planning a Savannah Wedding

What To Know First

• Chatham County marriage license. Fee is $76.00 without a premarital education certificate and $36.00 with one of at least six hours. Both applicants must be present, by appointment after the online application, and the office is Room 509, Chatham County Courthouse, 133 Montgomery Street. Georgia residents can apply in any county. If neither is a resident, the license must come from the county where the ceremony happens. The page states no waiting period and the Probate Court does not perform ceremonies. Source.
• Probate Court hours are 8am to 5pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and 8.45am to 5pm Thursday, with licenses processed until 4.30pm. Phone (912) 652-7264 option 2. Source.
• City of Savannah squares and parks. A permit is typically needed for chairs, aisle runners, tents, tables or decor. A wedding under fifty people with no setup may go ahead without one, first come first served. A permitted event must hire an off duty Savannah police officer. Source.
• Permit costs. Application fee $30. Four hour minimum permit fee is $350 for residents, $725 for non residents in peak season or $575 off peak, plus $60 per extra hour. Peak months are March, April, May, September, October and November. Source.
• Apply no later than 90 days before the event and as early as a year ahead. Up to two events a day per park or square. St. Patrick's Day block out dates apply and the Forsyth fountain is dyed green in early March. No balloon releases or confetti. Source.
• City guest limits. Forsyth Park 250 north and unlimited south, Fragrant Garden 25, most squares such as Chippewa, Madison, Monterey, Lafayette and Orleans 50, Telfair and Reynolds 100, Wright 25, Johnson 250 to 350, Ellis 750, Emmett Park 800, Morrell Park 400. Amplified sound is not allowed in the 50 guest residential squares but is allowed in Forsyth Park. Source.
• Alcohol at a permitted event needs a Temporary Alcohol Event Permit applied for 14 business days ahead. The page says the event must be sponsored by a nonprofit or be a closed private event. Source.
• Tybee Island beach weddings need a Beach Permit for any activity beyond usual beachgoers. The beach stays public and cannot be made private. Reservations run 7am to 9pm. No fires, glass, dogs, vehicles or helium balloons, and only real undyed petals. Beach parking is enforced 8am to 8pm all year. The fee is not stated on the city pages. Source.
• Tybee season for beach permits runs from as early as Presidents Day weekend to as late as Thanksgiving, and special event applications may take up to 60 days. Source.
• Bonaventure Cemetery weddings in public areas must be registered with the City Department of Cemeteries at 912-651-6843, gates 8am to 5pm, and a photography permit is needed a week ahead. Source.
• Georgia State Parks charge a $200 processing fee plus a location fee for approved commercial photography applications, emailed at least 10 business days ahead. Source.
• Fort Pulaski needs a Special Park Use Permit applied for 30 to 365 days ahead, and photography tied to a permitted wedding needs no separate permit. Source.
• Savannah monthly averages at the airport. January high 61.4 F, July high 92.3 F. Wettest months are June at 6.65 inches, July 5.75 and August 5.46, driest is November at 2.39. Source.
• The airport is about 20 minutes from the Historic District. Source.

How I Would Pick The Time

Set the ceremony from the sunset, not the other way around. Portraits start about an hour before it, and twenty minutes right at sunset is worth more than an hour at noon.