Your guide to saying ‘I do’ in South Australia’s national parks

1. Which park is per­fect 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.

Here are a few pop­u­lar parks for wed­dings in South Australia:

• Onka­paringa Riv­er Nation­al Park – The Punch­bowl Look­out offers sweep­ing views that make for a pic­turesque ceremony.
• Lin­coln Nation­al Park – Wan­na Beach and Sep­tem­ber Beach are pop­u­lar for their expan­sive coast­lines and beau­ti­ful, nat­ur­al backdrops.
• Cof­fin Bay Nation­al Park – Long Beach pro­vides a stun­ning coastal set­ting with a sense of seclusion.
• Mori­al­ta Con­ser­va­tion Park – Con­sid­er the rocks near the Elvyn H Dunn Shel­ter in the Mukan­thi Play­space, a unique nat­ur­al set­ting close to park amenities.
• Belair Nation­al Park – The Kar­ka Pavil­ion and Pic­nic Ground offer grassy, open spaces per­fect for larg­er gatherings.

Pro tip:Use the Find a Park tool to fil­ter parks by the facil­i­ties they offer. For some­thing tru­ly unique, his­toric venues like Ade­laide Gaol are also avail­able for weddings.

2. Take a day trip to find your spot

The best way to decide if a park is ​“the one” is to go and explore it first­hand. Take your part­ner along for a day trip to scout poten­tial cer­e­mo­ny spots, snap a few pho­tos, and get a feel for how your day could unfold in nature.

3. Cer­e­mo­ny, recep­tion, or pho­tos only?

Decide how you’d like to use the park. Some cou­ples opt for the cer­e­mo­ny only, while oth­ers may plan a full recep­tion in a scenic spot. 

Some 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. Don’t for­get your event permit

To hold your wed­ding in a nation­al park, you’ll need an event agree­ment. The process is straight­for­ward and helps you out­line details like guest num­bers, equip­ment, and food and bev­er­age arrangements. 

5. Think through your rental needs

If you’re adding spe­cial touch­es like chairs or a small arch­way, plan for how and when they’ll be deliv­ered and set up. Check if access is avail­able by vehi­cle or if extra hands might be need­ed to car­ry things in.

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. Check for pos­si­ble 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. Leave no trace

There are no bins in our parks, so all rub­bish will need to be tak­en with you at the end of the event. Con­sid­er hav­ing your cater­ing or bar staff man­age their waste or bring­ing along a few extra bags to make cleanup easy.

10. Ask our experts

Your wed­ding day is a once-in-a-life­time event, and our park staff are here to help! If you need advice on which park might be best for you or have ques­tions about per­mits, don’t hes­i­tate to get in touch.

Have you tied the knot in one of SA’s parks? Tag us in your wed­ding pho­tos – we’d love to cel­e­brate your spe­cial day with you!

Head­er image: Belair Nation­al Park, pho­tog­ra­phy by Laila at Sole­mate Studios.