September Chico Hot Springs Wedding

Montana Wedding

We turned our wedding week into a family affair!

Our mutual love of family united my husband, Tim, and I early on into dating so it was only fitting for us to include our families in our wedding week.

Tim and I decided on a destination wedding at our favorite getaway, Chico Hot Springs Resort in Pray, Montana. We wanted our wedding day to reflect who we are as a couple and take place at a location that will be part of our marriage and family in the years to come. Chico Hot Springs was the perfect place as Tim has been visiting Chico Hot Springs annually for almost two decades with his mom working as a Geologist in Yellowstone National Park for many years and the resort has a similar feel to my home state of Iowa.

Tim and his family would drive to Chico Hot Springs each year from Boulder, CO stopping in Jackson, WY and Yellowstone National Park along the way.  We decided to uphold the tradition of the Chico Hot Springs Annual Family trip for our wedding week!

A week before our wedding, we hopped in our car in Denver and drove to our first stop: Jackson, WY. We spent two nights camping at a site where we would watch the sunrise and sunset on the Teton Mountains. We were joined by 10 other family members and it was the perfect kick-off to our special week.

We continued our week with a camping night in Yellowstone National Park where some fly fished and others took in the wonders of Yellowstone National Park. It was a surreal experience for Tim and me to have both of our families hanging out and exploring together, some who had met for the first time! We knew this was something that wouldn’t be repeated very often in our lives.

We were eager to get to Chico Hot Springs after three nights of camping and take our first hot spring soak of many that week. We had our immediate families combine for big dinners at the Chico Hot Springs Restaurant and spent time meandering the hiking paths at the base of Mt. Emigrant in the Paradise Valley. Chico Hot Springs Resort gave us the opportunity to unwind, relax and prepare for our big day.

Our wedding day, September 21st, 2019, was greeted with rain the morning. The sun made its appearance right as we approached the ceremony… It was magical to have the clouds part and the sun shine down on us as we became Husband and Wife. Our wedding party was all our family, sticking true to the importance of having our week not only be about us as a couple but about our family who played a large role into getting us to our wedding day. My brother was our Officiant, my sister the Maid of Honor, my cousins were Bridesmaids and Tim’s brothers were his Best Men. As we look back on our day, we are so appreciative to the family and friends that traveled from around the country to witness our commitment in our personal paradise – The Paradise Valley of Montana.

– The Bride, Molly Morzel

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