Getting Sealed at the Provo City Center Temple: Scheduling, Closures, the Guests Outside and the Walk to the Luncheon

Abigail Giordano Senior Writer, Provo.com How we make Provo.com

The Provo City Center Temple is the only temple in Utah Valley where the whole wedding day can happen on foot. The sealing, the luncheon, the photos and an evening reception can all sit within a few blocks of 50 South University Avenue. That is its great advantage. Its two catches are downtown parking on a Saturday and a closure calendar that takes it out of service for five weeks in the summer of 2027.

This page is for the couple planning the sealing. If you are a guest flying in, our guide for out-of-town guests is written for you; if you just want to see the building, start with visiting Provo's temples.

The basics, from the Church's own page

The temple was announced on October 1, 2011, after fire gutted the Provo Tabernacle, and built inside its brick shell. Our history piece on the tabernacle fire and the temple that rose from it tells that story.

Scheduling: bishop first, then a phone call

The order is set by the Church, not by the temple:

1. Meet with your bishop. The General Handbook says members planning to be sealed may contact the temple "after they have met with their bishop." A first sealing requires a recommend for living ordinances, which involves interviews with the bishop and the stake president.
2. Call the temple. The Church's scheduling help page says members receiving their own ordinances "should make an appointment directly with the temple," and to do it "well in advance of the desired date." The online reservation system is for proxy work.
3. Bring three dates. Saturdays at a downtown temple go first. A Friday or a weekday morning sealing with an evening reception is often easier to get.

Ask, on that call, everything the Church does not publish: how many guests the sealing room you are offered will hold, when guests should arrive, where they check in and whether there is a place inside for family members who are waiting. Temple workers answer these questions every day.

The closure weeks to plan around

These dates are from the Church's page for the temple, as listed on October 19, 2026. They change, so check again before you send invitations.

2026

• Saturday, October 31: limited operations
• November 25 to 26: closed (Thanksgiving)
• November 30 to December 14: closed
• December 24 to 25, and December 31 to January 1, 2027: closed

2027

• Saturday, April 3: closed (general conference)
• May 31 to July 5: closed, five weeks
• Saturday, July 24: closed (Pioneer Day)
• Saturday, October 2: closed (general conference)
• November 24 to 25: closed
• November 29 to December 13: closed
• December 24 to 25 and December 31: closed

The long one matters most. June 2027 is out at this temple entirely. Couples who want a downtown-Provo June wedding in 2027 can be sealed at another temple and still hold the reception downtown; the Orem Utah Temple is about 11 minutes away by uncongested OpenStreetMap routing.

Note also that the December 2026 closure overlaps Saratoga Springs' (same dates), which pushes those couples toward Orem, Lindon, Mount Timpanogos and Payson in the first half of December.

The guests who wait outside

Only endowed members with a current recommend attend a sealing. The handbook asks couples to "invite only close family members and friends." Everyone else, including children, waits outside. The Church's temple FAQ says the grounds "remain open to the public."

What that looks like here:

• There is no visitors' center at this temple, according to its Church page, so the waiting happens on the grounds. Plan for July sun and January cold.
• Downtown is right there. If the sealing is long or the group is early, Center Street cafes are a block or two away. Assign one person to round everyone up for the exit.
• Children need an adult. The handbook says children on temple grounds must be supervised; temple workers do not watch them during a couple's sealing.
• Tell guests which door to watch. Your photographer and a family member who has been to the temple can name the exit. Put it in the schedule you send. Photographers and videographers price this hour outside the temple in their packages; see our photography prices and videography prices guides.

Photos on the grounds

The grounds are open, and wedding photos on them are a long local tradition. Two rules from the handbook shape the photo plan:

• No ring exchange outside. Couples may exchange rings in the sealing room after the ceremony, but "should not exchange rings at any other time or place in a temple or on temple grounds." Save a staged ring moment for the reception.
• The bride's dress. The handbook says a dress worn in the temple should be white and modest, without a train unless it can be pinned up or removed for the ceremony, and that the couple and guests should not wear flowers during the sealing. Bouquets and boutonnieres can come out for the photos afterward.

Beyond that, be ordinary-polite: on a Saturday, several wedding parties may share the same steps, and the grounds are a place of worship for the people walking past. For location ideas off the grounds, see our engagement and wedding photo locations guide.

Parking: name a garage in the schedule

Downtown parking is where a Provo City Center wedding goes sideways. Guests circle, the exit happens, someone misses it.

The Utah Valley Convention Center's parking page, which covers the blocks around the temple, lists these among its options (as listed in October 2026):

• Wells Fargo Center Garage, 65 East 100 North: free, 412 spaces, 7'8" clearance.
• Freedom Commons Garage, 165 West 200 North: $2 an hour, $12 maximum.
• Provo Marriott Garage, 70 North 100 West: $6 for the first two hours.
• Covey Center lot, 400 West 100 South: free for two hours, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Pick one and put it, with its address, in the guest schedule. Our downtown Provo parking guide covers the city's rules and the Saturday crunch in more detail.

Coming by train: the temple is about 0.7 mile on foot from Provo Central Station (OpenStreetMap walking route, about 15 minutes). FrontRunner does not run on Sundays, which does not matter here because the temple is closed.

Where the luncheon goes

This is the only Utah Valley temple where walking to lunch is realistic. OpenStreetMap walking routes from the temple:

Ten luncheon rooms across the county, with seats and prices, are compared in wedding luncheon rooms compared.

Southworth Hall, about a block from the temple on Center Street, rents a three-hour luncheon slot for $600.

Two downtown halls rent the whole day and are walkable from the temple: The Bright Building, about 7 minutes on foot, and The Startup Building, about 11.

The convention center publishes a lunch package for weddings ($41.95 per person plus a management charge and tax, as listed in October 2026; all catering must come from its kitchen, with an exception for an outside wedding cake). The Ivory Hall rents by the full day, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., so some couples hold the luncheon and the reception in the same room. Our profiles of the Utah Valley Convention Center and The Ivory Hall have the details from each venue's own site.

For restaurant luncheons, the Center Street dining guide covers the blocks around the temple. Call ahead about group seating; a party of 30 on a Saturday at noon is a reservation, not a walk-in. Our wedding luncheon venues guide covers how the meal works and who is usually invited.

How long the day runs

A practical shape for a downtown day:

• Sealing in the morning. Recommend holders arrive when the temple tells you.
• Exit and photos on the grounds. Allow real time; family group shots take longer than anyone expects.
• Walk or drive to lunch. If the venue is the convention center or The Ivory Hall, walking is realistic for most of the party.
• Afternoon gap. Out-of-town guests check in; our where to stay in Provo guide covers the downtown hotels.
• Evening reception. Downtown or anywhere in the valley.

Two wrong turns to prevent

• The old temple. The Church closed the original Provo temple on February 24, 2024, renamed it the Provo Utah Rock Canyon Temple and is rebuilding it. Map apps and older relatives still say "the Provo temple" for the east-bench site at 2200 Temple Hill Drive. Write "Provo City Center Temple, 50 South University Avenue" on every invitation.
• "Downtown" means a block, not a parking spot. Put the garage in writing.

Related Guides

• Just Engaged in Utah Valley: The First 30 Days
• The Ring Ceremony
• The Open-House Reception, Explained
• Temple Work as a Weekly Habit in Utah Valley

Abigail Giordano

Senior Writer

Abigail Giordano is a senior writer at Provo.com covering student life, family resources, and community events across Utah Valley. Her writing focuses on making Provo more accessible and navigable for newcomers, students, and families — the practical guides that help people feel at home faster.

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