Thirty-Two Guests Under the Redwoods at Old Mill Park

A Marin Redwoods Wedding Ceremony in the Amphitheater

The ceremony was in the amphitheater at Old Mill Park, the old-growth redwoods rising on every side. Janel walked in to H.E.R.'s "Best Part," and thirty-two guests filled the chairs, everyone there was exactly who they wanted.

The amphitheater puts the forest close around the ceremony. On an April afternoon in Mill Valley, the light through the canopy does the rest, a Mill Valley micro wedding ceremony built around the thirty-two who made the drive out.

“Even though our wedding was only 30 guests, many of them told us it was one of the best ones they'd ever been to.”

Family Photos Under the Old Mill Park Redwoods

After the ceremony, Viera Photographics worked through family groupings and couple portraits in the park, both families and the wedding party, all within a short walk of the amphitheater, the redwoods framing every shot. The amphitheater wedding at Old Mill Park keeps everything close; ceremony to portraits is a five-minute walk at most.

The path from the amphitheater out into the park takes you through the grove proper, where the redwoods crowd the trail on both sides and the creek runs below. Janel and Josiah made that walk with the wedding party after the family groupings were done, the light coming through the canopy the way it does on an April afternoon when the trees are full. With thirty-two guests and the park this quiet, the Old Mill Park redwoods wedding portraits held their own time, no reason to move the group along before they were ready.

Dinner at Gravity Tavern

The reception was at Gravity Tavern, which handled the food. Flour Craft Bakery made the cake. The evening had a first dance, toasts from family and close friends, and a cake cutting, and at thirty-two people, none of it got lost in the room. Everyone was close enough to hear the speeches, be in on the cake cutting, catch the first dance. Thirty-two is the number where the whole evening stays together.

Guests said afterward it was one of the best weddings they'd been to. Thirty-two people is exactly the size where everyone is in on everything, and the night belongs entirely to that group.