Meaghan & Danny’s Wedding with a View

Meaghan & Danny gathered friends and family for a delightful wedding with a mountain view in San Anselmo, California. This elegant and lovely affair was put together beautifully, and we are so grateful they shared some of their story of how they met with us for today’s feature!

How did you meet?

We met while we were both working in San Francisco, shortly after I learned that I had matched to a program in Boston for the next stage in my medical training. We had our first date at a cute Italian wine bar, and after talking for a couple of hours, I mentioned to Danny that I would be moving to Boston in a year’s time. This news did not seem to bother him, and he said that we could fit a lot of adventures into a year, which we absolutely did. After a year of skiing, hiking, biking, and running together, I moved across the country. We maintained a long-distance relationship for the following year, racking up frequent flier miles and having skype calls at odd hours. Danny took the leap to move to Boston the following year, and now he has fully embraced Dunkin’ coffee and dropping his r’s.

What’s the proposal story?

Danny and I went on a trip to Costa Rica, and planned a jam-packed trip of hiking to waterfalls, chasing sunsets, and searching for sloths. He had planned one particularly day’s driving around making it to our hotel overlooking the water to have a romantic evening watching the sunset. Unfortunately, we both had a bout of food poisoning, and hit the peak of illness that evening. We still sat and watched the sunset, and I later found out the ring was burning a hole in his pocket. He wisely waited for our next stop in Monteverde, where we stayed in a place called Rainbow Valley. The location lived up to its name, and there was a huge rainbow in the sky as he said beautiful things about our future life together.

Tell us about your wedding vision!

When deciding where to look for venues, we both knew that we wanted to get married in CA, where we had met and considered home. Some of our favorite hikes are in the Marin Headlands and on Mount Tam, so when we came across the San Francisco Theological Seminary, we were fairly sure it was our ideal spot even before visiting. The beautiful Stewart Chapel was perfect for the ceremony, and we loved the idea of having an outdoor reception right outside on Geneva Terrace. We had our first dance during sunset in the shadow of Mount Tam, and cannot have imagined a more perfect place.

What influenced your attire choices?

I looked for a classic and elegant dress with a lace back, and found an Essence of Australia dress that had everything I had envisioned. Danny found a great navy suit at the Black Tux, which fulfilled his desire to make it easy and convenient for his groomsmen to rent their matching suits.

What was most important to you while planning?

We knew that our photographers would be one of our top priorities, and when we found the Ganeys, we knew they were exactly the kind of talented and warm people we wanted to capture these memories. We had so much fun with them spending a day around Land’s End for our engagement shoot, and were excited to see our new friends again on our big day. They did an amazing job at everything, from helping plan out our timeline to allow a first look and portraits, to managing to be everywhere at once to capture all of the best moments.

Any favorite part of the day?

The ceremony itself, while a little bit of a blur, was very emotional and meaningful. Seeing all of our friends and family in one place while walking up the aisle was more affecting than I had anticipated, and the whole day was just as overwhelmingly special. The speeches by the best man, maid of honor (my sister), and my dad were particular highlights, as they were both touching and had us doubled over laughing.

What did you do for favors?

Our wedding favors were one of our DIY details. We decided to make stone coasters by transferring a design that Danny had made combining our names, wedding date, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Mount Tam. We started to regret this decision when going to the 8th Home Depot to find enough slate tiles and transporting them cross country in our carry-ons, but we loved how they turned out.

Did you include any family heirlooms?

For my something borrowed and blue, I wore my grandfather’s wedding ring, which my mother had worn for years after his passing. Wearing this ring made me feel as though I was carrying them with me throughout the day.

Brent Deitrich

Publisher at The White Wren | + posts

Publisher at The White Wren and Bajan Wed, Award Winning Photography + Videographer at Live View Studios, Dad, 80s music lover, crunchy health advocate