Kendall & Jake's Roberts Regional Park Wedding: Sweet Speeches, Surprise Dances, and D20s
This past weekend, I had the honor of serving as the planner and coordinator for Kendall and Jake's wedding at the Madrone Picnic Area in Roberts Regional Park in Oakland, and later at Grand Lake Kitchen (Diamond location). Theirs was a celebration filled with meaningful little moments, some of the sweetest speeches I've ever heard, and memories to last a lifetime.
The Welcome Party: Game On!
The party really started over in San Francisco at Dogpatch Games, where they hosted their welcome party. They served Square Pie Guys, Jake's family flew in special cookies straight from Buffalo, New York, and everyone shared a few brews over board games and cards.
Over a third of the wedding shared something special about the bride or the groom, including many of the friends who flew out for the occasion. Being gamers themselves, it only made sense for them to start here.
Pro Tip: When you're thinking about how to make your wedding special, think about the ways in which you can infuse your personalities while making it a great experience for your guests.
Somebody might get overwhelmed in Dogpatch Games, as the board games literally line the walls from floor to ceiling. Jake and Kendall made a point to pick out a few special games that they thought would be easy for people to pick up and enjoy, especially amongst a group with varied levels of experience with complex board game rules. They made space for everyone who wanted to share some thoughts to do so, and it never felt like it was too much because the group was small enough for everyone to appreciate what each person had to share.
Sat amongst long tables, people were able to share an inside joke with each other while the speaker continued sharing their memories. Their ceremony contained just four people in the processional—Jake and his mom, and Kendall and her dad—so we rehearsed briefly at Dogpatch Games in a spare room. Everyone smiled so wide; I think that's when it really started to sink in that they were going to get married the next day.
🌲 Ceremony Prep: Redwoods and a First Look Convert
For event reservations at Madrone Picnic Area, someone has to be on site to confirm the reservation at 10:30 a.m., no matter what time your party is getting started. That meant my husband and partner, Conner, and I loaded the car bright and early to get there and set up. I highly recommend having a team responsible for setting up your wedding, no matter how many people you have in it.
I would venture to guess that Madrone could comfortably fit about 60 people maximum, and this 30-person party had the perfect amount of space and time to enjoy everything this old-growth Redwood forest had to offer. We set up the chairs we procured from Piedmont Party Rentals and brought out some of the serveware and tablecloths that we had ready for the picnic area.
As a thoughtful touch, Jake and Kendall purchased blankets for every member of their wedding, as well as small packets of tissues to dry their happy tears. They also procured a small runner to walk down as they proceeded down the aisle.
Kendall and Jake enjoyed their first look privately at 2:00, before completing all of their family and bridal party portraits over by the nearby baseball field ahead of their ceremony. I personally am in favor of a first look for logistical purposes, but until this day, I thought that it violated some of the specialness that is created by seeing your partner walk down the aisle for the first time during the ceremony. After watching Jake and Kendall see each other with new eyes not an hour later, I am officially a defender of the first look. Thanks for changing my mind on something, guys!
💍 The Ceremony: Rocks, Tears, and Pine Cones
Once photos were complete and everyone was ready to enjoy the ceremony, we invited everyone to take their seats (reserving the front row of each side opposite Jake and Kendall for their families so they had the best view of their faces) and set Jake and Kendall up.
Thankfully, the dirt was dry but malleable, which allowed me to put markers on the ground for where I wanted them to wait and where I wanted them to get to before they proceeded down the aisle. Having physical markers for the folks in your processional will make it easier for them to stay focused during this very heightened, visible, emotional moment.
Jake and Kendall shared their processional song, which was a cover of "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros as performed by Jed and the Valentine. Their officiant, Justin, and their reader, his wife Stacie, did an excellent job maintaining their composure in cold weather and through tears.
Jake and Kendall even came up with their own Unity Ceremony, where they each put a rock in a jar to signify the foundation of their marriage and their love. They also invited every single member of the wedding to contribute their own rock.
After the ceremony had concluded, Justin, myself, and Carolyn (the bride's sister) were cleaning up, and a woman who had observed the ceremony from afar came up and offered two pine cones from the giant redwoods that towered over us. She was a bit forceful, but we appreciated the notion, and Jake and Kendall agreed to add those two pine cones to their jar.
That is one of the small drawbacks of working in a public space – while most people are very respectful of the seriousness of what is going on, some people wander in, we heard a few dogs bark, and a few families passed by. Of course, nothing could take away from how beautiful the ceremony was, but it's just something to note if you're considering doing a ceremony in a public space like this.
After they exchanged their vows, said "I do," and kissed for the first time as a married couple, Kendall and Jake walked back down the aisle to "Superbloom" by MisterWives.
🥂 Cocktail Hour Magic
Kendall's parents procured an amazing charcuterie board by Ollie's American Cheese + Provisions, another local fav, which handily fed all 30 guests at the wedding. They even got gluten-free crackers to accommodate Kendall’s allergy!
My lovely husband, Conner, generously put together mulled wine and spiced apple cider for people to enjoy after the ceremony. Everyone loved warming up their hands on the cups and enjoying the steel-piping hot beverages.
Cambro Tip: If you're going to use Cambros to bring hot beverages to an outdoor setting, do your best to fill them with hot water ahead of time and keep them filled with hot water until you dump that out to replace it with whatever you are serving. We also kept the Cambros wrapped in blankets and in the car in the sun until we really needed to bring them out for people to enjoy. The more you can maintain ambient heat, the better the containers will retain heat internally. I will say that the mulled wine survived all the way until we got home at about 10:00 p.m. and was still pretty warm after being loaded up at 9:00.
That mini-cocktail hour is where the real planner magic happened. I was able to send Conner to Grand Lake Kitchen to set up all of the place cards, double-check that the venue was ready to go, and then come back to help me break down all of the chairs, put them into cars, and make sure that we didn't leave a trace behind. When using public spaces, especially those that are outdoors and available to the public, we do our best to leave no trace, and we highly encourage that you do the same.
✨ The Surprise First Dance
One other thing: I love when one member of the couple plans a surprise for the other. After our last meeting, Jake asked me to stay on just a bit longer, which I, of course, obliged. He wanted to do something special for Kendall at their ceremony. They had no plans for a first dance, but they knew if they did, they’d dance to "6s to 9s" by Big Wild.
Just before their photographer left, I asked him to stay where he was and brought the speaker down to them, blasting their song and helping Jake surprise Kendall with a first dance. It started out slow and sweet, but they built up to wiggles and giggles—his friends even remarking that they were told this was a “wiggle-free zone.” At the end, all of their friends cheered.
That’s another great benefit of having a wedding planner on hand—you can plan surprises that literally no one else knows about but you and the planner. Kendall was floored, the whole wedding was briefly confused, but everyone was thrilled when they realized what was happening and what a surprise he’d pulled off.
🍽️ Dinner and Dice Rolls
As everyone made their way to Grand Lake Kitchen, they were greeted with photos that the bride and groom had printed out of them with the guests, adorned with their names and placed into stands at their place setting. Welcome champagne was poured for a toast, and the groom's brothers, the bride's sister, the groom's parents, and the bride's parents all shared wonderful stories, journeys throughout their entire lives with the bride and groom, and the little things that made them work so well together.
One of my favorite stories from the wedding was that of Kendall's little sister Carolyn and her experience growing up with Kendall as a big sister. They were three and a half years apart, and because of their dad's job, they traveled a lot. They lived in England, Singapore, and Japan, and in her words, she always had a built-in travel buddy. Their bond was evident, and the journey that their love had taken was profound. Although my sister and I are 13 years apart, it still reminded me of her.
After a brief thank you from the bride and groom, dinner was served. Grand Lake does a small buffet service and reserves both the private room in the back and a small section in front for their private parties. We were able to comfortably fit all 60 people inside of the glass-contained room, and the glass walls did a pretty good job of reducing the noise that came in from other diners in the restaurant. It was just private enough to feel special, but not so private as to feel cavernous.
Jake and Kendall did a great job picking out an outstanding menu, including a delicious balsamic-dressed salad, flat iron steak, a glazed chicken, and a chickpea stew. Their cake was made by a friend and was served handily by the Grand Lake staff, who saved the top tier of their cake for their first anniversary.
One of my favorite personalizations that Jake and Kendall did—and they did many—was a 20-sided dice roll (a D20) for the honor of serving as their witnesses. Conveniently, they ended up rolling Jake’s twin brother and one of Kendall’s closest friends. Jake is a huge Dungeons & Dragons nerd, and he negotiated this little nod to the game into the scope of their wedding. I thought it was the perfect amount of sweet, purposeful, and nerdy.
Kendall's dad extended the reservation an hour so people could stay together, keep telling stories, and keep drinking, but at the end of the night, we made sure that everything got in the right car, that we had the right amount of chairs to bring back to Piedmont, and made our way home. Jake and Kendall, it was the pleasure of a lifetime to plan your wedding, and I hope I get to see you again next year to help you throw the best dance party ever.
💡 TLDR: Natasha's Wedding Planning Tips
Infuse Personality: When planning, infuse your personality into every element (like board games or D&D nods) to make the experience truly special and authentic.
Keep Speeches Intimate: If you have a small guest count, invite more people to share a memory or toast. Keep the group intimate enough that everyone appreciates what is shared.
The First Look is Logistical Magic: A first look (and completing portraits beforehand) is highly recommended. It saves time and doesn't diminish the special feeling of seeing your partner walk down the aisle.
Set Physical Markers: For your processional, use subtle physical markers on the ground to help nervous participants know exactly where to stand and focus.
Use Public Spaces Wisely: If using a public space like a park, be prepared for passersby and potential noise. Always prioritize a "Leave No Trace" policy during setup and breakdown.
Master the Cambro: When serving hot beverages outdoors, pre-fill your Cambro containers with hot water before adding your final beverage. Keep them wrapped/insulated to maintain ambient heat for hours.
Hire a Planner for Surprises: Having a planner is the best way to pull off a seamless, secret surprise (like a surprise first dance) that no one else knows about.
Personalize the Details: Look for unique ways to personalize logistics, like using a D20 roll for witness selection or printing photos for place settings.