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From the Bride…We wanted our wedding to be a reflection of who we both are – individually and as a couple. Just as importantly, we saw the wedding as our chance to give our closest friends and family a glimpse into our love story and to celebrate their part in it. Almost all of the decisions we made – both big and small – reflect this.

Our venue, the Carneros Inn, was absolutely perfect for us. The fact that it is in Napa appealed to Ben (a wine lover), and I was pretty much smitten with the property from the moment I set foot on it. From the quaint apple orchard where we had our intimate ceremony, to the adorable cottage where we had our first look, to the gorgeous courtyard with overhanging string lights where guests could grab a drink and warm up by the fireplace, the Carneros Inn was a dream come true. It is the perfect blend of clean and modern, but also comfortable and inviting.

Our ceremony was equally personal. One of Ben’s best friends, Elliot, officiated the ceremony, while one of my bridesmaids read a poem that holds special meaning for the two of us and another – an amazing violinist – played a heartfelt piece. We hoped that even the smallest details would help tell our story, so we chose to give guests jars of our favorite Korean citron tea as favors and created photo collages of our memories from each month we dated to designate the tables at our reception. We decorated the courtyard with photographs of our parents and grandparents at their own weddings and lined our dessert table with many of our favorite treats. The slideshow that my brother-in-law painstakingly made for us added the perfect finishing touch, painting an even fuller picture of the most meaningful moments we’ve shared with friends, family and each other.

We wanted our decor to be fresh, clean, cute, and personal. Because our ceremony took place in an apple orchard, we incorporated green apples into our color scheme and design. We placed bright, granny smith apples at each place setting, which simultaneously added a punch of color to our tables and served as the perfect holder for our guests’ place cards. Our wonderful planner, Cay Lemon, also helped us create a wishing tree filled with congratulatory wishes from our guests. Their notes were written on green apple-shaped cards, reminiscent of the apple orchard where we were just married. Many elements of our wedding and decor were also handmade by the two of us (with help from family): the place cards, menus, welcome sheets and candy bags for guests, favors, petal bags, and photo collages. We hope they added a personal touch to our day.

A few of my favorite memories: the look on Ben’s face when he pulled me out from behind our cottage doorway and we saw each other for the first time, the sound of my sister’s sniffling behind me during the ceremony when Ben gave his vows, the sweet and special moment I shared with my dad during our father-daughter dance, seeing our parents get down on the dance floor, jumping up and down in the middle of the dance floor surrounded by our cheering friends and family at the end of the night.

Wedding Photography: onelove photography / Event Design + Coordination: Zest Productions / Make-up: Audrey Crandell / Hair: Rachel Gardea of It’s a Date at the Powder Room / Caterer: Carneros Inn / Wedding Videography: Sandbox Love / DJ + Lighting: DJ Saint Patrick / Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier / Floral Design: Vanda Floral Design / Groom’s Attire: Astor & Black / Jewelry: Haute Bride / Pearl Bracelet: Grandmother of the Bride / Bridesmaid Dresses: Amsale / Officiant: Elliot Ling / Bride’s Shoe: Kate Spade / Stationery: Minted

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Amsale, Astor & Black, Audrey Crandell, California Weddings, Carneros Inn, DJ Saint Patrick, Haute Bride, It's a Date at the Powder Room, Kate Spade, Minted, Monique Lhuillier, Napa Valley, onelove photography, Sandbox Love, Vanda Floral Design, Zest Productions
Post categories: California Weddings, Casual Elegance, Napa Valley Weddings

click here to see the full wedding gallery!

Natalie & Pat wanted nothing more than to provide an intimate and unique experience for their wedding celebration and bringing together their family and friends from both coasts to Napa, offered just that! After many a trips to Napa, Natalie & Pat thought there would be no better a location for their day. Natalie’s never ending passion for interior design fueled the process with me and her design team referencing architecture, restaurant design and the like for inspiration for her day. She certainly didn’t want a day that looked like any old wedding and in the end, I think we accomplished just that. Sleek and modern with just the right amount of charm played off of the juxtaposition of the venue’s industrial meets rustic design. For the ceremony, Natalie chose the Apple Orchard as the place to exchange vows and kept the area understated with simple black X back chairs and shepard’s hooks. The main statement piece at the ceremony was the black baby grand piano that played Coldplay’s Reign of Love as Natalie walked down the aisle.

During cocktail hour, the pianist continued as guests enjoyed elderflower champagne and wines selected during several trips to the Napa area by the bride and groom. For dinner, we had a true Napa Valley inspired menu that included seasonal ingredients straight from the valley. For design, based on a color story inspired from the interior of a cathedral that Natalie couldn’t get enough of, we worked with a pale slate blue as the base for everything from the invitations to the linens. To keep the look clean and streamlined, Natalie had her heart set on ghost chairs designed by Philipe Starck and the design team was happy to oblige. Clean vessels filled with soft white flowers added romance to the look while maintaining the sophisticated vibe and touches of whimsical yet mod butterflies for everything from place cards to random moments on the drum shades to the picture display.

The evening ended near the outdoor fire place surrounded by modern meets romantic lounge furniture and an elaborate S’mores display. Guests enjoyed, cocktails, cocoa and sweets until the wee hours of the morning when Natalie & Pat said their goodbyes to all of their guests that traveled so far to celebrate with them in true Napa style.

Photography: Jose Villa / Event Planner: Beth Helmstetter / Floral Designer & Rentals: Kathleen Deery / Linens: La Tavola / Venue: Carneros Inn / Cake: Perfect Endings / Stationery: Village Invites / Entertainment: Patrick Numair / Ceremony & Cocktail Hour Music: Michael Udelson / Piano Rental: Santa Rosa Music Center / Calligraphy: Laura Hooper / Macarons: Paulette Macaron Dress: Oscar De La Renta / Shoes: Manolo Blahnik / Bridesmaids Dresses: Amsale

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 36 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beth Helmstetter, California Weddings, Carneros Inn, Jose Villa, Kathleen Deery, La Tavola, Laura Hooper, Michael Udelson, Napa Valley Weddings, Patrick Numair, Paulette Macaron, Perfect Endings, Santa Rose Music Center, Village Invites
Post categories: California Weddings, Napa Valley Weddings, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance

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From Joanna, the bride…

Although we live in New York City and love it, I just couldn’t see us getting married here.  We decided to have an intimate, destination wedding in the Napa Valley, which was close to my husband’s family and many of our friends.  I had absolutely fallen in love with its natural beauty and wide-open spaces on our engagement trip.  

We didn’t have a planner or a limitless budget, so we really had to figure out what was most important to us.  I think that the key was finding amazing vendors who were able to accomplish wonders with our budget and capture the feeling we were going for.  My ideal wedding was a simple, elegant dinner party with our family and friends — great food, great wine, great company (and an excuse to bring many people we love together in one place).  At the same time, tradition is very important to Chris, so we also wanted to incorporate some traditional elements. Both our ceremony and reception were held at the Carneros Inn. The property and its surroundings (vineyards, mountains, open fields with horses) are already beyond gorgeous, so we were able to keep everything simple.  Carneros also met all of our other requirements — it has a fantastic chef, a great wine list and wonderful staff, including an onsite wedding consultant, Brooke Baglietto, who made sure everything ran smoothly.  Instead of a traditional rehearsal party, my wonderful in-laws hosted an open-invitation dinner for all of guests at one of the Homes at Carneros, which allowed us to spend more time with everyone.

I fell in love with letterpress invitations and we loved the simple elegance of hand calligraphy, which we then carried through from our invitations and envelopes to our menus, and escort and place cards (all created by the fabulous Debi Zeinert and Bella Figura).  Rather than choosing a particular color, we went with a fall-inspired color palate of green, ivory, and shades of orange, apricot and pink/red and relied on the creativity of Jennifer French at Lush Floral to bring our vision to life.  We incorporated the green of the cymbidium orchids into our envelope liners and linens. A few months before the wedding, the wedding photographer we had hired canceled on us.  This turned out to be an incredible blessing, because a friend then recommended Lisa. Lisa captured our day so beautifully and was such a joy to spend time with. In truth, I hate being photographed and always end up looking uncomfortable, but Lisa made it easy.  The only photographs of me that I have ever liked are Lisa’s.

Some of the more unusual aspects of our wedding were the most meaningful to us.  It’s not exactly in keeping with tradition, but my husband and mother-in-law cast the deciding votes on my dress and cathedral-length mantilla.  My fabulous sister-in-law, Kate, made our wedding rings for us and brought the most exquisite, diamond jewelry for my “something borrowed.”  My 10-year-old daughter, Madeleine, participated in our ceremony (and later exhausted our friends on the dance floor).  I loved seeing how happy and included she felt.  Chris lost his first wife to breast cancer, and we wanted her family to know that they will always be a part of ours. I know it was very difficult for them, but we are so grateful that they came to celebrate with us. We also made a donation to the Breast Cancer Foundation in her memory in lieu of favors. While I am not sure it was what either of us would have planned on our own, I am happy to report that we wouldn’t have changed a thing. For the two of us, it was perfect. We can’t thank our family and friends enough for sharing it with us.

Wedding Photography: Lisa Lefkowitz / Wedding Flowers: Lush Floral / Wedding Venue: Carneros Inn / Wedding Invitations: Bella Figura / Bride’s Shoes: Christian Louboutin / Wedding Dress: Rivini

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Post tags: Barn, Carneros Inn, Christian Louboutin, Elegant, Lisa Lefkowitz, Lush Floral, Napa Valley, Outdoor, Rivini, Winery
Post categories: California Weddings, Destination, Napa Valley Weddings, Real Weddings, The Blog, Traditional Elegance, Whimsical

click here to see the rest of the Fall gorgeousness!

From the Bride…

Our wedding celebrated the incredible local food of the California wine country, and the abundance of the autumn season. We wanted the relaxed feel of a casual family gathering, and came up with the theme of “a wedding lunch at the farmers’ market.” To create the feeling of a market festival, the tables were decorated with overflowing market baskets of seasonal flowers, fruits, and vegetables and pumpkins were everywhere at both the ceremony and the reception. Our entertainment was also in keeping with the outdoor market theme – we had The Baguette Quartette, a French accordion band, for music, as well as a magician who mingled with guests to do up-close magic, a caricature artist, and a photo booth. I loved that we had unique and fun entertainment. The Carneros Inn was the perfect venue to help us realize our ideas. Not only do they have a convenient and stunningly beautiful location, but they also grow many fruits and vegetables for their restaurant and catering right on the property. We walked from the ceremony to the reception down a path lined with trees bursting with fruit – figs, quince, apple, citrus, and more. This was a natural choice for our local, seasonal food theme. The food was of the utmost importance to us, and The Carneros Inn exceeded all of my expectations with it.

Because the ceremony started at 11am, we began the reception with a brunch-themed cocktail hour. We had a hugely-popular Bloody Mary and mimosa bar where guests could mix up custom breakfast cocktails. These were enjoyed along with breakfast-themed passed hors d’oeuvres such as blini with smoked salmon and crème fraiche, smoothie sips, and bacon twists. We followed the cocktail hour with a seated, family-style lunch with beautiful salads and grilled meats and fish. Everything was served on large platters and passed around the tables just like we would for a family gathering at home. For dessert, in addition to the wedding cake, we had home-style seasonal pies and ice cream. All of this created such a wonderful feeling of a relaxed, casual family gathering, which really important to us.

My favorite unique details were the pumpkin altar, the lemonade stand, and the photo booth. Our ceremony was performed in front of a “pumpkin altar” – my florist got together bales of straw and the most incredible array of pumpkins I have ever seen, and stacked them all in front of the ceremony site. In addition to the stunning view, the pumpkins created the perfect backdrop for our autumn farmers’ market theme. The lemonade stand was a table with lemonade, ice water, and iced tea in beautiful, huge glass jars set up at the back of the ceremony site for arriving guests to get refreshments as they gathered before the start of the wedding. The photo booth was the best because it printed two copies – one for guests to keep, and one for them to paste in a scrapbook with a little note so that we can remember who came. Going through the scrapbook provides such wonderful memories. For favors, my mom and I spent the summer preserving the harvest from our own gardens. We sent guests home with small jars of homemade jams, jellies, sauces, pickles, and fruit butters that we covered with small squares of hand-cut fabric and tied with garden twine. We also made tiny sachets of dried lavender from my mom’s garden. It was the perfect way to celebrate the harvest and to make the favors personal and memorable. The groom and groomsmen were great sports and spent the days before the wedding pulling lavender buds from stems and tying garden twine onto the jars.

For me, the best decision I made throughout the whole planning process was to hire our planner, Julie Atwood. We started planning on our own, but happened on Julie by accident and it was the best thing that could have ever happened. Not only did she have so many incredible, beautiful ideas that made the event more magical than I ever could have imagined, but it was also a huge comfort to know that I had somebody who really understood me and made sure that my own ideas came to fruition. She had amazing insight into which vendors would work best for me – a florist Maria Philbin that would be excited about my ideas, a photographer, Sylvie Gil who would make me comfortable, feel like a friend, and take the most beautiful photos I’ve ever seen, and a hair and makeup artist who understood my idea of beauty and could help make them a reality. Having Julie’s help definitely lowered the stress level of the planning process, and just made the wedding so much more fun, beautiful, and unforgettable than I ever could have done on my own.

Photography: Sylvie Gil / Wedding Planner & Design: Julie Atwood Events / Location: Carneros Inn / Food & Beverages: Carneros Inn / Floral Design: Maria Philbin / Celebrant: Tim Boeve / Harpist: Bertina Mitchell / Music: Baguette Quartette / Hair & Makeup: Leticia Ontiveros / Graphic Design: Carrot & Stick Press / Rental Equipment: Classic Party Rentals / Linens: La Tavola Fine Linen Rental / Caricature Artist: Marc Till Schmid of Cartoon City / Photo Booth: Denon & Doyle / Magician: Frank Balzerak, The Art of Magic / Transportation: California Wine Tours / Bride’s Gown: “Lily of the Valley” by Carolina Herrera

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Post tags: Baguette Quartette, Bertina Mitchell, California Weddings, California Wine Tours, Carneros Inn, Carolina Herrera, Carrot & Stick Press, Cartoon City, Classic Party Rentals, Denon & Doyle, Julie Atwood Events, La Tavola Linens, Leticia Ontiveros, Marie Philbin, Napa, Sylvie Gil Photography, The Art of Magic, Tim Boeve
Post categories: California Weddings, Casual Elegance, Napa Valley Weddings, Real Weddings

The color palette is a little bit unexpected, with varying shades of yellow and orange. And yet, it fits the style of the venue to perfection. Here are a few more bits of eye candy…

It’s definitely official. Sylvie’s weddings are not only photographed beautifully, they are all so ridiculously chic and well designed. We have another amazing one on the way!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California Weddings, Carneros Inn, Napa Valley, Sylvie Gil
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Contemporary

I am a BIG fan of all things wine country…but it is really refreshing to see such a simple, modern soiree paired next to the stunning green backdrop. The combination is breathtaking and one that we don’t see all that often!

More to come from this gorgeous wedding!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: California Weddings, Carneros Inn, Napa Valley, Sylvie Gil
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Contemporary

Here is Viola to share a few beautiful details from her wedding…

We are Viola and Phillip. Viola loves books. Phillip loves movies. Our favourite story of all time is To Kill a Mockingbird, which became the inspiration for our wedding at the Carneros Inn on Oct 27, 2007. What we love most about the story is how it was told through the voice of Scout, the 8-year-old heroine and how she was discovering the world around her. We distilled what we loved best about the story into key words: discovery. simplicity. childhood memories.

Our save-the-date cards were bookmarks, a nod to the novel. The invitations included an ex-libris card invitation card, a meal ticket for the day-after brunch and a tongue-in-cheek book club poster, complete with “discussion questions” like “who’s the spa junkie, Phillip or Viola?” followed by information on nearby spas.

Following Chinese tradition, we held a private tea ceremony in the bridal suite. My mom had my gown custom-designed in Indonesia. It was a modern take on the traditional Chinese gown, infused with Indonesian beading. At the tea ceremony, we serve tea to our parents and relatives as a sign of respect and thanks. In turn the tea recipients present gifts to us, usually in the form of red packets or jewelry, along with their well wishes. My pin was designed by my dear friend, Kelly of k.autumn.

My maid-of-honor, Aya, is a book designer. My bridesmaid Kumi is a book collector and I am a book maker! I thought it perfectly fitting that they carried books I had made to walk down the aisle. I made a book sling for my nephew Matthew, while Nadia (my best friend’s daughter) carried an over-sized nest almost as big as her. Jennifer, her mom, told me she had been practiced scattering balled-up magazine pages for months now in preparation for this day!

So much more to come, so stay tuned!!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Carneros Inn, Chewing The Cud, K.Autumn
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Cultural Beauty, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance