As with any November wedding weather was a crapshoot. We knew there was always a possibility of rain but we’ve experienced fairly good weather in past Novembers so our hopes remained high. About a month before the actual date we explored possible ceremony sites on the high ridges of Mt. Tam. Our first choice was a location near hang site #1 on West Ridgecrest Blvd. because we have spent a lot of time there in the past.
We also looked into the area around Forbes Bench and the Mountain Theater.
We chose Mt. Tamalpais for our wedding site because it has had a big presence in both of our lives. With Sarah growing up in Bolinas and I Mill Valley, we greatly enjoyed exploring the vast network of trails on Mt. Tamalpais.
The weekend before the wedding the Bay Area experienced record breaking high temperatures for that particular time of year. Unfortunately the weather was not going to last and as we keenly watched the weather reports, rain was forecasted for the day of our wedding. Supposedly a big storm was to hit with the brunt of the foul weather occurring on our day of bliss. We started to rethink our plans of an outdoor ceremony on Mt. Tamalpais despite indicating on our invitations that it was a “Rain or Shine” event. As always we hoped for the best but expected the worse.
The morning of our wedding came and sure enough the rain was dumping. Luckily the weather died down midday and we were able to have a dry ceremony. That’s not to say it was warm! As we drove up the mountain we entered a thick blanket of fog. When we arrived at the pullout for our ceremony site the wind was howling and it was cold. The wedding party paraded out to the point where it was even more exposed to the wind. When we reached the wedding site the sun actually broke through for a moment offering views of the coast and hills below. The fog soon rolled back in and the ceremony began.
The following is a short reading from the ceremony:
"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." -John Muir
We had a great group of family and friends willing to brave the cold weather and the ceremony ended up being a blast. As soon as we all got off the mountain the rain resumed. We were very fortunate and thankful.
A post on our Yosemite Winter Wonderland Honeymoon will be coming soon!
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