Thousand Islands Elopement Permits: What You Actually Need
Parks Canada governs the national park, the Bridge Authority governs Boldt Castle, and the international border runs through the channels. Here is the whole picture.
No other Canadian elopement has a permit picture like this one.
A national park, private island castles, and a border, all in one archipelago.
Parks Canada, the Bridge Authority, and two countries each want something, and untangling all of it is my job, not yours.
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Thousand Islands National Park, Canada's smallest, is Parks Canada land: a ceremony at a park site needs a permit and advance application. Boldt Castle sits on the American side, run by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority with its own process, so a ceremony there means crossing the border with passports.
Who governs where
Thousand Islands National Park, Canada's smallest, is Parks Canada land: a ceremony at a park site needs a permit and advance application. Boldt Castle sits on the American side, run by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority with its own process, so a ceremony there means crossing the border with passports.
Other private island estates each have their own arrangements. The site decides everything, so I confirm it before you book.
The marriage, and who files it all
On the Canadian side, an Ontario licence is about $145, no waiting period, two witnesses. On the American side, New York State rules apply, a separate process. Then it is one checklist across the park, the estate, and the province, plus the boat.
For couples I work with, I hold the park permit, arrange the boat, coordinate the Boldt process if that is the choice, and fold the costs into the tier.
I plan the day, file the permits, charter the boat, and both shoot and film it. Twelve years and 240+ couples in, the border and the water have been my job, never the couple's.
Want the whole day handled, border and all? Start with the Elopement Compass →
