5.0
Praised by couples for:
Great Planner
Officiant
Seasoned Professional
Jewish, Interfaith & Non-denominational Services
Recently updated
This vendor updated their storefront within the last 15 days.
Northern California
Travel area: No travel restrictions See details
We were so blessed to have found such a wonderful Rabbi to preside over our wedding! Rabbi Steve put so much care, intention, love, and respect into every step of the process. He really helped us customize our perfect wedding ceremony with a beautiful blend of old and new traditions. If you are looking for someone who is deeply spiritual and connected to their faith, yet down-to-earth and welcoming to all... look no further. He's an absolute gem!
Lindsay S.
5.0
Everything went smoothly when working with Rabbi Steve! He was mindful to include personal touches in our ceremony and was great with an interfaith crowd. He helped us customize our service and it all went beautifully with his help.
Allison B.
5.0
AWARD WINNER
Thanks to recommendations from couples on The Knot
Steve Finley of Wine Country Rabbi is an ordained rabbi living in the town of Sonoma, CA. While serving the Jewish community of Sonoma, he is also available to work with couples to create and officiate their Jewish, interfaith, or non-denominational weddings, elopements, and vow renewals. He invests time getting to know each couple as they work together to create the ideal ceremony. This ordained rabbi offers a traditional wedding style, but can also adapt to reflect the couple's ceremony preferences. Wine Country Rabbi travels to Napa and Sonoma Valleys and other cities in Northern California.
Details
Ceremony Types
Civil Union
Elopement
Interfaith Ceremony
Non-Religious Ceremony
Religious Ceremony
Second Wedding
Vow Renewal Ceremony
Planning
Se Habla Español
Religious Affiliations
Interfaith
Jewish
Wedding Activities
After The Wedding
Newlywed Life
Premarital Counseling
Wedding
Ceremony
Awards and Affiliations
2026 'Best of Weddings'
Best of Weddings
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Meet the team
Rabbi Steve Finley
Owner
Rabbi Steve appreciates the importance of each couple's special day. He helps to create personalized ceremonies unique to them.
Reviews
5.0
out of 5.016 reviews
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Review Summary
This AI-generated summary is a snapshot of this vendor's ratings and feedback.
Rabbi Steve is consistently praised for warm, personal, and professional officiating that creates meaningful, tailored ceremonies—especially for interfaith couples. He’s communicative, available for meetings, rehearsals, and community events, helping couples feel prepared and welcomed. Highly recommended.Review photos
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Rebecca S
Highlighted review.
5.0
9/13/2015
Rabbi Steve of Congregation Shir Shalom is a warm, kind, caring and knowledgeable Rabbi. We love him! He was open to our ideas and so very helpful in providing guidance for the c...
eremony AND in our marriage!
Lindsay S
5.0
9/02/2026
We were so blessed to have found such a wonderful Rabbi to preside over our wedding! Rabbi Steve put so much care, intention, love, and respect into every step of the process. He r...
eally helped us customize our perfect wedding ceremony with a beautiful blend of old and new traditions. If you are looking for someone who is deeply spiritual and connected to their faith, yet down-to-earth and welcoming to all... look no further. He's an absolute gem!
Any questions?
Allison B
5.0
9/01/2026
Everything went smoothly when working with Rabbi Steve! He was mindful to include personal touches in our ceremony and was great with an interfaith crowd. He helped us customize ou...
r service and it all went beautifully with his help.
Izzy M
5.0
8/06/2026
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.
Because we were planning our wedding from out of town, we didn't have many opportunities to meet in person before the big day. When we flew to California for our site visit, Rabbi Finley generously joined my family for dinner so we could get to know each other face-to-face. Throughout the entire planning process, he was always available to answer questions, hop on a call, and offer guidance whenever we needed it.
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.
Daniel F
5.0
7/31/2026
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, Rabb...
i 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.
Brianna F
5.0
7/05/2026
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.
Nathan F
5.0
5/03/2026
Steve was such a pleasure to work with. His guidance made planning the ceremony a breeze. We will always treasure the memory of our elopement, thanks in no small part to Steve!
Anna K
5.0
4/28/2026
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 o...
f 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.
Melissa S
5.0
1/05/2026
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!
Amit R
5.0
12/08/2025
From the very first conversation to the moment we said “I do,” our officiant, Rabbi Steve was absolutely incredible. He created a ceremony that was not only beautiful and meaningfu...
l, but also felt completely us. The balance of heartfelt emotion, warmth, and lighthearted moments was perfect.
Steve really took the time to truly get to know our story and what was important to us, and it showed in every word of the ceremony. The process was seamless, calming, and so well organized, which made such a difference on such a big day.
So many of our guests came up to us afterward saying how heartfelt the ceremony was and how much they enjoyed Steve's process. We will forever be grateful for the way he guided us through one of the most important moments of our lives. If you’re looking for an officiant who is professional, warm, thoughtful, and incredibly talented, look no further. We could not recommend him more highly!
claire w
5.0
12/05/2025
Rabbi Steve is wonderful. He is so fun and caring 100% recommend!
Jacqueline A
5.0
12/05/2025
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 shortl...
y 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 and jovial demeanor really made us feel at ease. Most importantly, Rabbi Steve fully honored 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. We feel so blessed that we found Rabbi Steve, and we couldn't recommend his services and guidance more.
Ben W
5.0
11/28/2025
Rabbi Steve is excellent. He did such a great job and made the whole process easy. He spend the time to get to know us, was extremely professional, and is now a true friend. 100...
% reccomend!
Lindsey S
5.0
11/28/2025
Rabbi Steve was absolutely wonderful to work with. My wife and I had an interfaith wedding, and he went above and beyond to make sure both of our families felt included and respect...
ed. He took the time to get to know us, helped us craft a ceremony that truly reflected who we are, and delivered it with warmth, sincerity, and grace. We couldn’t have asked for a better officiant and are so grateful he was part of our day.
Elizabeth T
5.0
11/28/2025
Rabbi Steve is amazing. We met several times before the wedding to get to know each other and it really helped personalize the ceremony. He was both helpful guiding us on the tradi...
tions and practices of weddings/marriage while also very flexible to adapt to what we wanted.
Phillip K
5.0
11/27/2025
Choosing Rabbi Steve to officiate our wedding was a wonderful experience.
We reached out to him about a year before the wedding, and he took the time to genuinely know us. He met ...
with us multiple times and even invited us to events, ensuring we felt connected.
As a result, when the day arrived, we weren't being married by a rabbi we simply found online. We were married by someone we knew and had developed a personal relationship with. This genuine connection made our time under the chuppah all the more special.
The ceremony itself was perfectly executed, and he did a wonderful job officiating. However, it was everything he did before those special moments—the time and care he invested—that made us appreciate him the most. We highly recommend Rabbi Steve for his warmth and dedication.
Service area & Contact info
Northern California
Typically included in the starting cost
Travel area: No travel restrictions
Additional charges may apply
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