Complete Guide to getting married at Mill Mountain Star
Yes, you can get married at Mill Mountain Star!
With more than 568 acres atop Mill Mountain and amazing views, some couples opt to have a small, intimate wedding ceremony on top of the regions top attraction, Mill Mountain Star.
Today, we’re going to share with you everything you need to know about having a small ceremony up on top Roanoke’s iconic attraction.
Getting your marriage license with Roanoke City
A marriage license may be obtained from the Office of the Clerk of Circuit Court in any city or county in Virginia. Once granted, a marriage license permits a marriage ceremony anywhere in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Currently you can apply for a marriage license by mail by following these directions. To obtain your license at the courthouse you must make an appointment and both parties must appear in person to receive the license.
The Office of the Clerk of Circuit Court in the City of Roanoke is open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, except holidays. Each party must furnish the required information under oath or affirmation, and falsifying any information on a marriage license could subject the parties to prosecution for perjury.
Please be sure to bring your driver's license or a valid photo ID with you along with $30.00 in cash or cashiers check.
Marriages in Roanoke City
Finding a good officiant
In order to have a ceremony, you need to have qualified pastor or officiant, the commonwealth has some rules regarding who can perform a ceremony as does each local county or city.
A few people that we recommend in the region are Laure Niece with Wedded Bliss and Casey Anderson with Casey Anderson weddings.
Both have been in the industry a while and have done lots of weddings in the region. Expect to pay somewhere in the $200-$300 range and a tip is typically recommended for their time.
Note, you will need to bring the marriage license with you as they will need to sign the official one and mail it back into the Richmond offices. They will also sign the unofficial one that you can keep in your home, just ask them.
Having your ceremony at Mill Mountain Star
Many couples will have their wedding in front of Mill Mountain Star itself, while it’s a public park, it’s generally not available for private events like a wedding. However, that being said, you can have a small, quick ceremony there, in fact, many couples will do just that, usually with a couple of friends and the officiant.
Since you can not block off the Star attraction for a ceremony, you’re going to want to keep it small and swift.
We recommend keeping the ceremony small and within 5-10 minutes as many visitors will be walking about looking to take images of the Roanoke Valley, although if you time it just right, you can have a bit longer ceremony.
Try avoiding prime times like Friday evening through Saturday evening if possible as this is the busiest time, instead, consider a early week mid-afternoon or mid-morning ceremony. This will give you the best time with minimal people walking about and you will still have good imagery.
The Star is a perfect location if you’re wanting an elopement or less than 5 people (you, you spouse and a few family or friends), just don’t expect to have a large wedding ceremony on premises, the Park will not allow it.
Having your wedding at Mill Mountain Zoo
Now, there is a place you can have the reception however, that’s just over the hill at Mill Mountain Zoo.
The Zoo is a great place for a wedding or reception, the Zoo grounds are available to rent for private functions during the hours of 5-9PM and for private all day rentals. Rates for the rental will depend on the number of guests and there are several add-on’s you can get like the famous Zoo-Choo train.
1 to 50 guests $ 1000.00
51 to 150 guests $2,500.00
151 to 250 guests $3,500.00
251 to 350 guests $5,000.00
For more information, call 540-343-3241 and ask to speak with someone about rentals at the zoo.
