The Wedding (Take 3)
Saturday April 23, 2022 @ 3:30pm
Cocktails and Reception to Follow
Elliston Vineyards, 463 Kilkare Rd, Sunol, CA 94586
Location
Both the ceremony and reception will be at a small winery called Elliston Vineyards tucked away in the remote mountains of Sunol. A "town" of 850 people. There are no stores or hotels nearby. The venue does have wifi.
Transportation
Sunol is a surprisingly remote location tucked away in the middle of the heavily populated Bay Area. There are three options to get there:
By Car
Driving yourself is likely the main option for many local folks. If you plan to drink alcohol please plan for a designated driver for your return trip home. Consider carpooling with someone nearby!
There is ample parking on site.
Estimated Drive Times:
- ~35 minute drive from downtown San Jose
- ~50 minute drive from Los Gatos
- ~60 minute drive from San Francisco
By Uber
Getting dropped off here should be pretty standard when leaving from a more populated city.
However getting picked up again is more complex. You may have to schedule a return pickup an hour before you want to leave to give time for a car to arrive.
By Shuttle
We have a 40 passenger coach bus that will take guests from the hotel to the venue and back.
There are currently 24 hotel guests scheduled for that bus. If you are not staying in the hotel and would like to also take this bus you can, but please first reach out to Steve to see if there is space.
Schedule
- 2:45pm - Bus departs hotel
- 10:00pm - Bus departs venue
Covid
We live in Santa Clara county which has extensive publicly available data on the pandemic. A few key metrics are summarized here in case it helps support your decision making. Feel free to ask Steve if you have any questions interpreting the data.
- Population of 1.9 million
- 90% vaccination rate
- 3% test positivity rate and dropping
- Hospitalizations trending down
- Wastewater analysis trending down
- More dashboards to nerd out
As of February 23, 2022 we believe the data show the risks are low in this area and trending in a positive direction. Anything could happen, but what life is like in April is likely going to be what life is like from now on. We'll continue to monitor closely.
Mitigations
- We estimate 80 guests will attend
- We estimate attending guests will be 70% from California, 25% from Canada, and 5% from Eastern USA
- We're planning for the ceremony to be fully outside
- We're planning for the cocktail hour to be held inside with 4 doors open for airflow. The bar and cocktail tables are inside. However guests who prefer to spend the cocktail hour outside can do so at their assigned dinner seating on the patio or by exploring the grounds.
- We're planning for the reception dinner to be seated outside
- Here is an early floorplan to show the space and distances involved:
- We ask that everyone come vaccinated (kids exempt)
- Masks are welcome, but not required
- Please stay home if you feel sick or are showing symptoms
- If you don't feel comfortable, no pressure! We'll catch up another time!
Registry
Please no gifts. Your presence at our wedding is more than a gift to us!
Wedding Food
There will be both meat and vegetarian food options at the reception dinner. Where possible gluten was avoided, but some dishes may have some. This will be an outdoors buffet so you will be able to pick and choose the ingredients you like.
Hors D'oeuvres
- Caprese skewers with Fresh Mozzarella and Sun-dried Tomato
- Grilled chicken skewers with a Thai peanut sauce
- Chorizo and date wrapped in apple cured bacon
Salad
- Spinach, almonds, dried cranberries, red onion, mandarin oranges, honey dijon dressing
Sides
- Roasted garlic mashed potatoes, avec craime fraiche
Entrees
- Grilled flank steak, fresh herbs, cabernet sauvignon reduction
- Eggplant parmesan with marinara
Restaurants
There are a ton of food options within walking distance of the hotel. Explore Santa Cruz Ave, University Ave, and Main Street to find options.
- Lexington House - pricy, but our favorite restaurant in the area
- Telefèric Barcelona - spanish tapas
- Pizza My Heart - grab a quick slice of pizza
- Southern Kitchen Los Gatos - good brunch place
- Andale - no frills mexican food with a back patio
- Wine Cellar Restaurant - nice patio to grab a glass of wine
- Zona Rosa - mexican food with great outside connection
- Dio Deka - pricey greek food
Drinks
Some places to grab a drink nearby the hotel.
- Los Gatos Soda Works - cocktail bar
- Hapa's Brewing Company - beer next to the hotel
- Loma Brewing Company - drink beer on the street, often live music
- Rootstock Wine Bar - drink wine
- Out of the barrel - beer garden
Hotel
Sadly the original hotel we were going to stay at closed. San Jose is a very business travel dependent city and the hotel scene has taken a major hit from the pandemic.
This time around we are instead recommending that travellers stay at the Toll House Hotel in downtown Los Gatos. Los Gatos is a small town that borders San Jose. It's where Netflix is headquartered. It has a fun downtown area with restaurants, bars, shopping in a small walkable area.
This hotel was chosen for walkability to nearby shops and outdoor dining, access to outside airflow with many rooms having balconies, ease of parking, and price. The restaurant/bar is being remodeled and scheduled to re-open mid-April 🤞. The rooms were recently remodeled, but it's not a fancy hotel. The more discerning traveller may want to consider other options listed below.
At the moment there is no group booking. We recommend folks each book their room directly on tollhousehotel.com ASAP. Booking directly maximizes flexibility in case of cancellation. Let Steve know the details of your booking and he may be able to get a discount later, but at this time it looks unlikely.
⚠️ Please temper your expectations of hotels in this area at this time. Most are operating on minimal staff and have closed many amenities like room service. Call to confirm anything you're expecting to be there.
Other Options:
- Down the street - Hotel Los Gatos - A 10-minute walk away. More expensive with unique rooms, small pool, hot tub, and high end Greek restaurant.
- Hotel Valencia at Santana Row - Closer to the airport sitting atop high end shopping and restaurants.
- Downtown San Jose - This area has lots of hotel chains like the Marriott. Go here if you would prefer less people since the area is essentially a ghost town now. There is little connection to the outdoors here. You'll have to plan to spend most of your time in the room, at the pool, or driving somewhere else.
Flights
Since our wedding is on a Saturday early afternoon, we recommend flying in Friday to ensure that you arrive on time. We recommend flying into San Jose International Airport (SJC). This airport is only a 20 minute drive to the hotel.
Air Canada and Alaska Airlines both serve this airport from various Canadian cities among other major carriers. Google Flights is a useful way to compare options and find the best prices. See sample prices for that weekend from:
Pre-Flight Testing
Flying into the USA
As of Feb 25 a negative covid test taken "no more than 1 day before you travel by air into the United States" is required. Only the Rapid Antigen test is required which is less accurate, but cheaper and faster to get results.
Consider the opening times and schedules of your local testing provider and whether you plan to get tested the same day as your flight or the day before. Ensure you carefully plan for enough time for test results to arrive before boarding. Book your appointment as soon as it becomes available as walkins are unlikely to be allowed.
We recommend getting tested as early as possible the day before your flight. That way if you get a positive result (unlikely with rapid antigen test) you may have more time to arrange a second test or cancel your hotel room.
- YVR Testing Options - Cheapest option $79 CAD
- YLW Testing Options - Cheapest option $120 CAD
- YYC Testing Options - Cheapest option $60 CAD
- YEG Testing Options - Unknown cost
Consider looking around your local area for other, non-airport testing options.
These requirements may shift over the next two months. Monitor this CDC web site.
Flying back into Canada
As of April 1 "pre-entry tests are no longer required for fully vaccinated travellers entering Canada by land, air or water."
Be sure to understand the requirements of the ArriveCAN app.
Map
Map of the relevant locations:
🏠 - Steve & Ruth Home in Campbell, CA
✈️ - SJC and SFO Airports
🏨 - Hotel
💍 - Wedding Venue