How do you book a Portland public park for your 2022 wedding? Good question. Here’s the latest information, as applicable for 2022 weddings.
Update (2/3/22): I got a hot tip that all of Cathedral Park may actually be available for weddings in certain months in 2022, which is different than the information available when this story originally published on November 3, 2021. For the latest information about Cathedral Park’s availability for weddings, go here.
How much does it cost to rent a Portland public park for a 2022 wedding?
It depends. This is the Portland Parks and Recreation (PP&R) brochure for 2022 (the date says “2020” but it’s the resource linked to on the main hub for this information from PP&R). The brochure lists the most popular parks for weddings in Portland as well as what each costs.
Read the information about your specific park carefully; some parks require insurance, security deposits, or other extra fees such as a fee to serve alcohol in your park (an option which, notably, isn’t available in all parks).
What do you need to do to enter the Portland public parks “wedding lottery”?
Every year, PP&R hosts a lottery to decide the order of who gets to make what reservation when. Here’s how the wedding lottery will work for 2022 weddings:
At 8 a.m. PST on Monday, November 15, 2021, PP&R will begin taking lottery submissions for weddings hosted between March and December 2022. The lottery closes at 5 p.m. PST on Monday, December 6, 2021.
You can enter the wedding lottery one of two ways. Those ways are listed here under the section “Enter the wedding lottery one of two ways.”
How much does a wedding lottery submission cost? A non-refundable $121.25 due upon entry to the lottery. This is separate from the fee for the park.
What weddings dates is the lottery good for? The lottery is only for those couples who want to have their wedding between March 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022.
If you want to have your wedding in January or February 2022, you don’t have to participate in the lottery and instead can call the PP&R Customer Service Center directly at 503-823-2525.
Whatever your date, be sure to check out the “unavailable dates” section on this page. Notably, the staircase and deck at Cathedral Park are out of the running for all of 2022 because of construction. The one exception is if you and your partner are having a wedding ceremony with, as PP&R explains here, “no more than the couple, officiant, and two witnesses and would like to use the location on a first-come, first served basis.”
In November 2021, I called PP&R about this news re: Cathedral Park. The customer service rep explained that:1) the “deck” is, indeed, the part of Cathedral Park connected to the main staircase and
2) that while the “amphitheater” (a separate section of Cathedral Park not connected to the main staircase) is available, the iconic view of St. Johns Bridge will be obscured by serious construction (i.e. the type of construction that you might not want in your wedding photos).
Can I do both a wedding ceremony and reception at a park? It depends on the park. PP&R provides a handy chart in its brochure that lists which parks are available for just a ceremony v. a ceremony and a reception.
Note that PP&R uses a designation called “Simple Ceremony” to refer to a ceremony that has limited or no set-up (think chairs, extensive decorations, etc.); only uses the park for two hours or less; has no food or beverage (any beverage, not just booze); and if sound is allowed at that specific park, the sound is “non-amplified ceremonial music” (i.e. no bands or dance parties please).
The other designation is called a “Ceremony Reception” and it’s more what you might think of when you think “wedding.” The specifics are listed on page 4 of the brochure.How will I know my request to join the lottery went through? You’ll get an email. PP&R goes into this more here under the section “Issued Permits.”
Anything else I should know? I’ve got more free wedding planning resources here with COVID-specific wedding planning resources here. I also keep track of what’s legal for Oregon weddings on this article, and have a book about how to plan a wedding that’s in line with your values as a couple.
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