• Real Weddings

Photography by: Jose Villa

About the Venue

The Carneros Inn is probably on every planner and photographer's list of the top ten places to host a wedding in the Napa Valley country. You have so many options and even with a budget-minded celebration, the natural elements that the property offers is so much to work with, making everything flow and fall into place.
This amazing wedding celebration has the gorgeous signatures of Beth Helmstetter Events and Kathleen Deery Design written all over it, and the subtle photography is unmistakably Jose Villa. The Carneros Inn is well-known for establishing the aesthetic of a California wine country wedding. Many resorts, restaurants, and wineries in the area receive their charm from mimicking an era or region from other countries, such as Tuscany, Italy, Hollywood heydays, etc. The Carneros Inn has redefined what California casual elegance is all about.

Ask the Expert

Kathleen Deery is one of my favorite floral designers. When you let her loose on a project, she has an amazing sense of overall style and brings a complete "mixed media" format to your celebration. I love how she uses a combination of glass, fabric, paper, lighting, furniture, props, and flowers into her overall design to provide not only beauty, but true style.
This celebration is breathtaking. The design incorporates many different themes but in such a cohesive way. The buildings at the Carneros Inn are unmistakably California farmhouse chic. As you can see, the planner has taken this and paired it with varying textures and styles and it all looks dazzling. The clear Lucite "ghost chairs" have an unmistakable modern flair. I often find these paired with a more club chic style, but you can see how these chairs absolutely make this room pop. The modern splash against the hardwood floors, white wood wainscoting on the walls, and the facility's modernistic lighting fixtures is brilliant. Picture this room set up with either white wood folding chairs, and now that wonderful California wine country vibe that you see is changed completely to a more casual country cottage feel. It really is amazing how much furniture can change the environment.
I love the butterflies! The subtle graphic that is used on most of the collateral is gorgeous, but more than that, I love the attention. It's not just enough to have the gorgeous graphic incorporated in all the collateral, Beth Helmstetter has incorporated the butterflies into the room and outdoors, subtly attaching them all around the room: on the lights, on the trees, on the glass. It's as if they were fluttering around the room and stopped for just a brief moment. Amazing!

I Do Venues wants to recognize the talented team of wedding professionals who helped to make this bride's dream a reality: Photographer - Jose Villa; Event Planner - Beth Helmstetter Events; Floral Design and Rentals - Kathleen Deery Design; Cake - Perfect Endings Wedding Cake; Linen Rentals - La Tavola Linen; Entertainment - Patrick Numair, Michael Udelson.