MARIN Magazine - Wedding Guide January 2025

TRIPLE S RANCH, CALISTOGA, CALIFORNIA — When Justin Bruening proposed to his college sweetheart, Rachel Meyer, whom he met at Syracuse University, during a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, the day didn’t go as planned. “We were going to do a summit tour of Mauna Kea, and Justin had arranged to propose during sunset and have the tour guides take pictures,” Rachel recalls. “However, things were thrown into disarray when we landed to many missed calls and texts saying the tour had been canceled due to weather.” Fortunately, Justin quickly improvised, proposing the next day on a beautiful black sand beach. “Luckily, there was a random German photogra- pher nearby who took pictures of it all happening!” Rachel says.

On the big day, however, everything exceeded the San Francisco couple’s expectations. With its grand Victorian house, rustic barns and cozy cottages, Triple S Ranch in Calistoga proved to be an ideal setting for Justin and Rachel’s garden party-themed celebration.