The Stone Wedding

The Early Days In May of 2016 Alayna moved to Sonoma County to start her new job as a Real Estate Appraiser with the County of Sonoma. Just three short months later, fate aligned and she met Mike right as the harvest season was beginning. They started building a relationship amidst the chaos of her settling into the new job, learning a new area, and harvest ramping up for Mike. The spark was so strong that they made the few hours a day they had together work and their attraction grew. Only one week later, on a sunny late summer Sunday they took a day trip to the coast where they explored the beaches and talked. The deal was sealed for Alayna when Mike slipped on the rocks, plunging into the ocean clear up to his waist ruining his new shoes, but still not letting that ruin the day. Months quickly went by and the summer drives after work around the ranches soon faded into the end of fall and the beginning of hunting season…. Mike’s first true love is hunting, which anyone who has talked to him for more than 10 minutes can certainly confirm. Conversations would quickly change to him comparing insulated boots, different hunting techniques, what books to read, and how to measure racks. Thank goodness she grew up with hunters… The end of fall ‘shot’ by and their first Christmas together was approaching. This would be Mike’s first glimpse into what was in store for him in the future…the 2 Christmas trees (one in glitter and pink, the other plaid and antlers), holiday music (ALL the time), garlands, Christmas pillows, blankets, and cookies; dozens and dozens of cookies. Their relationship survived the first holiday season with only one new stipulation…no more glitter in the house.

2017 started with a bang for the Mike and Alayna with the first I love you’s and a trip to Nashville. It was this trip that made them realize they actually like traveling together which isn’t always the case for most. As spring approached the two houses became one, Memorial Day Weekend trips to Lake Almanor became annual, a vegetable garden grew, Brown Swiss cows were shown at fairs, and then came another dog. Remi, the black lab, had been Mike’s loyal and trusted companion long before Alayna was part of the picture. They took long walks in the fields, played baseball together, threw frisbee’s, hung out in the shop, and shared the couch. However Remi quickly started to appreciate having another female around and accepted Alayna into their life. Until Maya. Maya, a border collie mix, joined the family in October of 2017 like a little fluffy hurricane-and she hasn’t stopped spinning since. She now won’t go anywhere without Remi, constantly wants to play and has very selective hearing. After a few weeks of seeing Maya’s antics, Remi became the good easy going pup she is today. Good thing Maya is cute… (kidding kidding we love Both our dogs-we named signature drinks after them for the wedding!). The months whirled by in a mix of dog hair and work before moving to Healdsburg in the summer of 2018. Even almost two years later, they still have only visited three of the tasting rooms in their area. The cute rural small town feel appealed to both of them and they settled into a quiet life of gardening with lots of flowers, BBQing, kayaking on the lake, fishing, and walks around the ranch with the dogs. Throughout the year, hints about rings and discussions of their futures became more common yet Alayna was still the only one who didn’t realize that Mike was going to propose on their first Maui trip.

November of 2018, Mike and Alayna needed a vacation away from the miserable weather, and finally settled on Maui. A trip was booked (thank you Costco Travel) and new beach outfits were bought. They arrived on a Monday afternoon with Mike in the middle of a bad cold, but that wasn’t going to slow him down! They had a full day planned for Tuesday ending with a Sunset Dinner Cruise along the Maui Coast; fun, sweet, romantic, and of course an open bar. Despite having the ring with him, Mike realized that they had both enjoyed the free Mai Tai’s a little too much for a proposal. He’ll find another time. Wednesday morning promised to be sunny and beautiful, but Alayna was struggling from a few too many Mai Tai’s and the onset unbeknownst of a cold. So Mike decided it was now or never. Early that morning they went down to the beach before breakfast with Alayna confused as to why he was so insistent on going to the beach but hey, when in Maui. Despite being “hangry”, Alayna decided to humor Mike by accompanying him down to the beach. After about 5 minutes of silence staring at the water, she asked about breakfast again. That’s when Mike started to say, “First, there’s something I want to ask you…” To be completely honest Alayna wasn’t quite listening because she figured he was just asking for permission to go hunting upon their return home as he had been starting those conversations with the same line through the years. Then he got on his knee and she realized he was proposing, to which she asked to make sure “Are you proposing??” Of course she said yes. They ended this amazing day with a Luau on the beach. Everything was perfect…Until the food poisoning hit Alayna, putting her down for the count for the remaining few days of the trip. The ongoing joke for the rest of the trip quickly became “for better or for worse right?”

That gets us to now. The last few years have been a roller coaster with wedding planning, then COVID, postponing the wedding, the loss of dear family members, and all the other things 2020 has brought. Although this past year wasn't what we had planned - we are thankful for the at home 'together time' we've had. We want to take this time to thank our parents for their help and support, our siblings for always being there for us, and the rest of our friends and family for helping to make life fun. We can't wait to (finally!) celebrate with you!