Ecola State Park Elopement weddings are absolutely to die for! From stunning cliffside vistas to the famous sea rocks to the enchanted forests Oregon is known for, this is an idyllic elopement location for any couple who loves the outdoors. So, you may be wondering, can you get married at Ecola State Park? Yes, you can get married and have your wedding at Ecola State Park, but before you click away, let’s chat about how you can get married or elope in Oregon and specifically at Ecola State Park.
Hey beautiful friend, we’re Celebrate Again, an Oregon- and Colorado-based elopement guide and photography team. Between all of us, we have a combined 40 years of wedding photography experience. While we love taking photographs, we also love helping couples having amazing wedding day experiences, which includes helping our clients feel amazing and confident on their wedding days.
How to have an Ecola State Park Wedding or Elopement
If you have a small wedding (under 50 people) and are just showing up with your crew, a photographer, and an officiant, you don’t need anything else. However, keep in mind that this state park does charge a parking fee and is a popular spot. Since we are Leave No Trace Aware photographers, we also want to help you remember to follow the rules of Ecola State Park for your wedding day.
Pay the parking fee or you will get ticketed
- Stay on the trail or designated picnic areas.
- Don’t hop fences to get better views. As you’ll see below, our couple kept on the trails and still enjoyed epic views.
- Weekends are going to be busier times at the park.
- Check the park’s website for more info about its current open status, sometimes the park closes due to road construction or landslides.
- Work with your planner or elopement guides (like us!) to have a Plan B if the park suddenly closes or if the weather isn’t safe to be in.
However, if any of the factors below apply to your Ecola State Park Wedding, you’ll need to apply for a special permit from the Oregon State Parks office, which you can find on the Ecola State Park parks website under the FAQ section “Day use/Special Events”
- Your guest list is more than 50 people
- You’re setting up props including an arch or other decor
- Selling of products on-site (this can include paying vendors on site)
- Your videographer or photographer is setting up a lot of equipment for filming (more than just a hand held camera or one tripod.)
- Your celebration may inhibit access to the general public
- Setting up a lot of chairs
If you aren’t sure about any of these, feel free to call the state park office to ask any specific questions if anything is unclear: 503-812-0650
If you do need a permit, please allow at least a week for the permit to be filed before you have your Ecola State Park wedding.
Don’t forget your officiant, two witnesses, and a photographer!
When To have an Ecola State Park Wedding or Elopement
If you’re looking for more Oregon elopement locations or the best places to elope in Oregon check out our guide.
Summer Oregon Coast Wedding
“Plan for the worst but expect the best.”
Fall Oregon Coast Wedding
September is fire season for Oregon, so it’s a toss-up, but if you love autumn, many locations around the city of Portland itself can be lovely!
October-November is a toss-up for fall, it could be crazy beautiful with warmish temps and wonderful weather or could be the start of the rainy season with full days of cloud cover and fog.
Winter Ecola State park Wedding
Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t worry friend, as Oregon elopement photographers guides, we help our couples to navigate all the details of getting married outside. Check out our Oregon elopement packages (perfect for small weddings too!) to learn more about what we do and how we can support you to have a stress-free wedding experience!
Where in Ecola State Park To Have Your Wedding
The main parking lot is always an easy spot, however, the park is also home to two beaches if you don’t mind hiking a bit, which is exactly what we did with our couple as you can see below! Cannon Beach is another amazing spot and we have a whole Cannon Beach Elopement guide to help you consider having your ceremony there too!
You can also check out these airbnb wedding venues on the Oregon Coast for some ideas on where to stay too!
Hire Vendors To Support Your Experience
We believe that weddings should be stress-free and centered around the story of a couple together, without obligations or “should’s”, just pure celebration.
We’re more than photographers, we’re elopement guides, ready to come on board with you to figure out exactly how to navigate having an outdoor wedding, getting your permit if you need it, having some killer backup locations (such as an Airbnb wedding venue in Oregon) and making sure you feel absolutely fabulous in front of the camera even if you have no idea what to do with your hands. 😉
We got you covered, friend. Meet us here and learn how we can serve you better by checking out how we can be your Oregon elopement photographers, perfect for small weddings too!
Here’s what this couple had to say just about their sneak peek photos:
“These pictures are breathtaking! You did such a wonderful job at making us feel comfortable and at ease. We had so much fun! Looking forward to seeing the rest of the magic!”
Real Ecola State Park Elopement Wedding
Ok, now to the fun part where we get to share with you a real Ecola State Park wedding we were a part of! Colin and Sasha are from the midwest, but knew they loved the moody vibes and epic scenery of the Oregon coast. So they decided to come out here to Oregon, but had no idea where to start. After hopping on the phone with Lumalia, they hired Celebrate Again to plan out where and when to go, and have us document their day! Colin and Sasha fell in love with Ecola State park from their customized elopement location guide Lumalia sent them a few months earlier. We set out to hike down to the beach after their ceremony and enjoyed catching a gorgeous sunset.
The weather shined for Colin and Sasha in June–a week earlier it had been raining like crazy!–but their wedding day was bluebird skies, the absolute perfect temperature, and only a few people around the park. Zach from Old Ways’ ceremony led the most beautiful ceremony for them, recognizing the sacredness of the land here and its past stewards, filling the ceremony with inside jokes for the couple and memories unique to their experience. We clearly recommend Zach for your Ecola State Park wedding ceremony! They had two friends and Colin’s daughter join them for their ceremony.
If you’re looking for some more magical wedding locations in Oregon check out this Wahclella Falls Wedding.
Wondering where to stay for your Ecola State Park elopement wedding? Check out our airbnb wedding venue guide for the Oregon Coast!
NEED HELP PLANNING YOUR ELOPEMENT?
Free Elopement Wedding Checklist PDF Download
Ready to make wedding planning easier? Download our free elopement checklist PDF!
We respect your privacy. If you don’t see your download immediately after signing please check your spam/prompotionals folders or email us
Let's Hang Out.
We’re here to be your elopement day BFF’s and share our expertise through the entire planning process.Schedule a call with us to get this party started!
We believe in intention over tradition and that your wedding day should feel like you!
Let’s craft a wedding day experience that lets you run wild.
Learn more about hiring us as your Oregon elopement photographers.
Want to see more of the best places to elope in Oregon check out these other Oregon elopement weddings and resources:
- Cannon Beach Elopement Wedding
- Ecola State Park Elopement Wedding
- Samuel H. Boardman State Park Elopement
- Wahclella Falls Elopement
- Airbnb Wedding Venues Oregon
- Tolovana Park Elopement Wedding
- Chill Surfer Wedding
- The Perfect Coastal Elopement
Don’t miss out on How to Elope in Oregon, you’re insider’s guide!
And check out this guide on planning your Oregon Coast Elopement from our sister company.
Feeling like you want some extra support right now? We gotcha bb. Check out some of our fave elopement guides we’ve made just for you:
- 🧐Should I Elope Quiz
- Elopement VS Wedding deciding which is right for you
- How to Get Married Without a Wedding for couples that want a different kind of day
- ✨How To Make Your Elopement Special
- ⌚️Elopement Timeline
- 👗Elopement Wedding Dress For Your Outdoor Wedding
- ☑️Elopement Checklist
- 🏠Eloping with Family
- 🧳Elopement Packing List
- Elopement Ceremony Guide
- 💦Waterfall Wedding Venues
- Ethereal forest wedding inspo
- Adventurous Hiking Elopement
- 🏞Best Places to Elope
Washington Resources
- How to Elope in Washington State
- The Pros and Cons of a Mount Rainier Elopement
- Your guide to planning your Olympic National Park Wedding
- North Cascades Elopement Guide
- Ruby Beach Elopement Inspo + Planning Tips
- Get to know your Washington Elopement Photographers
- Enchanting Mount Baker Elopement Guide + inspo
Pin for later
14 Responses
Wow it was totally fate that I came across this post. My boyfriend and I are hoping to get engaged fairly soon and have discussed eloping somewhere near a forest. We were talking about redwoods but it’s something that’s so commonly done. This looks like an incredible alternative for us. Can’t wait to look into this location more when our time finally comes!
Oh my goodness yes we’d love to come along side you all through the process, it really is a magical place!
That fire shot is gorgeous!! I mean, so many of them are, but that one stuck out to me immediately. Oregon is general seems like an incredible place for a wedding, but this place seems special.
When I tell you my jaw DROPPED looking at these shots…. This place looks truly magical and made me rethink everything I ever thought I wanted in a wedding! Thank you so much for sharing
Haha oh my goodness we’re so glad to hear that!
I’ve always been of the thought process that it’d be better to elope and spend money on the honeymoon rather than the ceremony. This park looks so pretty and your photos are absolutely gorgeous!
I’ve always heard great things about Oregon and from your pictures, it does look like an amazing place to visit.
Thank you we think so too!