The San Francisco Bay Area is full of amazing wedding venues and as wedding photographers we’ve been lucky to work at some of the best over the years. Choosing your wedding venue is a personal decision and each wedding venue is going to check different boxes. This is our list of the best outdoor wedding venues in the Bay Area with options for outdoor ceremonies and receptions.

Piedmont Community Hall is an easy, affordable Bay Area wedding venue that combines an intimate, outdoor ceremony setting with the convenience of a well appointed facility. Ceremonies take place in the redwood amphitheater followed by a cocktail hour and reception outside in the hall’s courtyard. The hall itself is a beautiful art deco building with hardwood floors and the perfect spot for desert and dancing. Naturally it can be used for your reception too.

We’re thankful to be on the venue’s preferred vendor list and you can view some of our recent photos here.

The Gardens at Heather Farm quickly became one of our favorite outdoor wedding venues in the Bay Area and it’s a place that we love returning to again and again. Located in Walnut Creek, this venue is known for it’s impressive rose garden but it’s 6.5 acres is full of an array of trees and beautiful plants. We love that The Garden’s at Heather Farm has a great mix of outdoor and indoor space and allows us a lot of variety for photos throughout the entire wedding day. Your celebration can move from the rose covered gazebo, to a cocktail on the patio, to their large, bright indoor reception space.

For more information and to see some wedding photos from The Gardens at Heather Farm, click here.

Nothing beats a warm summer evening at Radonich Ranch. This old fruit packing ranch is tucked away in the Santa Cruz Mountains just outside of Los Gatos and it’s the perfect setting for an outdoor Bay Area wedding. Following your outdoor ceremony, you and your wedding guests can enjoy an evening on the main lawn underneath romantic string lighting and then dance the night away in the venue’s barn space. The beautiful grounds are large enough for some great variety for wedding photos.

For more information and to see some wedding photos from Radonich Ranch, click here.

Intimate elopement ceremonies in the redwoods are so beautiful but often only allow for a few people to attend. At the UC Botanical Garden in Berkeley you can get married amongst the towering redwoods and still invite all your friends and family. The garden’s Mather Redwood Grove has a beautiful wooden amphitheater that can accommodate up to 200 guests. After your ceremony you can cross over to the main garden space for an endless amount of photo backdrops and a wedding reception at Julia Morgan Hall.

For more information and to see some wedding photos from UC Botanical Garden, click here.

The Vine Hill House is an intimate outdoor wedding venue in Sebastopol with breathtaking views of the Sonoma wine country. Ceremonies take place overlooking the valley while receptions happen on the property’s lush lawn. The venue has no shortage of beautiful settings for photos from the lush hydrangea covered garden arch to the property’s own vineyard. The venue also includes on-site coordination and provides tables and chairs!

View some photos from a recent Vine Hill House wedding here.

One of the most unique wedding venues we’ve had the opportunity to work at is Shelldance Orchid Gardens in Pacifica. Who doesn’t want to get married in a lush greenhouse surrounded by beautiful plants? The venue has several garden rooms or greenhouse wings which can serve nicely for wedding portraits as well as distinct areas for your cocktail hour. Shelldance is also able to accommodate a reception tent for dinner outside overlooking the Pacific Ocean below.

For more information and to see some wedding photos from Shelldance Orchid Gardens, click here.

Dawn Ranch is a stunning venue in Guerneville, CA right on the banks of the Russian River. It’s the perfect venue for a wedding weekend with your family and friends as the 15 acre property has a surprising amount of on-site cabins to meet your guest’s needs. For your wedding day there are several beautiful ceremony and reception locations including their orchard, meadow, and boathouse lawn spaces.

See more photos from a Dawn Ranch wedding here.

This former military barracks is located north of the Golden Gate Bridge in the Marin Headlands. Headlands Center for the Arts is a space for artists of all disciplines to develop new work and explore the creative process. It’s also an incredible and history rich wedding venue. The four story building has big windows, tall ceilings, beautiful floors, and even a mess hall for your reception. Ceremonies take place in their amphitheater overlooking the beautiful headlands.

See a real wedding at the Headlands Center for the Arts here.

We love when wedding venues are large enough to have plenty of variety yet small enough to make day of logistics easy. Hacienda de las Flores is a great example of this. The grounds feature an open air patio with a stone fountain, a large lawn, and a beautiful enclosed pavilion space surrounded by a neoclassical colonnade. Wedding ceremonies can take place on the open air patio, nearby lawn, or in the pavilion.

You can see more photos from Hacienda de las Flores here.

The Brazilian Room was one of the first wedding venues we got to work at as wedding photographers all the way back in 2008 and we still love going back. It’s a beautiful historic building located in Tilden Park in the Berkeley Hills. Wedding ceremonies typically take place on the flagstone patio overlooking the hills of Wildcat Canyon and receptions move inside the elegant Brazilian Room with rich wood paneling. It’s a smaller more contained venue but the location, affordability, and natural beauty make it a great option.

We’re a preferred vendor at the Brazilian Room and you can see more of our photos from there here.