Their Venue Cancelled Three Weeks Before the Wedding
Kelly and Brendan spent a year planning a Big Sur wedding.
They were planning on drive from all the way across the country, about thirty of their closest friends and family were planning on flying in, all of them coming to California to watch these two get married on the coast. Flights were booked. Everything was set.
And then the fires in Big Sur got bad enough that the venue they had been building their entire day around had to cancel on them. Weeks before the date.
I want to be honest about what that moment feels like, because couples who find this post are probably living in wedding planning right now. It is devastating. You are not being dramatic about it. A year of planning, thirty people with plane tickets, a date that cannot move, and suddenly no venue. And not only that, but they didn’t live in California, which made it all the scarier to plan something on the other side of the country in only a couple weeks for them.
So we scrambled. And then we built something just as amazing.
I suggested Point Reyes, and they fell in love with it almost immediately. We planned a full day there, and in those conversations Olema House came up. They loved it instantly. I had been to Olema House before and it is honestly one of my favorite places up there: lawns and gardens along Olema Creek, redwoods over the patio, right at the gateway to the Point Reyes National Seashore, and about an hour from San Francisco so nobody's guests had to drive forever.
They had availability. We picked out the locations. And two weeks after their wedding fell apart, they got married on a different section of the coast, just as beautiful, with every single one of their people there.
We Started at the Point Reyes Lighthouse
The day began out at the end of the peninsula.
The Point Reyes Lighthouse sits at the far western tip of the seashore, a long drive out through ranch land and then a walk out to the overlook, with the Pacific stretching for miles in every direction. It is one of the great views in California, and it is notoriously socked in with fog.
Not this day. It was clear and sunny and the water went all the way to the horizon, which for this spot is a genuine stroke of luck.
Standing out there in wedding clothes, looking at that much ocean, is the moment where their day started and we all started to get excited! They had wanted the California coast. They got the California coast.
Then the Cypress Tree Tunnel
From there we drove to the Cypress Tree Tunnel, which is one of those places that does not look real in photographs and somehow looks even better in person.
Two rows of Monterey cypress planted decades ago at the old maritime radio station, grown together overhead into a long green corridor. You walk into it and the light changes completely.
Kelly and Brendan ran through it. They ran, they laughed, the trees arched over them, and we got some of my favorite frames of the entire day.
Private Vows Under the Redwoods at Samuel P. Taylor
Next we went to Samuel P. Taylor, just up the road and very close to their hotel, The Olema House, where they read their vows to each other privately. Just the two of them, standing under those towering trees.
I love when couples do a private vow reading. It’s so intimate and special when there is no audience. They stop performing and start actually talking to each other, and you get the versions of those words that are too personal to say in front of thirty people. It is quieter, more honest, and every time I photograph one I end up standing far enough back that I'm barely there.
Theirs was no different. Redwoods overhead, nobody around, and two people who had just had their entire wedding upended getting a few minutes that belonged only to them.
If you are maybe one of those people that feels uncomfortable reading those intimate words in front of your guests, a private vow reading may be for you!
The Ceremony at Olema House
Then we headed back to Olema House, where all their friends and family had been getting ready for them.
They had set up a genuinely stunning ceremony space out among the trees and on the lawn, and walking back into it after a whole day on the coast was the shift from quiet to celebration. Thirty people, all the way from the other side of the country, standing on a lawn in Marin for two people they love.
One of their friends officiated. That is almost always the right call. A ceremony led by someone who actually knows you is warmer, funnier and more specific than anything a stranger can write, and theirs was sweet and personal in exactly that way.
Cocktail Hour, Toasts and Dinner Under the Lights
When the ceremony ended, everyone spilled out onto the lawn for cocktail hour.
This is the part of a small wedding that never happens at a big one. Thirty people is few enough that Kelly and Brendan actually got to talk to every person who flew across the country for them. Nobody was being paraded between tables. It was just laughing and joking on a lawn in the late afternoon with their favorite people.
Then everyone walked over to a long table, beautifully set, strung with twinkle lights overhead. Toasts, a genuinely excellent dinner, and that particular glow you only get from a small group sitting close together after dark.
A year of planning for Big Sur, two weeks of scrambling, and they ended with an absolutely perfect night at a beautiful table under string lights with every person they love.
If Your Venue Cancels on You
I've now rebuilt enough wedding days on short notice to have real advice, and if you're in the middle of this, here it is.
Your date can usually survive. Your venue is one piece of the day. The people, the vows, the dinner and the photos are the day. Kelly and Brendan kept their date and every one of their guests.
Call your photographer first. I know the region, I can recommend and help research, I know which locations photograph well in which light, and I have relationships with other vendors. In a pivot, your photographer is the most useful person in your contact list.
Think in regions, not venues. The question is not "what else looks like our venue." It's "where else could our whole day happen." Point Reyes gave them an ocean, a forest, a cypress tunnel and a lawn within forty minutes of each other.
Smaller properties move faster. A place like Olema House, with a couple dozen rooms and in house catering, can absorb a thirty person wedding on short notice in a way a large venue with a full season cannot.
Let the new plan be its own thing. The worst version of a pivot is trying to rebuild the wedding you lost somewhere that isn't it. The best version is asking what this new place does better, and leaning into that.
Build in a private moment. When a day has been chaotic, the private vow reading is the thing that puts you back in it. Theirs was the emotional center of the whole wedding.
For more on planning a day like this, my guide to adventure wedding venues where your guests can actually come and my roundup of the best wedding venues in the Bay Area are both good starting points.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you get married at Olema House in Point Reyes?
Yes. Olema House sits at the gateway to the Point Reyes National Seashore with lawns, gardens and a creekside patio under redwoods, and it hosts everything from very small weddings to large ones. Catering is in house from Due West Tavern, there are a couple dozen rooms plus cottages, and a full property buyout is possible.
Where are the best photo locations in Point Reyes?
The Point Reyes Lighthouse for sweeping ocean views, the Cypress Tree Tunnel for that green corridor of Monterey cypress, the redwoods at Samuel P. Taylor just up the road, and the beaches and bluffs throughout the seashore. Kelly and Brendan did the first three in one afternoon before their ceremony.
What do you do if your wedding venue cancels?
Keep your date if you can, call your photographer early, and think in regions rather than looking for a venue that resembles the one you lost. Smaller properties with in house catering can often take a small wedding on short notice. The day is your people, your vows and your dinner, not the building.
What is a private vow reading?
It's when a couple reads their own vows to each other alone, away from guests, usually before or after the ceremony. Without an audience, people stop performing and say the things that are too personal to say in front of a crowd. It costs nothing to add and it's often the most emotional part of the day.
How far is Point Reyes from San Francisco?
About an hour by car, which makes it one of the easiest genuinely wild places for out of town guests to reach. That proximity is a big part of why it works so well for a wedding with travelers.
More Planning Guides
Your Love. Your Story. Your Way.
Kelly and Brendan lost the wedding they planned for a year, three weeks before it was supposed to happen, and still got married on the California coast with every person they love there.
That's the thing I'd want you to take from this. The place can change. The day is still yours.
If you're planning something on this coast, or rebuilding something that fell apart, reach out here and let's figure it out together.
