Elope At The Indiana State House Photo by Casey and Her Camera. The Indiana State House is an incredibly beautiful building and makes an amazing backdrop for your wedding or elopement. Also referred to as The State Capitol building, it is located at 200 West Washington Street. The east entrance to the building is located on North Capital Capitol Avenue at the end of West Market Street with an amazing view of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Monument Circle. The east entrance is open to the public Monday - Friday from 8-5. The west entrance faces the Government Plaza. The west entrance is handicapped friendly and open to the public Monday through Friday from 8-5. The building is not currently open to the public on weekends. In order to enter the Indiana State House you will need to go through security.  Photo by Casey and Her Camera. When it comes to getting married, there are large formal weddings and there are elopements and small, informal weddings. The Indiana State House is available for rent for weddings. If you are planning a large formal wedding you can click here to contact them directly for more information. They currently also have an elopement/small wedding package available for $750. An elopement where everyone is standing does not require a formal reservation. When we have an elopement in any public space it's short, sweet and the ceremony is less than 10 minutes long. There is no formal seating, music or formal backdrops - the building itself is a beautiful backdrop! If there are guests, they are standing.  Photo by Summerly Photography. Anyone is free to enter the State House when it is open to the public. They offer tours of the building and you can also visit to see your state government in action. With that in mind, if you want to elope in the Indiana State house you need to be aware of the environment. The State House is home to the Indiana General Assembly, the office of the Governor of Indiana, the Supreme Court of Indiana, and other state officials. It's an office building. A beautiful, historic, office building. The Indiana State House is open to the public from 8-5 Monday - Friday and Saturday from 10-8 however, they may close to the public at any time. If you choose to elope in the State House please contact the tourist office directly to find out if there is anything else going on in the building at the same time you would like to be there. You can follow this link for their contact information. More than once, couples have called to find out the building will be filled with other events during the day or completely closed the public on a Saturday.  Photo by Autumn Howell Photography. Generally, we perform elopements on the 4th floor of the building in the hallways. There is also a meditation room/chapel that can be used. Keep in mind the room is a place where people gather for its intended use so you will want to make sure that there are no other scheduled events there when you want to use it like a bible study or services. You will also want to consider other people may using the room for personal reflection and prayer and it may be disrespectful to ask them to leave as you have not formally reserved the room. There have been several times we have had to work around other things going on inside the building. One day a man was chanting prayers at the top of his lungs for the General Assembly and our state government. Many times the halls have been set up for events so the photo shoots didn't go off quite as planned working around it all.  Photo by Summerly Photography. Personally, I LOVE elopements in the State House. It's an absolutely magical place and many photographers have captured many special moments for couples wanting a small, intimate wedding.
I view being able to use the State House for free for elopements as a privilege and it's one that I never want to lose. While the building is open to the public for anyone to use, it's always in the back of my mind that they can also decide that they no longer want couples to elope there. That being said, I would ask that anyone who chooses to elope in the State House to do so with the utmost respect. I suggest choosing a time later in the day when most of the business of the day is done. If you want to have people with you, Saturday's are perfect. Always call the tourist office and ask. They are very friendly and are happy to have elopements in the building. They can tell you what times are best. I WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR... I am writing this article because I get a lot of questions about eloping and getting married at the Indiana State House. I have a lot of experience in the building and the insight and knowledge that comes along with that. I am only sharing my knowledge. If you hire me to officiate your wedding I take no responsibility for any location you choose to get married. You choose a location and hire me to come there and perform your wedding ceremony. I am assuming you have permission to be there and are taking all responsibility for the location. My fee to marry you in the State House is $150. Comments are closed.
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