Carneros Inn, Napa

Molly and Gary
August 25 2007

Molly and Gary were married at the Carneros Inn, which is definitely on my list for great vacation spots--the inn is vast and beautiful, with views of the surrounding vineyards and an apple orchard for the ceremony to take place in, as well as ballrooms for events, a restaurant, and a gourmet grocery. The decor of the orchard and the ballrom was enhanced by Laura of Laura Miller Design--lots of bamboo and deep purple lilies in wooden boxes with light pink and white accents made the table settings beautiful and unique, and in the apple orchard larger pieces of bamboo and white orchids framed the spot where the couple said their vows.

Highlights of the wedding included a suprise tea ceremony to honor Molly's parents, and the speech made by her dad during dinner. Mr. Shen talked about how it is a tradition in his culture to buy a bottle of good rice wine on the day of a daughter's birth, which is then kept in storage until the daughter becomes old enough to marry, and then finally presented to the groom to welcome him into the family. He then proceeded to give Gary the bottle that was bought when Molly was born.

This wedding was a team effort for me--Molly and Gary wanted pictures taken of the guests, to be printed and framed onsite and then given as favors at the end of the night. I enlisted the help of Juliet Nicole as second shooter to take the guest portraits, and Janki Thakkar as printer/framer/assistant. Thanks to their hard work everything went off without a hitch, and everyone was really happy to take home a picture of themselves at the end of the night.