Outdoor Weddings

Not an outdoor wedding, but the possibility of snow...(sadly long, sorry)

I am having an indoor ceremony followed by indoor reception. My problem (potentially major) is that we are getting married in Yosemite, in March. We always planned on getting married in Yosemite (in the fall). However, we were forced to move our date out to March. The weather in March in Yosemite can be anything from blizzard to beautiful low 70s in the day and low 40s at night. The major southern route is not open and any vehicle entering the park (regardless if its 4x4 or awd) has to carry chains. Most of my family has vehicles that are 4wheel or awd and therefore do not have chains. My family from Los Angeles will have to fly to Sacramento then drive the two hours southeast to Yosemite. Most of my family has expressed the desire to drive home afterwards so we have not blocked off hotel rooms. What do we do if the weather is terrible and people can't get out?? The lodge won't do a refund no matter what. They say the Park is never closed and therefore they do not offer refunds. I can actually recall several times in the past 5yrs the park has closed, but they are firm on the no refund. Any thoughts??
BabyFruit Ticker

Re: Not an outdoor wedding, but the possibility of snow...(sadly long, sorry)

  • It sounds like you might need to find a different venue.  If you already know that no one will have chains on their tires...how do you expect people to get there?
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  • I agree...you need to pick a different venue.  You cannot expect people to put chains on their tires just to come to your wedding; also, if there is a lot of snow, think about the safety risk of your guests driving around in that weather.
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  • If you did not want to pick a different venue, you might want to coordinate transportation to get your family to and from the venue from a parking area somewhere.   Vehicle chains are expensive and difficult to put on.
  • Chains are thirty dollars and everyone knows how to install them.

    BabyFruit Ticker
  • I'm getting married in Yosemite in just a few weeks (eek!) and while there are a ton of logistical nightmares it's still very much worth it.  I've driven myself crazy with all the what-ifs, etc.  But we gave people plenty of advanced notice and fair warning.  The people that want to come to enjoy your day will, and those that don't want to hassle with the possibility of snow won't.    We invited 106 people and I assumed half of those wouldn't come just because of the trouble of getting there, etc., but I've only gotten 1 no. 1!  So plan your day how YOU want it and the rest will fall into place.
  • You should be prepared for the possibiilty of your guests not even making it to your wedding if the weather is bad, or leaving early if conditions change.

    Regardless of whether your guests know how to install chains or how cheap chains are (and I've never seen them as low as $30), if it is unsafe to drive in winter weather conditions, people will pick their safety over attendance at your wedding.
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