Jeff & Tara’s Depot Hotel Wedding in Sonoma, CA

Look to this day,
For it is life,
The very life of life.
In its brief course lie all
The realities and verities of existence,
The bliss of growth
The splendor of action
The glory of power –

For yesterday is but a dream,
And tomorrow is only a vision,
But today, well lived,
Makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this day.

Sanskrit proverb by Kalidasa

Jeff and Tara are oh so sweet to one another. Their love is kind and gentle and they understand each other on a deep and intimate level that some people never get the chance to know. I was so lucky to be asked to capture their momentous and emotional Depot Hotel wedding in Sonoma, California.

The Onion, A “Sure” Bet for Two Like-Minded People

After receiving a job offer that brought him back to the Bay Area, Jeff decided to check out the dating scene in San Francisco by looking in the best possible source, TheOnion.com. Fortunately for him, Tara had been living in San Francisco for a year, loving everything that the Bay Area had to offer, and also turned to TheOnion.com to look for someone who shared her sense of humor and adventure.

Jeff and Tara’s first date was in true San Francisco fashion – a walk to Dolores Park, a shared bottle of Chimay, and Jeff’s surprise addition, ice cream sandwiches bought from the local ice cream vendor! Fortunately for Jeff, Tara thought this spontaneous purchase was really sweet, and kind of romantic. After hours of talking in the park, they had their first kiss. Their love has been sweet ever since!

The Big Day – Full of Emotion and Love

Jeff and Tara have been together for a very long time and their loved ones were happy to be there and be a part of their special day. Although the event was full of emotion, the happy couple, along with their friends and family pulled through and celebrated together. Tara has a lot of sisters that don’t live near, so the day was spent reuniting with family and focusing on the time they had together.

When the time came, Tara walked out onto the aisle and had the whole room’s attention. She looked phenomenal! Her lace wedding dress was stunning and complimented by the hair and make by Natale Verdone and beautiful flower crown by Eleanor Gerber-Siff of Wallflower Design.

During their engagement, Tara’s father became ill, which prevented him from attending their wedding in person. Although this was difficult for everyone, he was able to join the wedding in his own way by watching on FaceTime. It wonderful to see the joy it brought to the entire family. There wasn’t a dry eye in the whole room!

After the ceremony, the wedding party rallied on with lots of dancing to beats by DJ Marcus T of Old School DJs, celebrating, and one of the guests even jumped into the pool!!

I am so very happy for you two and this new chapter and so very sorry for the loss of your father darling. All my love!