Elopement at Merryvale Vineyards in St. Helena

When Taylor first contacted me about their elopement at Merryvale Vineyards in St. Helena, they were already on Plan C! In true COVID fashion, both Plan A (Thailand) and Plan B (Hawaii) were cancelled. They then decided to start looking a bit more local (they live in San Francisco), and after touring a few different Wine Country locations, fell in love with an intimate outdoor location in St. Helena!

Funny side story- my husband and I were in St. Helena a couple weeks before Taylor and James’ wedding, having dinner to celebrate OUR wedding anniversary, and no joke, Taylor and James happened to be sitting right next to us! She saw on IG that I posted a photo of my food and tagged where we were- and had our waiter “treat” us dessert! It was so fun to meet them so impromptu like that, and it really helped to connect us as the next two weeks unfolded.

Then fires in St. Helena and Calistoga hit and Taylor emailed me, telling me they may be looking at a Plan D, if their current venue was destroyed, or if the roads were still closed. They were looking to possibly find a Bay Area location. Of course to add another complication, it was supposed to rain in San Francisco on 10-10-2020. Let’s just say everything was in the air, including a possible date change. I can’t imagine the stress they were feeling!

The Wednesday before, Taylor and I chatted on the phone to finalize things, and hallelujah! The road was open to their ceremony spot, and although the beginning of the road got touched by fire, the ceremony and vineyards surrounding it were spared! Whew!

So many sweet moments from this day; James tearing up when Taylor read her personal vows to him, James’ Dad gifting Taylor a necklace made from the wedding ring of his late Mom who passed before the wedding was able to happen, walking through rows and rows of gorgeous vineyards..and what topped it all off perfectly was the dancing! I LOVED when the groom and his Mom were dancing, and Taylor quietly changed the slow song to “their” favorite rap song that they would play in the car when she drove her kids to school! Such a fun moment watching them get down!

And let’s not forget about the killer sunset…it was so hard to leave!