Cocoa Beach Weddings and Beach Event Permits

A private Cocoa Beach ceremony of up to 50 guests with no vendors, amplified sound or road closures uses the Beach Wedding Permit, and anything bigger or public needs the Special Events Permit (Cocoa Beach Weddings and Special Events).

The city does not leave room for an unpermitted gathering on its land: the Cocoa Beach page states that all events on City property require approval. The small permit is written for a ceremony held on the beach or in city-owned park space, with setup limited to items such as arches, chairs and small decor. The triggers that push an event into the Special Events Permit are listed one by one: being open to the public, as festivals, concerts, races and fundraisers are; involving vendors, food trucks or alcohol sales; using tents, stages, inflatables or amplified sound; affecting streets, parking or traffic; and drawing large crowds or having a major public impact (Cocoa Beach Weddings and Special Events).

Under that list, a caterer or other vendor, a rented tent or amplified sound moves a small Cocoa Beach wedding to the Special Events Permit, even with fewer than 50 guests. The Events Permit also appears in the city's general permits list beside building, garage sale, parking, vacation rental, sewer credit and dune trimming permits (Cocoa Beach Permits list). Neither city page posts a fee for either permit, so the cost question goes to the City Event Coordination Staff at 321-868-3252, the same line the city gives for choosing between the two (Cocoa Beach Weddings and Special Events).

Chairs, an arch and a shade canopy no larger than 10 ft by 10 ft fit the Cocoa Beach rules, but glass, fireworks, a beach fire, confetti and sky lanterns do not (Cocoa Beach Beach Guidelines, Cocoa Beach Resolution 2022-21).

The Cocoa Beach Beach Guidelines answer several wedding questions directly. Glass is not allowed on the beach, which rules out glass toasting flutes at the waterline. Fireworks are prohibited, and beach fire permits are currently unavailable. Canopies and shade tents are allowed up to 10 ft by 10 ft, must stay clear of dune lines, turtle nest zones and pathways, and have to come down before the party leaves. Guests are asked to stay off the dunes, use the designated beach access points, fill in holes and pack out what they bring (Cocoa Beach Beach Guidelines).

Two common send-off traditions are banned outright on city land. Resolution 2022-21 says confetti and sky lanterns, also called Chinese lanterns, are not allowed in any outdoor area on City property, and that intentionally releasing either from City property is prohibited; its definition of confetti covers small pieces of plastic, paper, Mylar or metallic material (Cocoa Beach Resolution 2022-21). The same Cocoa Beach resolution defines City property to include land, waterways, lakes and facilities that the city owns, operates or manages.

Timing matters for evening ceremonies. The city gives the Cocoa Beach sea turtle nesting season as March 1 to October 31 and asks beachgoers to skip flash photography and bright lights, which can confuse turtles and hatchlings, and to remove chairs, umbrellas and other gear before leaving (Cocoa Beach Beach Guidelines). The Cocoa Beach sea turtle nesting guide covers the lighting rules in more depth.

Every Cocoa Beach special event permit on public property carries a condition that the event will not use single-use plastics or polystyrene, and the organizer is responsible for enforcing it (Cocoa Beach Resolution 2022-21).

Resolution 2022-21 states that no special event permit or approval shall be granted unless the applicant and the event holder or sponsor agree to that condition. If the condition is not enforced, the City Manager or a designee may cancel the special event permit immediately. Temporary vendors on Cocoa Beach property may not use or provide expanded polystyrene food service articles, unencapsulated expanded polystyrene products, single-use plastic straws or plastic stirrers (Cocoa Beach Resolution 2022-21).

The resolution lists exemptions, among them polystyrene containers for prepackaged food sealed before the food service provider received it, a straw provided on request to a person with a disability or medical condition, and life preserver rings. It took effect on April 22, 2023, and its recitals tie the rule to the Banana River Lagoon, the Florida manatee and the loggerhead, green and leatherback turtles that nest on Cocoa Beach beaches (Cocoa Beach Resolution 2022-21). For a caterer serving a permitted Cocoa Beach reception outdoors on city property, that means reusable or non-plastic serviceware; the city says reusable materials are strongly encouraged.

The city points ceremonies to three oceanfront parks, Alan Shepard, Lori Wilson and Sidney Fischer, and lists the Cocoa Beach Country Club, Centennial Park and a residents-only Community Room for receptions and gatherings (Cocoa Beach Weddings and Special Events).

Alan Shepard Park, 299 East Cocoa Beach Causeway, has 10 large picnic pavilions and covered picnic tables, showers and 300 parking spaces, is open 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM every day, and charges parking fees; its listed contact is Leisure Services at 321-868-3258 (Alan Shepard Park facility page). Lori Wilson Park belongs to a different government: Brevard County runs it, describes it as a popular site for events and group gatherings, and notes that its parking areas remain open to the public and cannot be reserved (Brevard County Lori Wilson Park page). A couple choosing Lori Wilson should therefore call both the Cocoa Beach event staff and the county park line, (321) 455-1380. The Cocoa Beach guides to Alan Shepard Park, Lori Wilson Park and Sidney Fischer Park cover hours and parking for each.

For a reception, the Cocoa Beach Country Club page lists banquet and event facilities among its amenities, with the 19th Hole Restaurant inside the club; the restaurant line is 321-868-3354 (Cocoa Beach Country Club page). The Aquatic Center's pool pavilion rents by the day for private, business, club or community parties, as the table below shows, and can be paired with a pool rental during regular hours at $5.50 per guest; pavilion questions go to 321-868-3327 (Cocoa Beach Aquatic Center Fees and Rentals). The city's Facility Rentals page prints that per-guest pool add-on as 4.50 per guest instead, and lists the City Event Coordination Staff at 321 868-3355 rather than the 321-868-3252 shown on the weddings page, so both numbers are worth confirming with Cocoa Beach staff (Cocoa Beach Facility Rentals).

The license comes from the Brevard County Clerk of Court, not from Cocoa Beach City Hall: both people apply together and in person, and the fee is $86.00, or $61.00 with a premarital course certificate (Brevard County Clerk marriage licenses).

The Cocoa Beach City Clerk FAQ answers the license question with a referral: call the Clerk of Circuit Court at 321-637-5413 or use the Brevard County Clerk of Courts website (Cocoa Beach City Clerk FAQ). The Clerk's own marriage page gives (321) 637-2006 for questions, so the two Brevard County numbers on the two official pages differ (Brevard County Clerk marriage licenses).

Each applicant brings a state-issued picture ID, a military ID or a passport and must know a Social Security number; anyone married before needs the exact date of the divorce, death or annulment. The license is valid only within Florida. The Clerk takes cashier's checks, certified checks, money orders and Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover cards, with a card convenience fee of $2.00 or 2.95% of the charge, whichever is greater, that the Clerk's Office does not receive. A Marriage License Kiosk lets Brevard residents pre-apply online and then finish at any of the Clerk's six branch offices with the kiosk application number (Brevard County Clerk marriage licenses). The Brevard County marriage license guide covers branch offices in more detail. No appointment is needed, and deputy clerks perform civil ceremonies for $30.00, though not on the day of issue when the waiting period applies.

Florida delays a license by 3 days unless both people show premarital course certificates, a hardship is declared or the nonresident exception applies, and the license must then be used within 60 days (Florida Statutes section 741.04, Brevard County Clerk marriage licenses).

Section 741.04(5) of the Florida Statutes tells the clerk to delay the effective date by 3 days when a couple does not submit valid premarital course certificates, to print that date in bold, and to grant exceptions to non-Florida residents and to couples asserting hardship (Florida Statutes section 741.04). The Brevard County Clerk's page words the residency exception two ways: one passage says the wait is waived if both applicants are non-Florida residents, while its FAQ answers that if either party is a nonresident, no waiting period is required (Brevard County Clerk marriage licenses). An out-of-state couple planning a Cocoa Beach ceremony with one Florida resident should confirm which reading the Clerk applies before setting the date.

The Brevard County Clerk says the license must be used within 60 days from its effective date, and the officiant must certify it and return it to the issuing Clerk within 10 days of the ceremony. Ordained ministers, elders and other clergy, judicial officers, clerks of the circuit courts and Florida notaries public may solemnize a marriage (Brevard County Clerk marriage licenses). The Clerk adds that the two people may take the premarital course separately, but both must complete it for a Cocoa Beach couple to receive the reduced fee and skip the wait.

Last verified: October 21, 2026, against the Cocoa Beach weddings, permits, beach guideline, Shepard Park, Country Club, Aquatic Center rental and City Clerk FAQ pages, Resolution 2022-21, the Brevard County Lori Wilson Park and Clerk marriage license pages, and Florida Statutes section 741.04.