Portland Parks & Recreation offers more than 200 parks, gardens, and other gorgeous natural settings which can be reserved for an unforgettable wedding and/or reception.
The City is changing the reservation process for 2018! For the upcoming calendar year, the order in which permits for wedding reservations at Portland Parks & Recreation parks and other sites are processed will be determined via a lottery. This differs from the previous protocol where brides- and grooms-to-be either stood in line early in the morning (or overnight) on the first business day of the year, and/or called or submitted applications for permits on a first-come, first-served basis. The lottery is intended to give all couples the same chance at their preferred choices for dates and locations within the PP&R system. As always, wedding permits are only granted for the upcoming calendar year.
Starting at 8am on Monday, November 13, 2017, PP&R will begin taking wedding reservation requests and enter them in the 2018 lottery. Applicants will submit a reservation request online at PortlandParks.org, or by calling 503-823-2525 and working with a PP&R Customer Service Representative. There is a $110 non-refundable Application and Processing Fee to submit a request. No one will be excluded from the lottery if they apply. If staff are unable to book a couple’s primary choice for a location or date, we will work with each couple to find an alternative. Every entry will be drawn and ranked. No one will be turned away.
Future newlyweds can enter the lottery from 8am on Monday, November 13, 2017 until 5pm on Thursday, December 14, 2017. Then the reservation requests will be drawn on Friday, December 15, starting at 10am. The lottery drawing will be shown live on Facebook (Facebook.com/PortlandParks). Once the drawing is complete, PP&R Customer Service staff will begin processing requests in the order drawn until all have been addressed. Applicants will be contacted when the reservations are booked.
You do not have to participate in the wedding permit lottery. General wedding requests will be accepted beginning January 2, 2018 at 8am, but please note that lottery participants will already have reserved their locations, and new 2018 fees will apply.
PP&R has a Facebook event for those interested in the lottery, and it serves as a good reminder via social media about the upcoming event!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1328401920603210/
For more information on the lottery process, and Frequently Asked Questions, visit PortlandOregon.gov/Parks/weddings. Or call the Parks Customer Service Center at 503-823-2525.