We put together a list of the best outdoor wedding venues in Oakland, California (Updated for 2020). We hope this list can be a resource to couples searching for the perfect space for their big day.
Brazilian Room Weddings
The Brazilian Room in Tilden Park is one of the East Bay’s most beautiful and affordable wedding venue. We’ve photographed several weddings over the years at the Brazilian Room (also often called the Brazil Building) and we love working there. We’re so lucky to have Tilden Park in our backyard and we love that there is a such a great wedding venue tucked within it’s borders.
Below are some tips we’ve compiled over all our years working there as well some photos from past weddings.
Weddings at the Brazilian Room
The main ceremony location at the Brazilian Room is outside on the patio and has a seated capacity of 150 guests. The view is beautiful and overlooks the lush tree covered hills of Wildcat Canyon. The patio is adjacent to a large green space, which adds a pop of color to your ceremony backdrop. Due to the abundance of natural scenery, it doesn’t take much to turn the patio into an elegant wedding ceremony site.
The Brazilian Room is a beautiful venue both inside and out. The large floor to ceiling windows allow guests to continue to enjoy what nature has to offer during your wedding reception. A reception at the Brazil Room allows you to feel connected to the outdoors while enjoying the romantic comforts of hardwood floors, dark wood paneling and even a large stone fireplace.
How to Reserve the Brazilian Room
The park service operates an online facility calendar that you can use to check availability. As with most Bay Area wedding venues, Saturdays and Sundays in the Summer months are quick to go and weekend dates in September are a hot ticket and book up quick.
How much does the Brazilian Room Cost?
One perk about using a wedding venue operated by the Parks Department is price. The Brazilian Room is one of the more affordable wedding venues in the area. Couples looking for a good deal can choose to have their wedding on an “off-peak” day of the week (Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday) or opt for their day rates. Friday through Sunday pricing, for Alameda & Contra Costa County residents, starts at $2100 with longer facility buy out options available. You can view the full breakdown of rental fees here.
photo Locations at the Brazilian Room
We always tell our clients that the Brazilian Room and nearby venue grounds are plenty for most family, wedding party, and couple portraits. However, Tilden Park has so many wonderful areas to take wedding photos. Below are some of our go-to spots for shooting couple, wedding party, and family portraits.
Regional Parks Botanic Garden
One popular area to visit for wedding photos is just down the hill at the Botanic Garden. This is a beautiful labyrinth of plants that contains hundreds of native California plant species from coastal redwoods to California poppies. It’s the easiest spot to access and one of our favorites. Bear in mind there is an additional fee to use the space for wedding portraits.
Tilden Park Picnic Sites
In addition to the garden, there are plenty of nearby picnic sites with open meadows and groves of eucalyptus trees. Immediately behind the Brazilian Room is small open space off Anza View Rd. If you follow Wildcat Canyon Rd. towards Inspiration Point, you’ll pass Mineral Springs and the Quarry Trail Picnic Site both of which are nice spots for photos. The latter option climbs a little bit but the Seaview Trail is worth the view.
Inspiration Point
While the name certainly elevates your expectations, Inspiration Point in Tilden Park may not be the best spot for wedding photos. It’s a beautiful place don’t get us wrong but with wedding day logistics it can be tricky to truly take advantage of this place. The immediate view from the parking lot looks out over the San Pablo Reservoir and is slightly obstructed by the hillside trees below. To achieve a view that looks out on to the San Francisco Bay you will have to walk quite a bit along the Nimitz Trail for the tree line to fall away. This is a lovely, mostly paved trail but for a quick scenic spot you’re better off finding a different location.
Grizzly Peak
Grizzly Peak, with it’s panoramic views of the Bay Area, is a popular idea but not one that we personally recommend for golden hour photos. It’s a popular spot and over the past few years has become even more tricky to park at.
Wherever you are in Tilden Park, make sure to stay on trails and watch out for Poison Oak! It’s rampant out there and certainly won’t make for a happy wedding keepsake.
Preferred Vendors
The Brazilian Room has a required caterer list here. You must hire a caterer if you’re having an event on Friday, Saturday, Sunday or on a holiday.
The venue also provides a preferred vendor list for photographers, florists, event planners, and DJ’s. We’re grateful to be listed as a preferred photographer!
If you’re interested in other venues, check out our list of favorite Bay Area wedding venues.
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Radonich Ranch Wedding
Nestled in the Santa Cruz mountains in Los Gatos, California is a beautiful wedding venue called Radonich Ranch. This old fruit packing facility has been a favorite venue of ours for over ten years and we always look forward to photographing a few weddings each season at Radonich. When we see it listed as the venue in our wedding inquiries we instantly get excited about the potential of heading back to one of our favorite places. There’s something magical about a warm, summer evening at Radonich Ranch.
Being at Radonich Ranch without wedding decor already feels like a lush and relaxing experience. There’s no shortage of awesome backgrounds and rustic details and the catering and coordinating team Feel Good Foods do a bang up job making the whole place shine. The rustic barn, the cozy picnic tables and the perfectly hung string lights don’t need much extra work to make you feel like you have stepped into a cozy and intimate retreat. With such great bones to start with it is easy for our couples to make the venue photo ready making our job that much easier.
Wedding ceremonies at the ranch take place in some comfortable shade overlooking old trees and afterwards your cocktail hour and reception can have a host of configurations on the large open lawn. Come evening most couples transition into the barn for desert and dancing.
Radonich Ranch Wedding Photos
Below are an assortment of Radonich Ranch wedding photos that we've shot over the last few weddings.
Late May
Early September
Late October
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
