listing - click here
Size Limit:
40 people
Easy access for mobility issues:
Somewhat, it’s flat, but the ceremony location is about 100 yds from the parking area, all dirt after parking.
Feedback:
In our opinion, this is the best location in the park for larger elopements. The view of the tetons from this location is great. It’s easy access if you don’t have any mobility issues. The biggest challenge we’ve seen with this location, especially for larger groups is parking. At any given time of day you could pull up to a full parking lot as well as a tour bus full of sightseers. With this being the site of the famous John Moulton Barn, it is immensely popular not only for weddings, but also tourists and landscape/fine art photographers. Try to carpool if you’re using this location.
Mormon Row South
Distance from popular lodging locations
Downtown Jackson - 27 minutes
Victor, Idaho - 1 hour 8 minutes
Driggs, Idaho - 1 hour 18 minutes
Google Maps Listing - click here
Size Limit:
25 people
Easy access for mobility issues:
Somewhat, it’s flat, but the ceremony location is about 50-100 yds from the parking area, depending on how close you’re able to park.
Feedback:
Much like Mormon Row north which we covered before, the biggest challenge with this location is typically parking. Also, both Mormon Row North and South have the potential for crowds pretty much all the time, but if you’re torn between Mormon Row North or South, Mormon Row South does have more of a tendency for people to be in the background of you ceremony location. Additionally, the TA Moulton Barn will also be in the background of your images in addition to the Grand Tetons. If you’re not wanting the barn in your background or the thought of people in the background of your images or walking behind you ceremony location bothers you, this probably isn’t the spot for you. All this being said, if you don’t mind the TA Moulton Barn, this can make for a beautiful backdrop for your ceremony location.
Colter Bay Swim Beach
Distance from popular lodging locations
Downtown Jackson - 57 minutes
Victor, Idaho - 1 hour 43 minutes
Driggs, Idaho - 1 hour 52 minutes
Google Maps Listing - click here
Size Limit:
40 people
Easy access for mobility issues:
Somewhat, it’s flat, but the ceremony location is about 50-100 yds from the parking area, depending on how close you’re able to park. The ground on the beach itself is a lot of loose rocks of varying sizes. It would be difficult in heels or in a wheel chair for sure.
Feedback:
In our experience Colter Bay is a great overall location. For the times we have shot here, it’s never been too crowded, and definitely checks the box if you want water and mountains! The mountain views here are gorgeous but they do tend to be a little smaller perspective-wise just based on the range being further away. Speaking of further away, in terms of all of the site specific ceremony locations offered, Colter Bay is the furthest from town. So, if you’re dreading the thought of having to drive far, this wouldn’t be the spot for you.
(Note the above couple opted to have their ceremony in the grass instead of the beach)
Glacier View Turnout
Distance from popular lodging locations
Downtown Jackson - 21 minutes
Victor, Idaho - 1 hour 6 minutes
Driggs, Idaho - 1 hour 14 minutes
Google Maps Listing - click here
Size Limit:
25 people
Easy access for mobility issues:
Yes
Feedback:
Full disclosure, this is one of our favorite spots any time of the year in Jackson Hole. We always say, if you could only take one shot of the Grand Tetons while you were in town and you needed to know the best spot to do it, we’d pick this spot 10/10. With a view like this, as you can imagine it can get a little busy with foot traffic here but based on the designated ceremony location, we’ve never really had to worry about too many people being in the way or in the background during the wedding ceremony. The other underrated thing about this location is how much room there is to move around when it is crowded. The parking lot usually has plenty of parking, and it’s also an easy access location providing a paved path the majority of the way out to the overlook. The one minor drawback with this spot is it’s relatively close to the road and with the gorgeous view, people are constantly in and out of the parking lot. If the potential sound of road noise is something you couldn’t bear, this may not be a great option for you.
Mountain View Turnout
Distance from popular lodging locations
Downtown Jackson - 34 minutes
Victor, Idaho - 1 hour 11 minutes
Driggs, Idaho - 1 hour 21 minutes
Google Maps Listing - click here
Size Limit:
25 people
Easy access for mobility issues:
Yes
Feedback:
This is another favorite spot of ours out of the 6 site specific ceremony locations. From this perspective in the park, the shape of the grand is a little more triangular and less like the shark fin. It’s actually our favorite perspective of the mountains in terms of the shape and character from this angle. In terms of proximity to the parking lot, people are always a little shocked. You only have about 5 feet from the parking lot to the dirt, so needless to say, it’s close. This location is also fairly close to the road and has a lot of in and out traffic so again, like Glacier View Turnout, if road noise is a deal breaker, we wouldn’t recommend this spot for your ceremony. The last thing about this location we always try to warn couples about (and it’s no knock on anyone or any organization) but there always seems to be a lot of mixed feedback about this location with regards to the actual designated spot. If you look on the map provided from the park service, it would appear that they would have you line up right on the pavement literally right in front of a park display sign. However, google any elopement at mountain view turnout and you will notice it’s never at that spot because nobody is picking this spot to get married on the concrete in front of a sign. They are picking it for the open field and amazing view of the Tetons. All that to say be respectful and kind to your rangers. They are just doing what they are told with regards to where you’re allowed to stand during the ceremony. Having worked this location multiple times, some rangers are a little more lenient than others but ultimately they are going to be able to determine where you stand. The big thing here is to not set your stuff on the sage brush or walk on the sage brush. While you will undoubtedly see tons of tourists off to the left of you by about 15-20 yds running around in the sage brush taking selfies and enjoying themselves, the moment you step in the dirt for a wedding ceremony at this location there will always be the unfortunate potential for the ranger to be critical of your actions but not the tourists as if your foot steps are more damaging then the family of 15 that just hopped out of a rental vans (I digress). We’re hoping there is some more consistent feedback one day with regards to this location but so far no such luck. I say all this not to scare anyone away from this amazing location, but just to give a heads up, that you may have to make some compromises. Your best bet, always be friendly and respectful to your rangers and it will likely go along way, at least that’s been our experience.
Snake River Overlook
Distance from popular lodging locations
Downtown Jackson - 27 minutes
Victor, Idaho - 1 hour 9 minutes
Driggs, Idaho - 1 hour 19 minutes
Google Maps Listing - click here
Size Limit:
25 people
Easy access for mobility issues:
Yes
Feedback:
Snake River Overlook is an easy access location, the name is recognizable because it’s where Ansel Adams took his famous landscape shot of the Grand Tetons with the Snake River in the foreground, so there’s a vague familiarity for most. With that, being 100% transparent, it’s probably the least popular spot for we’ve shot at in terms of weddings and elopements. As nice as the landscape is when you take a landscape shot, the designated ceremony location is on concrete and in front of a concrete wall which can be a deal breaker for many. The mountains do show in the background but it’s never quite what you would expect. It’s also super crowded with foot traffic. There is an unofficial trail over to the left of the parking lot that plenty of people hike and go out to take a clear landscape shot. This spot would make for a much better option in terms of scenery and having less crowding. Maybe one day with enough feedback the park could may make this change. Additionally, we did have a tour bus drop off an entire bus worth of people for one of our ceremonies there, so we just moved down the sidewalk and this spot looked roughly the same. It also gets you away from the crowd so you can have a more private ceremony and not have to worry about foot traffic. The first elopement below is from the designated spot. The second elopement was from the spot just a bit down the sidewalk.
NOTE about driving From TETON Village: Some of you may be asking yourselves what about the distance to these locations from Teton Village? This is also a very popular lodging option amongst our couples traveling to the area. There are typically 3 viable routes from Teton Village to the park. One goes through downtown Jackson and is generally the longest. One takes a side/back road once you get close to Jackson. The last route and quickest route is taking a left immediately after leaving Teton Village. The last route cuts through the park and you will need a pass to go through this way. During the years we’ve been here, it always seems like one of these roads are closed or a lane is closed, or there’s construction, not to mention the amount of traffic on any given day at any given time during peak season can make trying to predict how long each route will take virtually impossible. Even if you take the short route through the park, you will almost always end up behind someone whose overly cautious on the narrow roads or they will sight see and drive 15mph. It’s also a popular route for cyclists so passing with the narrow roads can be nearly impossible as well. In any event, our advice for timing if you’re driving from Teton Village, always give yourself an extra 10-15 minutes no matter what google says.
As we said, our goal with this one was to provide one spot where you could get most of the relevant information about each of the site specific ceremony locations and some visuals of ceremonies in these spots. In any event, even if you don’t get approved for the site specific ceremony spot you want, you’re still able to do portraits at that location before or after your ceremony. We hope between the visuals, and little bits of feedback, it will help you to choose the wedding ceremony spot that is the perfect fit for your day!
Thanks for following along!
Jenny and Joe
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