Vine Hill House Wedding

We photographed our first wedding at Vine Hill House in Sebastopol way back in 2012 and it’s still one of our favorite wedding venues to return to. It’s a beautiful event space overlooking the Russian River Valley wine country. The property itself is part of the O’Connell Vineyards. It’s the perfect venue for a wine country wedding with an intimate, garden feel.

Wedding ceremonies at the Vine Hill House take place in a grove of Douglas fir and redwoods over looking the valley’s vineyards. This same space can be used later as a dance floor and is illuminated at night with beautiful lanterns and sparkly string lights.

Receptions take place behind the house with plenty of space for round tables complete with heaters for those chilly Bay Area summer evenings. The house has a porch in the back which makes for a perfect stage for formal toasts during dinner.

There are plenty of picturesque areas for first looks, family portraits, and couple portraits from the wooden archway surrounded in hydrangeas to the rows of wine vines in the orchard.

How much is the Vine Hill House?

As of November 2023, pricing for a Saturday or a holiday is $9900. Fridays are $8900. Sundays are $8000. The Vine Hill House is available for rental between April 1st and November 30th.

What’s included in a Vine Hill House rental?

One of the great things that we and our couples love about the Vine Hill House is how much is included with your booking. Your 6 hour event rental includes event coordination and on-site day of coordination. Dan, the owner, has been facilitating weddings for years and he runs the show with precision. He and his team are such a great resource to have and it’s an amazing perk to have as part of your venue rental.

Your rental also includes your ceremony chairs and 60” reception tables! That’s not only a huge savings but involves way less coordination for pick up and drop off before and after your wedding.

You also get use of the house throughout the day. This is super helpful for getting ready, tucking away before your ceremony, and just general decompression time on the day of.

For a full list of what’s included in your rental, visit their rental page here.

Vine Hill House Wedding Photos

Piedmont Community Hall Wedding

We love photographing weddings at the Piedmont Community Hall. Piedmont Park was one of our first locations for family photos many years ago and it’s a perfect setting for a Bay Area wedding. Couples can have their ceremony in the hall’s amphitheater under tall redwood trees and have their reception in the art deco community hall that dates back to 1924. The venue allows for a great mix of natural California beauty with the immediate convenience of a well appointed and affordable Bay Area wedding venue. What follows is some rental information about Piedmont Community Hall as well as some recent photos from a summer wedding.

Wedding Ceremony setup at Community Hall Amphitheater

Wedding ceremonies in the Community Hall amphitheater can accommodate 120 guests and an additional 80 guests in the bleachers.

The Community Hall itself can seat 120 guests indoors or 200 guests outside on the patio. The patio is a beautiful space for cocktail hour or for your entire reception. For Summer weddings at the Community Hall we often see both the cocktail hour and reception happen outdoors before transitioning into the hall for dancing and dessert.

Piedmont Community Hall building with wedding reception on outdoor patio

Where is Piedmont Community Hall?

Piedmont Community Hall is located at 711 Highland Ave. Piedmont, CA 94611. The venue is 13 minutes from downtown Oakland and only 9 minutes from the Claremont Hotel, a popular nearby hotel for getting ready. You can also get ready in the Japanese Tea House within the park if it’s part of your rental package.

How much is the Piedmont Community Hall?

Piedmont Community Hall is available to rent for $4725 on Fridays and Sundays and $5250 on Saturdays. Rentals are for 8 hours with additional hours available for an hourly rate. The Japanese Tea House is $475 and the Amphitheater is $375 with Community Hall rental.

To reserve the Piedmont Community Hall for your wedding visit the City of Piedmont’s website here.

Wedding photos from Piedmont Community Hall

Bride getting ready in Japanese Tea House

Bride getting ready in Japanese Tea House

First Look on path in Piedmont Park

Parents walking to ceremony

Bride walking down steps to amphitheater

Wedding Ceremony at Piedmont Community Hall Amphitheater

Cocktail hour outside Japanese Tea House in Piedmont Park

Setup for outdoor reception at Piedmont Community Hall

Couple near the Exedra Fountain in Piedmont Park

UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Wedding

Recently we had the opportunity to photograph a small wedding ceremony in the Mather Redwood Grove at the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley. We’ve photographed weddings before at these gardens and are always reminded how beautiful of a space it is. Not only does it make for a perfect wedding venue but it’s just a really lovely place to come and spend the afternoon. The garden itself takes up 34 acres and has over 10,000 plants, many of which are rare and endangered. We love that this amount of natural beauty is right in our backyard and it’s available for Bay Area weddings!

These two exchanged vows surrounded by an intimate group of family and friends beneath the beautiful, towering redwood trees. Following their ceremony we worked with each of them and their families to take some portraits within the redwood grove and the expansive garden across the street.

While this wedding opted for a wedding reception off-site, the UC Botanical Garden also has the Julia Morgan Hall available for wedding receptions. It’s a beautifully restored building with a warm indoor atmosphere and a great deck outside that overlooks the garden.

For more information about renting the UC Botanical Garden for your wedding you can view their rentals page here.

San Ramon Waters Wedding

This was our first wedding at San Ramon Waters in several years and it was nice to be back. It was also our first "normal" wedding since the pandemic put a stop to just about everything. It was so great to be out shooting again and finally documenting these two celebrating their love together surrounded by their friends and families.

San Ramon Waters is managed by Wedgewood Weddings and sits on the edge of the San Ramon Golf Club. The venue is a 30 minute drive from downtown Oakland right at the base of the East Bay hills. It's a simple, yet beautiful wedding venue that comes complete with planning & coordination, DJ & MC services, Food & Beverage, and more. It's a great wedding venue if you want something easy and inclusive but still want elegance and a picturesque setting.

We met these two at their separate hotels in nearby Dublin for a little bit of getting ready photos and then made our way to San Ramon Waters. Their ceremony took place on the lawn in the afternoon shade of the venue’s beautiful willow tree. The pergola was adorned with beautiful floral arrangements by Eva at Pearl White Wedding. The grounds of San Ramon Waters may be smaller than some wedding venues but there was no shortage of beautiful light and pretty backgrounds to use for their family and couple portraits.

Following their ceremony and some quick couple portraits, we made our way inside for the reception and an evening full of fun, good food, dancing, and of course, cake!

We loved working with these two and the Wedgewood Weddings team at San Ramon Waters. We love our job and couldn't be happier that weddings are back and we can finally celebrate with all of our amazing couples.

San Ramon Waters Wedding Vendors

Wedding Venue - San Ramon Waters

Photographer - e&b photography

Hair / Makeup - Skyla Arts

Wedding Dress & Floral - Pearl White Wedding

Officiant - Konrad Höle