On any list of romantic places for a destination wedding, you have to include Yosemite National Park, particularly Yosemite Valley. And Yosemite National Park has been the site for many romantic adventures. Romantic weekends, proposals, weddings, honeymoons, they've all happened here. Sometimes it takes a little planning but you too can make your visit to Yosemite National Park a destination wedding.
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Yosemite Destination Weddings
Did you know there is a chapel in Yosemite Valley? It happens to be one of the oldest buildings in the park. It dates back to 1879. It can be used as a wedding location. There are also many locations in the park where you can just gather and have your wedding.
The foot of Yosemite Falls attracts many weddings. There are companies and wedding planners that can help you coordinate all of your plans if you'd like to get married at Yosemite National Park. These companies have experience pulling together all the things you want or need, from flowers, to cakes, to some one who can perform the ceremony.
You can also work with the folks who run all the lodgings in the Park, Delaware North. They can put together a full wedding package at one of four sites in the park.
The Ahwahnee Hotel has many locations inside and around the grounds for a wedding ceremony and then a reception.
Yosemite Lodge is close to Yosemite Falls. It isn't quite as formal an atmosphere as the Ahwahnee Hotel but the views are spectacular. In the spring and summer, outdoor decks can be great places for a reception.
If you are looking for a more Victorian atmosphere then you might want to consider the Wawona Hotel. It was built in 1879 and has a huge wrap-around porch.
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Yosemite Romantic Getaways
Looking for a place for just the two of you to get away from it all, there are plenty of options at Yosemite. The Ahwahnee Hotel will put together a romantic package for you, if that's what you'd like. Yosemite Lodge and the Wawona Hotel also offer romantic packages. The romantic packages usually include rooms, dining, sparkling wine in your room when you arrive and a keepsake gift. But, you don't need a package to have a romantic time at Yosemite. No matter the time of the year, the beauty of the place is bound to put you in a romantic mood. Pull up a chair next to the giant fireplace in the Ahwahnee Hotel and snuggle with that special someone. Look out the windows at Half Dome or Yosemite Falls. Who needs a package? One problem if you plan to stay in Yosemite Valley you'll have to plan ahead. The lodging in the valley is usually full, well in advance. Even though you can't do spur of the moment in the valley, there are many places nearby you can try. Just outside the entrances to the park, you can find housing. All within a reasonable driving time to Yosemite Valley. Try in places like Fish Camp where the Tenaya Lodge is located, El Portal, Big Oak Flat and Groveland and Lee Vining.
Looking to pop the question? We can't really say there is a place to go that will make your marriage proposal special because a proposal is so personal. What we can do is make a few suggestions of places that will add something to that special event. You could try hiking part way up the Mist Trial to the base of Vernal Fall. There with the mist, and depending on the time of day, the rainbow all around you, you can make that proposal. Or how about a bike ride that leaves you at Ahwahnee Meadow, with Half Dome looming above, you can ask the big question. And then, if it's accepted, you can head into the Ahwahnee Hotel to the lounge for a little bubbly to celebrate the future wedding. Suffice it to say, there are so many places in Yosemite National Park that would add to any proposal.
Yosemite is big enough for everyone. It can entertain families and large groups. It has enough space that if you want to get away by yourself you can do that too. But one of the things that Yosemite National Park does so well is to take two people and make them feel like they are the only ones in the world. Imagine sitting on the edge of the river, at the base of a waterfall as the mist envelopes you and your loved one. Or out in a meadow, lying on a blanket with the stars filling the skies and your senses like never before. Ahh, the romance. That is the magic of Yosemite.
