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Wine Country Rabbi Reviews

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51 Reviews
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100% Recommended by couples

Awards

51
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2023 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2022 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2020 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2017 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2016 Winner
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    Ilana Sent on 10/16/2023
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    Rabbi Steve was wonderful!

    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.
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    Michelle P. Sent on 11/26/2023
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    Amazing ceremony!

    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!
  • Thao
    Thao P. Sent on 09/28/2023
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    Rewarding Experience with Lifelong Memories

    Where do we even begin? We found Rabbi Finley via an online search for rabbis in the Napa area. As a mixed faith couple (Jewish and Catholic), we wanted a rabbi that would be understanding and respectful of both religious backgrounds, but also able to maintain the traditions of a Jewish ceremony. After our initial meeting with Rabbi we could tell he was very patient, honest, forthcoming, and warm and respectful of all cultural and spiritual backgrounds. He will limit his services based on what you desire out of the relationship, from very traditional to more liberal / progressive. In our case, we wanted a more hands-on experience with monthly meetings and counseling as we wanted our ceremony to be more traditional and intimate. We discussed various options on how we wanted our ceremony to proceed, Rabbi Finley would provide suggestions on what the more traditional ceremony steps were, and educated us on Jewish rituals and ceremonial traditions and their significance. We had multiple meetings with him leading up to our ceremony and were even invited to some of his congregation's events, which we appreciate and happily attended. We were welcomed with open arms by his congregation in Sonoma, and appreciated building a relationship with the Rabbi and his congregation that we want to continue beyond our ceremony, but note this is not a requirement, we just like him and his congregation that much.

    On our wedding day, he led our ceremony seamlessly and confidently. We received so many compliments from our guests on how well he officiated our wedding. Everyone from both sides of our families and friends loved how well Rabbi Finley made the ceremony feel traditional, intimate, reverent, and also warm and welcoming to all backgrounds with the perfect amount of humor and mirth. The groom's side is the Jewish side in our case, and all of his relatives agreed it was the best Jewish ceremony they've attended.
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    Sarah Sent on 08/06/2023
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    Above and Beyond Officiant!

    Rabbi Finley was a pleasure to work with and made our elopement ceremony wonderful! The planning process was easy since Steve was incredibly friendly and responsive throughout. He enthusiastically accommodated our unique desires into a customized ceremony still rooted in tradition. Steve is also flexible and keeps your day stress-free and focused around you--he happily met us pre-dawn to hike rocky trails so we would reach our ceremony location at sunrise. We highly recommend Rabbi Finley to others as an exceptional officiant who goes above and beyond to make your special day unforgettable.
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    Jill Sent on 10/26/2023
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    June wedding in Healdsburg!

    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!
  • Julie
    Julie A. Sent on 12/07/2022
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    Wonderful experience and amazing ceremony!

    We cannot say enough wonderful things about our experience with Rabbi Steve. My husband is Jewish and I am not, and he was so welcoming and collaborative in crafting our ceremony. We got to know him well in the year leading up to the wedding, and we really felt like he knew us and our relationship when the big day arrived. We had a perfect ceremony and are so grateful that we were able to work with Rabbi Steve.
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    Rob B. Sent on 12/06/2022
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    Beautiful multi faith LGBTQ+ wedding

    Rabbi Finley was a calming force throughout the wedding planning process and took real time to get to know us as a couple and integrate that knowledge into a warm and personal ceremony. I am Christian and my husband is Jewish. Rabbi Finley helped us plan a Jewish ceremony that touched the heart of my Christian family.
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    Madeline Sent on 09/21/2022
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    Wonderful experience with Rabbi Steve

    Our interaction with Rabbi Steve was fantastic. He is caring, thoughtful, and was dedicated to our vision.
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    Shaylee Sent on 09/20/2022
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    Hired for wedding

    Rabbi Steve was great! I highly recommend!
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    Reine Sent on 09/20/2022
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    Relaxed and Smooth

    We are very grateful to Rabbi Steve for officiating our wedding. He made it truly special! As everyone planning a wedding knows how stressful it is, his personal care and attention put all our anxieties at ease by providing sincere and heartfelt counseling. He also opened a genuine exchange of ideas to make our ceremony perfect and made sure it was how we envisioned it to be! He is very engaging and interesting that made the whole ceremony beautiful and one of a kind! He goes above and beyond the call! Thank you, Rabbi Steve!
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    Kenan A. Sent on 09/22/2022
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    Rabbi Steve is the best!

    We chose Rabbi Steve after interviewing many Rabbis and officiants and could not have been more happy. He was warm, personable, experience, and immediately felt like one of our family and friends. He went out of his way to get to know us as people and incorporated who we are into our special ceremony. His blend of religious, personal, and life perspective made his speech during our ceremony special to us and one to remember. We would highly recommend Rabbi Steve to any friend or family member getting married.
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    Rebecca C. Sent on 01/04/2022
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    Rabbi Finley is wonderful to work with and performed a great ceremony!

    Rabbi Finley performed our wedding ceremony and we are so glad we were able to work with him! He was a calming force throughout our wedding planning. From the very beginning, he took an interest in getting to know us and took the time to understand our needs and preferences. In addition to several zoom calls, at Rabbi Finley's suggestion, we met in person for lunch to get to know each other better before our wedding. This made our ceremony even more personal and special! Rabbi Finley was super accommodating and made it easy to customize every aspect of our ceremony (he even encouraged me to "edit" some readings to make some phrases more to my liking). We loved that he explained all of the customs -- both to us to help us decide if/how we'd like to incorporate them into our ceremony -- and to our guests so they understood too. Looking back, the ceremony was one of the most special parts of our small wedding and we are so thankful to Rabbi Finley!
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    Shirley B. Sent on 01/12/2022
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    One of our wedding highlights

    Rabbi Steve was a highlight of our wedding. He worked with us to create a custom ceremony that fit our multi-cultural household and personal preferences. He was extremely flexible in terms of the level of religiousness we wanted to have, made great suggestions and also incorporated our requests and additions. He made sure to get to know both of us personally and was a joy to work with along the way. We received so many compliments on the ceremony and the way Rabbi Steve led it. We highly recommend Rabbi Steve for any Jewish wedding.
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    Ashley A. Sent on 12/21/2021
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    Rabbi Steve is the best. He has a gentle, calm, wise energy that we found to be so comforting for our ceremony.

    Rabbi Steve is the best. He has a gentle, calm, wise energy that we found to be so comforting for our ceremony. He is soulful, has grace and class. He’s just a really wonderful guy. We feel so grateful that we found him and that he shared our day with us.
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    Celia P. Sent on 12/22/2021
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    Rabbi Steve made our wedding so special!

    We really enjoyed working with Rabbi Steve! My husband is not Jewish, and Rabbi Steve did a great job explaining the different parts of the wedding and traditions, and helped us plan a ceremony that worked for us. He was so great at explaining everything at the Ketubah signing and at the wedding. We still hear from friends and family about how great our ceremony was and how they really liked our Rabbi.
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    Roxanne Sent on 07/20/2021
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    We are so thankful for Rabbi Finley and Tricia!

    We are so thankful for Rabbi Finley for making our wedding heartfelt and memorable. He went above and beyond by meeting with us several times beforehand (once even at a wine tasting!) to get to know me and my now husband. He was relaxed and flexible to any of our requests. Tricia, who works with him, was also very kind, and quick to respond and guide us. Any couple would be lucky to have Rabbi Finley officiate their ceremony!
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    Scott Sent on 12/26/2021
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    Rabbi Steve was excellent

    Rabbi Steve was excellent. He helped us plan our ceremony and was very easygoing and flexible throughout the process. We would definitely recommend him to anyone looking to get married in the Napa area!
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    Sari F. Sent on 07/05/2021
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    Great Experience

    Rabbi Steve was so great in helping us navigate the many possibilities for our ceremony. He is incredibly generous and fantastic to work with. He made our ceremony funny and full of love and intention. Would highly recommend.
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    Arn G. Sent on 06/10/2021
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    Rabbi Steve Finley Cared What Mattered to Us

    We were very fortunate to get to know Rabbi Steve Finely when we were planning our wedding at Auberge du Soleil this past May. Because of his friendly demeanor, empathy and kindness we genuinely felt that Rabbi Steve had been our rabbi for many years. Whenever we had a question, he was just a phone call away and he always had time for us. When he offered his suggestions for the various elements of the ceremony, he encouraged our input. It was clear he sincerely cared what mattered to us. He wanted to ensure our wedding was as meaningful and personal as possible, and that’s the way it turned out. We felt truly blessed to have him be the one to unite us in marriage.
  • Alayna
    Alayna Z. Sent on 09/19/2021
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    A blessing on short notice

    Rabbi Steve was a blessing. Our wedding was February 21, 2021 and because of Covid my husband’a childhood Rabbi from Los Angeles was unable to officiate. With only a month to our wedding date we searched for a new Rabbi and found Rabbi Steve. He was very responsive. After meeting with him via zoom to discuss all the details he was able to create a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony that was perfect for us. On the wedding day he met us at our venue (vintners inn) and performed a personal and meaningful ceremony for us and our close family and friends. Everything about our experience with Rabbi Steve was fantastic.
  • Randi
    Randi Sent on 02/07/2021
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    We love Rabbi Steve!

    We couldn't have asked for a better experience working with Rabbi Steve to craft our ceremony. We had multiple zoom calls to get to know each other, and were so grateful for Rabbi Steve's suggestions and helpful planning. We planned a COVID-safe wedding (only our immediate families, with a ceremony planned in the backyard of a rental home in Sonoma where we would all stay). The weekend before our wedding, the rental home was lost in the Glass Fire. We scrambled to replan and found another place to stay in Marin County. Rabbi Steve was so gracious and flexible despite the upheaval, even offering the garden of his temple for the ceremony. In the end, despite the smoke and poor air quality, despite the fact that the wedding looked nothing like we anticipated, the ceremony led by Rabbi Steve was beautiful, and calm, and centered. He did a marvelous job and crafted a ceremony that felt so true to who we are, despite only knowing us for a couple of months at that point. You can't go wrong by working with Rabbi Steve. We couldn't recommend him more highly!
  • Ofelia
    Ofelia N. Sent on 12/10/2019
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    One of a kind Rabbi

    My husband and I highly recommend Rabbi Steve. He is very kind, caring, funny and happy person. Our ceremony was beautiful and perfect. Everything went smooth and we couldn't be more happy!
  • Joy
    Joy Sent on 12/11/2019
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    A True Blessing!

    Rabbi Steve was an absolute lifesaver. We'd originally asked my uncle to officiate but due to unforeseen circumstances outside of his control, he ended up having to back out on his initial agreement and we were left scrambling to find an officiant with only a few short months left before the wedding. My (now) husband is Jewish and we loved the idea of honoring that tradition on our wedding day. The date we chose for our wedding happened to be Rosh Hashanah which, while beautifully symbolic, made finding a rabbi willing & available to officiate that day particularly challenging. Rabbi Steve was so warm, understanding & supportive, from the moment I first reached out to him with our plight, to the day he invited us to meet with him in his home & treated us to delicious homemade goodies from his wife, to the ceremony itself. We wanted someone who could strike that delicate balance between the serious & sacred and the playful & joyful, and he did that to a tee. More than one of our guests commented that it was the best wedding they'd been to. We could not recommend Rabbi Steve more highly and are so grateful he was willing and able to officiate for us!
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    Suzanne D. Sent on 01/08/2022
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    Rabbi Finley is the best

    We had an amazing experience being married by Rabbi Finley. Before our wedding, he welcomed us into his home and got to know us. He offered great advice and was a true mentor on our journey. We loved his approach to interfaith weddings. He helped us achieve all our goals in terms of using cherished traditions we wanted to incorporate and ditching elements that did not reflect our values. He stuck with us through many cancellations and rescheduled wedding dates (because of COVID-19) with grace and compassion. We loved his warm energy, his deep knowledge, and his big heart. The ceremony and kettubah signing were really perfect. Cannot recommend more highly. Suzie & John.
  • Daniel
    Daniel Sent on 12/09/2019
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    The best Rabbi we could have asked for

    Rabbi Steve was awesome to work with. He took the time to explain everything. He was flexible on details we wanted to include or not include. Rabbi Steve was incredible and I would recommend him to anyone.
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