Sebastopol Wedding

Sebastopol is a town in Sonoma County, California, United States, approximately 52 miles north of San Francisco. The population was 7,774 at the 2000 census. It is about a 20 minute drive from the Pacific Ocean, between Santa Rosa and Bodega Bay, and is known for its progressive politics and small-town charm. It was once primarily a plum- and apple-growing region; wine grapes are now predominant. World-famous horticulturist Luther Burbank had gardens in this fertile region. The city hosts an annual Apple Blossom Festival and Gravenstein Apple Fair, and is the home of publisher O'Reilly Media, which publishes books on open-source software. Former Primus lead singer/bassist Les Claypool, singer/songwriter Tom Waits and actor Peter Krause currently reside in the area. Sebastopol is home to Analy High School, Laguna High School, Brook Haven Middle School, Gravenstein Elementary School, Hillcrest Middle School, Twin Hills Middle School and Pine Crest Elementary. It is also the sister city of Chihirin, Ukraine, and Yamauchi-Machi, Japan.

The area's first known inhabitants were the native Coast Miwok and Pomo peoples. The town of Sebastopol formed in the 1850s with a U.S. Post Office and as a small trade center for the farmers of the surrounding agricultural region. As California's population swelled after the westward migration and the Gold rush of the 1850s, more and more settlers drifted into the fertile California valleys north of San Francisco to try their hand at farming.