If you’re looking for a nature-inspired venue with a Secret Garden vibe and you love plants and flowers, the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek might just be the wedding venue of your dreams.
I had the chance to photograph Emily and Stacy’s whimsical wedding at the Ruth Bancroft Garden, and it’s truly the type of venue that holds a quiet kind of magic that leaves a lasting impression. Once you enter the garden, you’ll never want to leave.
Read on to learn more about what your wedding day at Ruth Bancroft Garden could look like and take a look at Emily and Stacy’s beautiful wedding at this venue!
Planning a Wedding at Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek
The Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek is a 3.5-acre public dry garden featuring cacti, succulents, trees, and shrubs native to California, and it also serves as a non-profit succulent nursery.
This is a dreamy outdoor botanical garden, perfect for a tranquil and intimate wedding. The garden has both indoor and outdoor spaces available for you to choose from, and you can use different parts of the garden for each part of your wedding to offer you lots of variety throughout your day.
This venue can accommodate up to 150 guests outdoors and 100 guests indoors, and it just so happens to also be an LGBTQ+owned business!
Here’s an overview of the different locations you’ll find at this venue:
The Garden
To start, I have to mention the magical garden for your ceremony. The garden is surrounded on all sides by vibrant, luscious vegetation and exotic plants, creating a whimsical and romantic atmosphere. You’ll also find a charming small pond and a gazebo!
The Outdoor Patio
The outdoor patio is covered and is the ideal spot to host your reception if you want your entire day to be outdoors, as you’ll still be fully immersed in the garden.
The Great Room
The great room is A/C-controlled and indoors – perfect if you know you want to spend part of your day outdoors and then move inside afterwards.
The Loft
The loft is also a feature of the gardens and is an ideal space for getting ready. You could also use it to host a micro wedding!
Services and amenities
Another noteworthy feature of this venue is the management team, which provides impeccable services that include setup, cleanup, and event rentals to make your day as seamless and stress-free as possible. If you’d prefer, you can use your own vendors, too. PS – this wedding venue is pet-friendly, so you can bring your furry friend to be a part of your special day.
If you choose to get married here, the venue will provide you with an altar/arch, chairs, tables, tents, and audio equipment. Need an accessible wedding venue? They have plenty of on-site parking and are wheelchair accessible!
There are so many great things I can say about the Ruth Bancroft Garden, but one of the standout features for me is the variety of backdrops the garden has to offer and the incredible soft lighting that creates stunning, breathtaking photos!
Gorgeous June Lesbian Wedding at the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek
If all of this has your attention, here’s a behind-the-lens look at Emily and Stacy’s day to help you imagine what your celebration could look like!
The wedding
Emily and Stacy planned a romantic and colorful wedding at the Ruth Bancroft Garden, where they wove together delicate details, gorgeous pastel wildflowers, and heartfelt tributes throughout their day.
They had a stunning outdoor ceremony in the garden and then later moved inside for their reception. Some of my favorite moments from the day were Emily’s mother walking her down the aisle, their gelato cart, and the harpist, making this day truly unique and unforgettable for Emily, Stacy, and their guests.
I also loved that these two wore white Converse, embroidered with a cute floral theme ( perfectly fitting with their venue). They included adorable white parasols too, which helped shade their guests from the heat and were a fun focal point for golden hour photos!
Custom edits
Something to note about this wedding is that Emily and Stacy requested a custom edit for their photos, as opposed to my usual editing style. They asked me if I could edit their wedding photos somewhere between “true to life color” and “light and airy”, with slightly bluer greens, and of course, I was happy to do so!
If my clients know that I’m the right *person* for them but they want something different when it comes to editing style, I’m open to switching things up! I often have people send inspo images of edits they like, and then I creatively weave them together to create a one-of-a-kind custom edit that perfectly fits with what they were envisioning.
A quick note: This isn’t something that every wedding photographer will offer, but if you really like the photographer you’re considering and want to work with them, it never hurts to ask us if we are willing to do a different editing style for your wedding, just like Emily and Stacy did!
This wedding was sooo beautiful, and I am incredibly grateful I got to be a part of it.
Emily and Stacy’s Vendors
You can’t have an elaborate celebration like this without a truly fantastic vendor team working hard behind the scenes. Thank you to the wedding vendors who made this day possible:
Venue: @ruthbancroftgarden
Planner: @tlceventcoordination and @lisette_tlcevents
Rentals: @chairsforaffairsconcord
Florist: @earthslaughfloral
Catering: @elisascatering1
Gelato: @gio_gelati – I love that was a part of Emily and Stacy’s day as I thought this was such a fun idea!
Bakery: @glassslippergourmet
Harpist: @truetoyourharp
DJ: @dj_bitesize
Photo: @jennichapmanphotography
Video: @shanagarrettfilms
Photo Booth: @cupkeykevents
Hair & Makeup: @dantambeauty
Bride’s Dresses: @brides_foracause
Ready to Plan an Unforgettable Wedding at Ruth Bancroft Garden?
I hope you found all this info on planning a Ruth Bancroft Garden + inspo helpful!
And…if you’re in the Bay Area, looking for a photographer who specializes in photos of love, weddings, surprise proposals, and engagements, feel free to reach out here. I’ll fully support your nontraditional ideas and celebrate you wholeheartedly! I can’t wait to learn more about your vision and all the ideas you have in mind.
Read these next:
Planning the Perfect LGBTQ Proposal Featuring an Elaborate Queer San Francisco Proposal
Different Wedding Photography Editing Styles and How to Choose the Perfect One for Your Wedding
