Thirty-Two Guests Under the Redwoods at Old Mill Park

A Redwoods Micro Wedding Ceremony in the Amphitheater

The ceremony was on a wooden platform in the grove. An Oriental rug lay across the boards, and a light wood arch hung with long macramé fringe stood at the center. White and blush roses spilled down one side of the arch while greenery climbed the other, and a pair of white ceramic urns held pillar candles at the foot. Janel walked in to H.E.R.'s "Best Part," and the thirty-two chairs filled with exactly the people they wanted there.

The forest does the work a built venue can only imitate. The redwoods crowded in behind the arch, their bark deep red-brown and shaggy, ferns and new green growth at their feet, while the afternoon light dropped through the canopy in shifting patches over the whole ceremony.

“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.”

Portraits Under the Old Mill Park Redwoods

Viera Photographics worked the family groupings and couple portraits close to the platform — the ceremony sits a short walk from the camera here, so nobody had to move far. Then Janel and Josiah went out along the trails, the redwoods crowding the path on both sides and the creek running below.

They moved along the wooden decks and stairs, laughing, foreheads together, the grove going up green and dark all around. With thirty-two guests and the park this quiet, the portraits kept their own time.

Dinner at Gravity Tavern

The reception was outdoors at Gravity Tavern. White-linen tables sat out on the gravel patio, string lights ran overhead, a draped tent stood along one side, and a red umbrella caught the last of the sun. Janel and Josiah were announced in to a patio of people on their feet, phones up, everyone clapping them past the tables.

The sweetheart table sat beneath a mural — a painted portrait of John Lewis and his words about speaking out, about democracy being an act and not a state — and a small two-tier white cake from Flour Craft Bakery stood on it, trimmed with a single bloom and a row of strawberries. They had a first dance, then toasts from family and close friends, then a cake cutting, and at thirty-two people none of it got lost. Guests said afterward it was one of the best weddings they'd been to.