Yes you do. I just got married on the beach in April and didn t know until about 2 weeks before the wedding that you need a permit. You re right, you can t find any info anywhere, so I called the park board. They told me that if you re just going to stand around, you don t need a permit. If you re going to set up more than 4 chairs you do need a permit. But, the screwed up thing is that there s only one woman who they grant permits to...and she happens to be a wedding planner. So, you ll have to end up going with her if you want to do it the legal way. You can probably get away with not getting one, but I wouldn t want to risk ruining your wedding day. Her name is Connie Claypole and her website is www.islandweddings.org. We just basically rented chairs from her. By doing that, we qualified for the permit, but we didn t need her to be planning our wedding or changing anything up. And you have to rent the chairs anyway, so getting them from her isn t a huge hassle. And she s very nice and accommodating if you tell her you just want the minimum stuff. It might be a bit more per chair, but it s not bad. The only downside is she only does weddings in one location on the beach. It s between Stewart and East Beach, right near the Galvestonian Condos. So, if you ve already planned out another location, you ll have to change your plans. Post back if you have any more questions, and I ll try to check back and answer them. Good luck, and don t worry too much. It all works out in the end, despite the fact that you feel totally frazzled when you find out late in the game that you need a permit.
as far as i know, Nothing is really required except a table for the minister to set up his alter and a number of folding chairs for the guests to sit in.A Galveston Beach Wedding. These are some of my favorites. The Galveston Island State Park is a great place if the weather is agreeable. The pounding of the sea on the beach is an excellent background noise! Cost wise it s the same as number 2. Not expensive yet a very memorable occassion. PLus in Galveston wedding are permitted on the Seawall and many are held at the Seawall Statue across form the San Luis Hotel. Moody Gardens also hosts weddings but the cost is 3-5 times that of a beach wedding and can be rather expensive, but it is a Most Beautiful place for outdoor weddings. The open beach at the San Luis Bridge is also a great spot to have your wedding officiated when the weather is beautiful. There are many other spots on the water in Galveston where a wedding may be officiated! Take a trip to Galveston, and do some sightseeing!