MemberWe are in the early stages of planning an elopement to Yellowstone. I want to get married at Mammoth Chapel. Does anyone have any ideas for places to stay in the area? Or possibly wedding planners in the area?
Member@hsmcbroom: Hi there! I’m only a few hours from Yellowston’s west entrance!
Here are a couple lovely elopements in Mammoth Chapel:
http://www.laurenbrownphotography.com/blog/2011/12/yellowstone-park-wedding-photo.html
(Leslie Lukas did the planning http://www.leslielukas.com/)
Firstly, do you plan to show up in November? This is an in between month and all the “in park lodging” is close down until winter (maybe for deep cleaning?).
http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/open_closedates.htm
So if it is November, the area of Mammoth will be slow, but maybe there is a nice B&B in Gardiner, MT you can find on TripAdvisor.com.
Then to the north is Emigrant, MT which has these places:
http://www.chicohotsprings.com/
A Wyoming OR Montana marriage license is accepted for a wedding in Yellowstone National Park.
A Montana or Wyoming marriage license is required; in addition, a permit to use the chapel is required two weeks before the service. The nonrefundable permit fee is $100.
To apply for a permit, contact: Visitor Services Office, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190; or [email protected]
Member
@sienna76: Hi! Thank you for your tips! We are in the early stages of planning, so far we have only decided it will be next winter, probably sometime between December 2013-February 2014. I will definitely be contacting Leslie. I think the security of having someone take care of everything would be awesome!!! I guess my biggest decision now is where we would want to stay. You mentioned the Mammoth area previously, what other areas are near by? I don’t really have an in park/out of park preference right now.
Member@hsmcbroom: For Dec, Jan, Feb, the park’s roads are nearly all closed to driving inside Yellowstone. However, there are signs of life (aka lodging, dining, gift shops) at the villages of Mammoth and Old Faithful.
Mammoth will only be accessible from the Gardiner, MT (north entrance). Old Faithful will only be accessible from the West Yellowstone, MT (west entrance) side and requires a snow coach vehicle to get to Old Faithful Snow Lodge.
Mammoth will only have the Mammoth Hotel and Mammoth Hotel Dining Room for dinner. Click the link it to see if it’s fancy enough for your wedding meal. Those other resorts out of Emigrant, MT I posted above could be an option for food/lodging. Gardiner is mostly motel/travel lodges types. You can see if TripAdivsor has any suggestions for nicer places, but I think it’s pretty small.
There are some winter packages available via Mammoth: http://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/mammoth-hotel-dining-room-7194.html (click the Packages & Tours, then look for winter packages)
In Old Faithful village, the Snow Lodge will have the Old Faithful Snow Lodge Dining: Obsidian Dining Room and Old Faithful Snow Lodge Geyser Grill (grab and go). Click on te Packages & Tours tab to see what you can do in the winter here. If you dont want to go into the park via the west entrance you have West Yellwostone, MT with tons of ammenities.
Gardiner, MT and West Yellowstone, MT are 167 miles apart in the winter (you’ll have to detour up into Bozeman, MT). Otherwise, in the summer, these towns are only 54 miles apart in the summer through the park. So if you want to get married in Mammoth, but then stay a few nights in West Yellowston the town, you’ll have to do the 167 mile drive.
Once in West Yellowstone, you’re 127 miles to Jackson, WY. Your park pass is good for Yellowstone and Grand Teton NP for 7 days since they are so close. Normally in the summer, you can take the south road out of Yellowston right into Grand Tetons, but it’s not possible in the winter.
I think if you’re going as far as Yellowstone, it’d be worthwhile to add Jackson, WY to your trip.
Do you want to ski at all? You could ski at Big Sky, Targhee (near Driggs, ID) and in Jackson Hole.
Summary:
Towns of West Yellowstone and Jackson have the most ammenities.
YNP lodging options are only Old Faithful Snow Lodge and Mammoth Hotel for the winter.
Lodging near your Mammoth Chappel would be Mammoth, Gardiner, MT and Emigrant, MT. Personally, I’d stay/eat at one of those resorts in Emigrant for my wedding night/dinner. Mountain Sky and Chico HS have gourmet dinners! And hot springs for soaking! But check if they are open for your months. These are 37 miles from your chapel.
Member@sienna76: I am getting married here in May and I thank you for all the great info you gave! Now if I can just find someone to do my wedding cake!
MemberMember@ChefDori: Hey! I wonder if I ever emailed you about cakes back when I was planning a Jackson Hole wedding. Are you associated with any shop or store?
Member@sienna76: no you didn’t, but that is probably because we just moved here a few months ago. I know we talked about elopenents though.
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