A Seven-Guest Backyard Wedding in Oakland

Portraits in the Redwoods

Before the ceremony, Haley and Todd had slipped out to Redwood Regional Park, a few minutes from the yard, for portraits among the trees. The two of them walked the trail hand in hand in a long shaft of late sun, Haley carrying a loose bouquet of coral and blush roses, the redwoods rising straight and dark on both sides. It's the one part of the day that left the neighborhood, and the scale of the trees against a wedding this small is the whole reason to go.

Back at the yard, the family photos happened right there, the group small enough to stand together in one. There were hugs at the arch — one mom in teal held on a long time — the kind that land harder in a year when everyone was so long apart.

Cake and a First Dance in the Oakland Backyard

The dessert table sat against the brick of the house: a small round buttercream cake with "Todd + Haley" piped across it in chocolate cursive and a tiny "JUST MARRIED" pennant banner staked into the top, from Sweet C's Cakeshoppe, plus a wooden-and-marble stand of cupcakes topped with buttercream roses and a single white daisy. Wine bottles and a stack of small plates waited beside it.

There was a toast, the cake was cut, and Haley and Todd had their first dance in the yard, masks still on, foreheads nearly touching, his suspenders and her tattooed arm catching the string lights. The seven-guest backyard wedding stayed small and warm right to the end — the cold pulling people close, the yard lit and contained while the neighborhood went quiet around it, and the family on the screen in the room for every part of it.