Preservation Park

To say our wedding venue was spectacular seems like an understatement. Preservation Park was absolutely the venue that dreams are made of. The staff was like a well oiled machine from the very first contact over a year ago, and they had recommendations for our other vendors that made our wedding perfect, (Miraglia Catering and Event Magic). The park had all of the tables and chairs on site and the staff seamlessly moved them between our wedding ceremony to our reception around the fountain. We had a room on site to get ready in and to leave our things for the night, and the natural light at the park has made for some incredible photos. Listen… everyone has done the wine country, barnyard wedding with the burlap. Preservation Park is an incredibly unique place and they support local small businesses and nonprofits so do your yourself a favor and stop looking for a venue right now.

I had seen pictures of Preservation Park online and it seemed like the perfect option for us. I wanted something where we could have an outdoor ceremony but an inside reception (I don’t trust Bay Area weather to ever be nice enough to be outdoors after dark). I also wanted to be in one of the cities since we had a lot of family and friends coming in from out of town. Preservation Park checked all of those boxes, plus it was relatively affordable compared to a lot of the other places I had found online. We went to look at it in person and decided that it was perfect for us. For the most part, working with Preservation Park was really easy. They have a preselected list of caterers, which I actually really liked since I am very unfamiliar with the caterer market in Oakland. They also allowed us to bring in our own alcohol which is a huge cost saver. Preservation Park was also really accommodating with some small requests, such as using the grounds 30 minutes early for pictures. The only thing I would caution on is that over the course of the 13 months between when we signed our contract and when we had our wedding, we had three different venue coordinators. The last time was only a few weeks before our wedding, and some things were not communicated, including what we had already paid for. However, the newest one, Angelica, seems super enthusiastic and was great to work with for those few weeks. The two times I had visited Preservation Park were during the winter. I was so pleasantly surprised when we came for our rehearsal and there were blooming flowers and the fountain was on. It was absolutely gorgeous and I got many compliments on how beautiful the venue was!

We were lucky to have had our wedding at Preservation Park on September 25, 2016. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful setting for our wedding in downtown Oakland. This truly is a hidden gem, as many of our guests are Bay Area residents and have never heard of Preservation Park. My great-aunt said it was the most beautiful wedding she has ever attended in her 90+ years of life. The staff at Preservation Park take great pride in the grounds which is very evident in its condition. Our ceremony and reception were both outdoors. We had 210 guests, which is over the capacity for an indoor event, but we had wanted everything outdoors so that worked out for us. One of the great things about having an event here is that you do not need any additional decor. We added market/bistro lights, strung from the lamp posts, which added a nice ambiance after the sun went down. Since California is in a drought, the fountain was not running, but the fountain is stunning in itself, so the water was not missed. (And actually, we were happy it wasn't on because it probably would have been a bit noisy.) We had our ceremony on the bandstand and dinner tables circled the fountains. After the ceremony we opted to have a photo booth and had them set up on the bandstand which worked out great logistically. They also have a bridal suite available, which we reserved as well, which was a great room for the bridal party to hang out before the ceremony and keep our things. OH! And the room is air-conditioned which was CLUTCH! It was 90 degrees on our wedding day, which made for an amazing evening. This was also a great venue because there is so much room for people to spread out. There are benches for people to sit at if they don't want to immediately sit at their table. Also, if you have kids at your event, there is plenty of room for them to run around and play. Jacqueline was great to work with and made everything easy and stress-free. I highly recommend having your wedding or any outdoor event if you want a place with natural beauty and your guests will leave with wonderful memories and beautiful photos!

We were married on August 17, 2013 at Preservation Park and I am so glad that I discovered them through Yelp! The facilities (both interior and exterior) are absolutely lovely, Barb Ackermann (the coordinator) is extremely responsive and helpful, the location is super convenient, and the price is more reasonable than you can even imagine. Seriously. I emailed Barb to see about getting an appointment to see the spaces, and she replied back the same day! We were able to meet with her a day or two later (when my then-fiance and I's schedule would permit it) and she walked us through the exterior area near the Bandstand/fountain as well as through Nile Hall and Ginn House. The exterior space is pastoral - lined with trees, well maintained flowers, and the dulcet tones of the fountain. Nile Hall is the larger of the two, 1800s-era restored homes that you can rent, and the ball room area with stage was perfect for us given our planned ~90 person wedding. It's definitely older-feeling, but, its been maintained and with tall ceilings and windows, the natural light really opens up the space. There are lots of opportunities for you to work with your photographer for some amazing pictures (there's a sweeping staircase inside Ginn that is amazing for a long-trained wedding dress). There are fairly limited restrictions - you can't remove the stuff that's already on the walls, you can't nail/semi-permanently affix stuff to the walls, you can't have flower petals or bird seed thrown, you can't smoke indoors... the basic stuff that frankly you'll see all throughout the Bay area wedding venues. Nothing out of the ordinary. We opted to rent the Pavillion and Nile Hall, along with the bridal 'get ready' room which is in Ginn House. The get ready room isn't available until 3pm (same time you gain access to the space if you have an evening wedding), so we did end up paying extra to get it early so that the bridal party could have hair/make-up done all together. Just bring it up at the beginning so you're not stressing when you get closer. We did opt for renting the parking lot across the street, which was like $150, and ensured there was plenty of parking for our guests. The booking gets you from 3 - 11pm, plus you can pay a nominal fee for an extra hour. We did that so the wedding could go until 11pm, and then there was still that extra hour to clean up. Your rental includes tables/chairs inside of the facility, and you pay a very low fee for the chairs outdoors if you want to get married in front of the bandstand. There is a list of preferred vendors you choose from for catering or you pay a $500 fee to bring in your own. We went with one of the preferred vendors, which did an excellent job. If you do choose to bring your own caterer, there's a well appointed kitchen space for them to work with, but I'd suggest doing a walkthrough with them in order to make sure that what they need is actually there. Barb worked with me to provide a sample layout plan for the space, and gave me her perspective on the recommended vendors as well as a list of other vendors (e.g. lighting, dance floor, etc). From a location perspective, the facility is within walking distance to BART as well as to the downtown area where your guests can get a hotel if they are traveling in from other places. I am SOOO incredibly glad that we got married at PP, and would wholeheartedly recommend it to any and all other bride.