The Ahwahnee Hotel (briefly called the Majestic Yosemite Hotel up until recently) is the premier venue in Yosemite if you’re going to have a full, traditional style wedding. Their wedding lawn has several iconic backdrops to choose from – the apple tree framing Yosemite falls, the historic hotel itself, or Glacier Point towering over everything. It’s 360 degrees of amazingness! If the weather is a little too wet for your tastes, there’s also the east portico to take shelter under with the grand, towering stone walls of the Ahwahnee supplying the drama. The Solarium, the Winter Club Room and the Mural Room supply elegant settings for different sizes of receptions and can be scaled to fit small to large guest lists. For smaller, intimate weddings, the Mural Room is one of my favorite reception locations in the world. The warm wood and tapestries feel like another time and place. Since the hotel is situated in the heart of Yosemite Valley, it’s easy to get away from the hotel for portraits in slower seasons, but if that’s not possible, there are ample locations within a short walk for epic wedding pictures featuring you and famous landmarks like Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, Royal Arches, the Merced River, stone bridges, and the Ahwahnee Meadow.