A Redwoods Ceremony, a Bus to Berkeley, and a Reception at The Graduate

Portraits and a First Dance in the Grove

Family portraits happened right there in the grove after the ceremony, both sides gathered under the redwoods before the couple slipped off for their own photos. The redwoods at Roberts are second-growth, the original trees were logged in the mid-1800s to build the young Bay Area, and the grove came back on its own in the decades after.

When the couple returned, there was a champagne toast, and then a first dance on a rug laid out among the picnic tables, to Steam Powered Giraffe's "Honeybee." A quiet spread of cheese and champagne carried the small group through the afternoon before the Bauer's bus arrived to take everyone down the hill.

Dinner in the Durant Room at The Graduate

The bus carried the whole group the fifteen minutes down to The Graduate Berkeley, where the reception was set in the Durant Room. The couple came in to "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," the tables laid with votive candles, small jars of honey for the guests, and the flowers carried down from the ceremony. The two-venue Berkeley wedding closed in a small warm room.

Dinner was plated, with no formal seating plan, just seats saved for the couple and Levi. The dads gave speeches over the meal. Later came the cake, a red velvet one from a Berkeley bakery, and a guest book that was really a stack of Jenga blocks for everyone to sign. It was a small room, warm against the December night, and the day closed there.