Welcome!
We are humbled and overjoyed to have friends and family of all ages come together for this community celebration of our love.
🦦 Play in the river
🌲 Explore the redwoods
🌌 Dance under the stars
🔥 Sing & share around the fire
đź’ž Take part in rituals that unite us in marriage
Kick off your shoes, put on your favorite summer clothes, and settle in for a long weekend of connection — with the land and each other.
Your presence for the whole retreat would mean a lot to us. If that’s not possible, please join us for the ceremony and reception on Sunday. We look forward to celebrating with you!
Adults and children welcome. (Unfortunately, no pets, except service animals.)
Getting to the Forest
Wedding Location
River’s Bend Retreat Center
18450 Ray’s Road
Philo, CA 95466
If you are planning to arrive on Friday, we invite you to arrive between 3 pm and 6 pm — or earlier to help set up (see below). We recognize some folks will need to arrive later Friday evening. If you are arriving on Sunday, please get to River’s Bend by 1:30 pm. See the full schedule.
Coming up US-101 N, you will likely lose cellular reception shortly after turning on CA-128. No worries; as long as your navigation is already programmed, you can follow it all the way to River’s Bend.
Directions
Coming up US-101 N:
- Take exit 522 onto CA-128 W toward Fort Bragg
- Turn left at the bottom of the off-ramp
- Take next right onto Oat Valley Road, following signs to stay on CA-128
- Stay on CA-128 for 33 miles
- Turn left onto Ray’s Road (look for sign with flowers for our wedding)
- In 0.3 mile, keep right at the fork (look for sign)
- In 0.6 mile, arrive at parking lot on right
Carpools
Are you driving to or from the wedding with room in your car for another guest?
Do you need a ride?
Please sign up on the Carpool Page and share the journey.
Airports
- Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport (STS) (~75 minute drive)
- Oakland International Airport (OAK) (~2.5–3 hour drive)
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO) (~2.5–3 hour drive)
Things to Bring
For attire, we recommend casual wears for the weekend and semi-formal for the ceremony, which will be on a grassy meadow. So, if you wear shoes, please choose soles that will feel comfortable on the Earth.
More information about what to bring on the Packing List.
Lodging at River’s Bend
If you’re staying at River’s Bend, here are a few things to know. Even with hot daytime temperatures, lodges tend to remain cool. If you’re staying in a Lodge or Rustic Cabin, we recommend opening the windows at night and closing them during the day. Additionally, each lodge will have at least one fan available.
The campground has two pit toilets, a handwashing station, and two showers, each with two sinks. Showers and sinks have access to solar thermal hot water.
See Packing List for more.
We Get By With a Little Help From Our Friends
Our wedding is a community event. We welcome your help with specific roles during the weekend.
Will you have any extra space in your vehicle? There are a number of items that need transportation to the venue on Friday and back on Monday.
Our parents will help welcome guests on Friday afternoon and we’re looking for two ushers to welcome folks as they arrive on Sunday.
Do you like creating beautiful spaces?
We welcome you to join Friday morning to help set up and decorate the venue.
Also, we can accommodate a few more setup helpers to stay over Thursday night (meals and lodging provided). Please reply to this email if you would like to arrive Thursday and we will work out the details.
Please peruse the Volunteer List to review the roles, items to transport, and items we’re trying to crowdsource (see three tabs at the bottom). Add your name as you wish. Our wedding planner, Mischa, will connect with you.
Open Mic
Saturday night’s open mic is an opportunity to shine your light. This is part of a Jewish wedding tradition called “schtick” to entertain the happy couple. You’re invited to share a song, poem, comedy routine, secret talent, story, etc.
If you already know you’d like to share something for the open mic, please add your name to the list so we can plan the timing of this activity around the fire. Get your creative juices flowing…
COVID Policy
We are following CDC Guidelines:
- Day 0 is when you started having symptoms, or if you didn't have symptoms then when you tested positive.
- If the wedding is within your isolation period (at least 5 days, depending on symptoms), please do not attend.
- If the wedding is within Days 6–10, you may attend with a negative test. Please mask through Day 10 or according to CDC Guidelines.
- If the wedding is after Day 10, you may attend if your symptoms are improving.
Unplug with Us
We encourage you to take the opportunity to disconnect from your Internet-based life during our retreat weekend.
Wi-Fi at River’s Bend is only available by the Office and there is limited cellular reception. AT&T provides the most reliable and consistent service throughout the site. Other carriers may offer enough reception for basic text messaging but not much more.
Information from River’s Bend
River’s Bend is a rustic retreat center in the country, along the beautiful Navarro River and next door to amazing redwoods. Our mission is to create a place that supports spiritual contemplation, ecological understanding and a deep connection between land and people. Much of our land is protected by a conservation easement to ensure that it is maintained as habitat for wildlife as well as humans. We invite you to come and be in community with this special place!
Weather can be quite varied up here; layered clothing is recommended. Sturdy shoes and a flashlight are very important.
Interested in Swimming? Please note that there is no lifeguard on duty and kids 14 and under are not permitted without adult escort and supervision. Water shoes are suggested and guests need to bring a beach towel. (Please don’t use River’s Bend bath towels for the beach.)
While walking around the site, be aware of ticks and be careful to avoid Guardian Oak (poison oak). As the saying goes, “Leaves of three? Let them be. If it’s hairy, it’s a berry.” When walking in the woods, please stay on trails.
Smoking of any kind is not permitted inside or around any building. Smoking is ONLY allowed where there are designated ashtrays by the Shop and in the Parking Lot.
Church
For those interested in attending Catholic mass, the nearest church is St. Mary of the Angels in Ukiah. Sunday mass is at 9 am. The church is a 45-minute drive from River’s Bend.
East Coasters
After our wedding, we will organize a party in the D.C. area for friends and family in that neck of the woods. We welcome you to attend both East Coast and West Coast celebrations, as you wish.