My BF and I are thinking of eloping and I'm considering getting married at Yosemite. We had a really nice road trip out there last year. Has anyone ever done this? I don't think we would have enough friends and family to get married at the big hotel (forgot the name). Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Go to Reno or S. Tahoe to get hitched in a quickie-chapel ceremony and drive to Yosemite afterward for a few days.

I know, it just seemed like such a beautiful setting to get married in.

Ahwahnee hotel is magical. We didn't elope but took our honeymoon there. the small, private cabins in the back of the Ahwahnee were just what we needed for our honeymoon. Very private, and pretty luxurious for cabins (room service avail, etc.). We had a private patio with a view back into the forest with a small creek out our door.

There is a chapel in Yosemite valley as well. Not sure what it takes to get married there.

Good luck!

Do a search on google - "weddings in Yosemite", and there's a lot of information. Chapel, outdoors, I guess it would be your choice. Sounds like a lovely place for a wedding.

Are you eloping or having a destination wedding? If you are eloping, then I would suggest finding a local notary public to perform the ceremony, going to a beautiful spot in Yosemite, and having the ceremony.

My now husband and I got our license in Reno and went to South Lake Tahoe to be married at a little church there (real church, not one of the commercial wedding chapels). We got our small (us and two witnesses--the minister's wife would volunteer if needed) church wedding in an easy state to get a license in (we were living half the continent apart from each other before the wedding), then took a lovely honeymoon in the mountains. Our ceremony wasn't outdoors in the mountains, but our morning walk before the ceremony and our wedding dinner were.

Check out

www.yosemiteweddings.com

for info on a company that can do the complete planning for you.

Getting a company to plan your elopement??!! Hope they can organize the stagecoach and angry father too.

Thanks for the sites, finding alot of info. I don't really get the difference of a destination wedding v. elopement.I would maybe have a couple of friends or family there, or maybe not. Definately not a crowd.

Roxanne, you're toast if Wyoming requires an IQ test for newlyweds. People elope to get married in spite of their families' wishes. As when the banker's daughter decides she likes the looks of the greaser picking vegetables behind her house. You don't invite friends and family to an elopement.

Are you over seventeen? If not, please wait to get married, my dear girl.

Roxanne,
A destination wedding is when your family and/or friends travel to the location you have chosen to get married.
To elope means to run away from your husband with your lover (lets hope this isnt your situation) or to escape, to marry your intented, usually without your parents consent/knowledge.

Maybe it would be helpful to understand the terminology before actually partaking in one of these ventures.

Well, Ivana No, it's a good thing Yosemite is in California and not Wyoming.

Thank you for pointing out my error. Luckily I will not be in Wyoming. I guess this would be an extremely small destination wedding, since I'm almost 40 and don't really need to sneak away. Again, please forgive my stupidity and thanks to everyone else for your information.

FYI to all those people who think they're so smart: the term eloping is no longer solely equated with secrecy and marrying against parent's wishes. It is also used to signify a wedding where the couple doesn't want to deal with the hassles of planning a big wedding, or may not have enough family and friends to justify planning a wedding. Get with the times.

Roxanne - ignore ignorant posters and best of luck to you.

amy, just because some people WANT to use a word improperly doesn't mean that the definition of the word has changed. Eloping is still defined as running away with your lover to get married. I'd bet the vast majority of adults (those eligible for marriage) understand it as such. Don't ask people below the age of eligibility for help with definitions as they are not fully informed on the subject. No need to get with the times.

Whatever you do, don't mistake one of the luxurious cabins that Bill stayed in for the other, one step above camping, linoleum floored, shared bathroom that you must find with a flashlight in the middle of the night cabins in Yosemite. You will know the difference by the price. If you are paying less than $100/night, you will be in that miserable little hovel, which is fine for a rustic camp out experience, but NO WAY would you want to spend your honeymoon there!

There are lots of places outdoors to get married in Yosemite as well as indoors at the Chapel and at the beautiful Ahwahnee Hotel. If you need help there are many wedding consultants in the area. Lots of people get married there. The web is full of photos of the chapel.

Why not hike to the top of Half Dome, bring your preacher and friends, and say your vows up there? It would definitely be something to remember.

roxanne,

My first suggestion, based on your posts, is to invite your attorney. He may give you a wedding gift of a discount on your upcoming divorce.

I was intrigued by this "If you need help there are many wedding consultants in the area. "

We now have consultants for EVERYTHING!

I don't think I have ever head of anybody going to a so-called "wedding consultant" regarding eloping.

Now then we have amy's helpful suggestion: "the
term eloping is no longer solely
equated with secrecy and
marrying against parent's wishes."

I would strongly suggest you invite amy to be your Maid of Honor.

Mr. Marriage