Wine Country Rabbi

My husband and I were married in Napa in May 2025, and we were so lucky to have had our ceremony overseen and guided by the wonderful Rabbi Steve! Our journey with him began shortly after we got engaged in summer 2024, and we knew right off the bat that Rabbi Steve would be a perfect fit for us. He took very special care to get to know us, and his light-hearted, warm, and open demeanor really made us feel at ease. Most importantly, Rabbi Steve fully respected our wishes to honor both of our traditions through an interfaith ceremony (I'm Catholic, and my husband is Jewish). He even went so far as to introduce us to his dear friend, a deacon at a Catholic parish in Sonoma, who went on to be the other half of our officiant team (special shout-out to Deacon Dave from St. Francis!). The ceremony itself was everything we wanted, and it struck the perfect balance of both of our traditions (our friends and family still talk about it!). We feel so blessed that we found Rabbi Steve, and we couldn't recommend his services and guidance more.

We found Rabbi Finley while searching for a rabbi in Wine Country who would perform a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony for an interfaith couple. We first spoke with him a little over a year before our wedding, and from that very first conversation, we knew he was the perfect rabbi for us.

Rabbi Finley has a remarkable way of making people feel instantly comfortable. It felt as though we had known him for years. From the beginning, he gave us complete confidence that our ceremony would be beautiful, meaningful, and tailored to who we are as a couple, and he delivered on every promise.

What truly made our experience special was the way Rabbi Finley and his congregation welcomed us into their community. The evening before our wedding, we attended Shabbat services, where the Hebrew school students had prepared prayers, speeches, and even dances in our honor. It was one of the sweetest and most meaningful experiences of our wedding weekend, and a memory we will cherish forever.

Rabbi Finley also attended our rehearsal and expertly guided us through every detail of the ceremony so we felt completely comfortable and prepared. On our wedding day, he delivered a ceremony that was more beautiful than we could have imagined. His words were thoughtful, heartfelt, and deeply personal. Looking out at our family and friends while he spoke, my heart felt completely full.

If you're looking for a wedding rabbi, look no further. Rabbi Finley is truly exceptional, and we cannot recommend him highly enough.

Since we were having our wedding in Santa Rosa and do not live nearby, we decided to find a local officiant, and we are so glad we found Rabbi Finley. From the very beginning, Rabbi Finley was welcoming and helped make both the planning process and the wedding ceremony feel comfortable, personal, and meaningful. In the months leading to our wedding, he took the time to get to know us through frequent calls, in-person meetings, and a pre-wedding questionnaire. That care and attention made our ceremony feel even more special. We were also invited to visit the rabbi’s congregation, where his congregants warmly welcomed us with open arms.

Rabbi Finley thoughtfully walked us through the steps, customs, and rituals of our wedding ceremony. He worked with us closely to make sure we felt prepared, on track, and comfortable with what to expect, which helped create an amazing ceremony and overall experience.

What stood out most was the way he personalized the entire process. He made our wedding ceremony memorable, meaningful, and truly special. We highly recommend Rabbi Finley to anyone looking for an outstanding wedding officiant and a genuinely wonderful person to get to know.

Rabbi Steve was the perfect choice to officiate our wedding. We cannot recommend him enough. 

He took the time to meet with us regularly, getting to know us and our relationship, guiding us with different options for our ceremony, and helping to craft our ceremony in a way that is personalized to us and the Jewish traditions that mean the most to us. We’re so grateful he invited us up to his congregation for Shabbat. We were able to see him in his element, leading the service, and got more connected to our Jewish heritage. 

All the rabbis we interviewed said we would fill out a questionnaire they would use to draft their script for the ceremony, but Rabbi Steve meticulously reviewed and incorporated our responses. After the ceremony ended, my husband and I both expressed how we felt Rabbi Steve talked about important traits that we didn’t have time to cover in our vows. We filled in the gaps and helped to tell our story in such a beautiful way. His guidance for the ceremony was paramount. We were able to take the Jewish traditions and tailor them in a way that felt the most connected to us — whether that was taking them as is, finding a modern interpretation, or finding a combination. I am not exaggerating when I tell you we heard from multiple people that our ceremony was the best, most authentic, meaningful wedding ceremonies they’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing. 

He went above and beyond in providing kippahs for the wedding ceremony, even allowing my husband to select a beautiful woven one from Israel for him to keep as a keepsake from the wedding.

Rabbi Steve was a true professional on the day, bringing in the wisdom and Jewish traditions, supporting our union, while letting us and our love truly shine. Any couple working with him is incredibly lucky. Bonus tip, ask for his script after the wedding so you can revisit his beautiful words and keep them as part of your wedding day memories. 

Rabbi Steve was absolutely amazing. He co-officiated our wedding with his best friend, Pastor Jason, and together they created a ceremony that felt so natural, personal, and full of laughter.

What stood out most about Rabbi Steve was how focused he was on building a genuine connection with us first. That’s ultimately why we chose him—he felt different from the other officiants we met because he truly cared about getting to know us as people, not just planning the ceremony.

He even invited us to Shabbat, which brought us all closer and helped lay the foundation for the beautiful ceremony we created together. The entire experience felt meaningful, warm, and authentic.

We’re so grateful we met Rabbi Steve and know we’ll continue to stay in touch.

Rabbi Steve was an incredible blessing for us both. He guided us through the wedding process, was communicative and offered strong support for us. Completely professional with the added value of his kindness and care that we needed as an interfaith couple, as an Israeli bride and an Indian groom. The jewish ceremony was right after the Hindu ceremony and he did a beautiful job in welcoming and highlighting both cultures and people during the ceremony. Definitely recommend to work with him !

Rabbi Steve is an incredible rabbi and made our ceremony as beautiful as it was. Meeting with him prior to the ceremony was critical for us all to get to know each other. He was so accommodating to our preferences and needs, and offered a great perspective on the ceremony, but also on life. Our ceremony was beautiful, largely because his words were sentimental and personal. He brought a wonderful spirit to the ceremony and we would recommend him to everyone looking for a rabbi in the area. 10/10, the best vendor we worked with.

Rabbi Steve made our ceremony very special. He took the time to get to know us and craft a ceremony that would match our wants and needs. Lots of folks told us they loved the ceremony, and we felt like it was a great mix of older traditions and modern customs. Would recommend!

Rabbi Steve was an exceptional officiant and made our day all the more special. He wormed with us to make sure the ceremony was truly reflective of our values. We are so happy to have worked with him!

Rabbi Steve took the time to get to meet with us via zoom - we live across the country - and in person leading up to our wedding. We felt like we got to know him and he got to know us during our months of preparation. Rabbi Steve educated us on our options for what we could include in our ceremony and provided us with many choices ranging from non-religious to religious and we got to create a wedding ceremony that was uniquely ours. We are so thrilled we found Rabbi Steve and our friends and family loved the ceremony and really enjoyed his officiating.