A Barndiva Wedding where East Coast elegance meets Wine Country ease

When the venue whispers the dress code

The art of showing up to a beautiful wedding and enhancing the celebration with your presence can be one of life’s joys, though more often than not it’s also a challenge. And while we don’t actually know if a subtle dress code was ever suggested for Kate and Pearson’s glorious wedding in the Barndiva Gardens on June 7th, what was abundantly clear from the moment guests began to gather was a shared and ebullient understanding of them as a couple.

Women arrived in luxurious, flowing dresses, many with halter tops and peek-a-boo slits, bare shoulders catching the light as it filtered through the arched green canopies; gentlemen proffered a relaxed elegance of sockless loafers and open collars, a few carefully chosen ties, softly structured linen suits in shades of soft blues, grays, cream. Classically demure yet artfully seductive, the brides wedding dress perfectly informed the day’s aesthetic with its flowing semi-sheer, beautifully sewn panel’s of silk moiré that revealed a slimmer outline in shadows of the satin sheath below.

For us Kate and Pearson’s wedding was the perfect expression of what happens when couples with great taste allow their surroundings to inspire their wedding day. Zack Schomp’s wonderful photographs don’t just capture a tableau of stunning attire but a glorious summer day alive with beautiful jewel tones, extraordinary light, visible joy.

Kate & Pearson sealing the moment with a kiss in the Barndiva Gardens, their parents in the front row.

Every corner of Barndiva offers a romantic backdrop, every detail is curated to honor both the heritage of wine country and the beauty of Sonoma County. What we’ve discovered in our two decades hosting Healdsburg’s most memorable weddings is that when the wedding couple chooses colors and a textural palette that invites the guests to participate, those that ‘bring it’ for love of the couple they’ve come to honor don’t just attend a wedding here - they become an integral part of the beauty and art of celebration.

The depth of detail Kate planned for her wedding reflected the inherent beauty of place and space - perfectly captured in the florals she choose for her bridal bouquet and the manner in which Clementina Florals dressed the antique gates, our ‘alter’ by the wild grass verge. The table arrangements in the Studio Barndiva Gardens spilled over with native and natural flowers and grasses, including scabiosa, love in a mist, delphinium, bachelors buttons, wild mustard, fennel, and ammi (aka Queen’s Anns lace). With just a touch of yellow, all florals extended the cream and pale blues of the color pallet, drawing with elegance and ease from the surrounding landscape.

Barndiva Event Director Susan Bischoff worked closely with the excellent wedding planners from Kismet Events. Susan@barndiva.com

A quiet moment in The Hotel Healdsburg, where the wedding party stayed and prepared for the day ahead. One of the joys of a wedding at Barndiva is the promenade through the Plaza to the ceremony Gardens. We are so grateful the larger community of Healdsburg embraces family celebrations.

the secret heart of time

This year we celebrate a milestone: 23 years since we broke ground to build a barn in the center of Healdsburg. The day we opened four years later, full to bursting with curious strangers from across Sonoma County, we threw our first party. It was called Taste of Place, a food-as-art exhibit with over 34 Sonoma and Mendocino County farmers, artisan batch purveyors, and mixed-media artists. We were trying to make a delicious point – one still so relevant - that unless restaurants found a way to support local growers and makers, we would lose the most vital part of why we love this food shed. This has been a continuing story for our family, as we have worked to keep a small heritage apple farm in Philo flourishing since 1984.

If you value your independence, remain curious, believe, to paraphrase Richard Powers, that “there is a politics that can be built out of awe and gratitude,” there is great reward working in hospitality as we do. We have been extremely lucky with the spread of our talents, especially the ability to master the art of the pivot and decisively embrace change. What has come to embody ‘The Barndiva Experience’ is a source of great pride for us. We feel fortunate to have contributed as we have to Healdsburg’s flourishing during a time of great transformation.

The capstone of our 20 years in hospitality was to have been awarded a Michelin star in 2021; an even deeper validation of our values to have kept it in 2022 and 2023 under the brilliant direction of Chef Erik Anderson and the dedication of a truly remarkable staff.

But we have always believed that the reason people go out to dine is not a fixed star, Michelin or otherwise. We all long to return to tastes that trigger happiness and memory; to be excited by new food experiences, step into a room filled with music and engaging conversation. On the simplest and most profound level the sound of other humans having vibrant food and drink experiences gives us agency to enjoy ourselves more fully in the world.

To stay true to what we love, and what our guests have come to expect from Barndiva, this winter we are excited to announce a shift in the allocation of our time and how our rooms and gardens are enjoyed. 

Beginning January 21st, we will be serving an a la carte menu in Studio Barndiva Thursday-Monday.

Seasonal menus of dishes we aways have a hankering for & a reason to explore… Reminiscent of our old Sunday Suppers, with their easy vibe, great soundtracks, silent cinema. By extending the same menus to Monday we hope to see friends in the Industry that we well know have scant options on their days off. 

Make Reservations

walk-ins welcome!

SET MENU REQUIRED FOR PARTIES OF 8+

View Large Party Menu

Large Parties can be Booked on OpenTable

Barndiva will now be available for Cocktails Parties, light canapé soirées that weather permitting can extend into the gardens.

We’ve been hearing from clients for years wanting to gather in Barndiva just to mingle, raise a class, and enjoy our infamous canapés. We’d love for you to experience the barn anew. Cocktail parties are booked in advance and are intended for groups from 25-100+.

For all Weddings, Rehearsal Dinners, and Wine or Cocktail Parties in the Barn, Contact Barndiva’s Event Director Susan Bischoff:

susan@barndiva.com

The Pink Party
led by Barndiva’s ‘Sommelier for the People,’ Emily Carlson, returns Sunday, April 21.
Tickets on sale Friday, January 12

Conversations Worth Having, a community focused series we launched with ‘Gorgeous Garbage’ in November with Dawnelise Rosen, Susan Preston, and Amber Keneally continues with CWH #2: Trash Talk, Friday, February 16th, from 4-6. Studio Barndiva. There will be limited seating for dinner in the Barn following the event.

Get Tickets Now!

Scott Beattie’s Cocktail Classes for groups of 6-26 will be held in Studio Barndiva until spring, when they again move into the Studio Barndiva gardens.

Scott and bar manager Charles Rodenkirch will hold court every Sunday and Monday, and both will work closely with Event Manager Susan Bishcoff to make every Cocktail Party in the Barn unique.

To book a class: scott.beattie@barndiva.com

For the past two decades we have worked to share the joys and challenges that come from running a small family-run restaurant and special event facility in this community. We hope you will continue to help us write an imaginative text for Barndiva as we turn a page and continue our story.

The late great poet John O’ Donohue liked to say “possibility is the secret heart of time.”  A Bientot!

Food to Banish the Blues

While we’ve still got one foot firmly planted in winter as we await more rain, the other has taken a giant step into a spring where flowers are not the only things blooming with fantastical color and form. For a year now we’ve been driven to cook and devour big plates of comfort food to sustain us- the messier the better. Many of those dishes we’ve grown to love, but it’s all systems go in our kitchens now especially on the dinner menu where new dishes from Chefs Jordan Rosas and Neidy Venegas dance with incredible scent, layered flavors, and elegant plating that refuses to go back in the (To Go) box. As we come out of our caves again, the longing for beautiful food and a return to the simple luxury of time spent lingering over a meal is palpable. We’re excited.

Join us for Lunch and Dinner in the Gardens. Menus will change frequently…follow us @barndivahealdsburg!

Sonoma County Meat Company 6 oz Filet Mignon, potato mille-feuille, confit pearl onions filled with bone marrow & cauliflower purée, topped with crispy shallots, finished with tarragon and chive powder. Sauce perigourdine, aromatic with black truffles. Sweet peas from Freckle Farms.

Monkfish & Manila Clams with romanesco in a foamy clam ‘chowder’ made with monkfish fume, clam juice and emulsified butter. Below: Compressed cauliflower stems hold romanesco purée. Sourcing from Sun Catcher Farm, Freckle Farm, Feed Sonoma and Barndiva Farm.

Blood orange Mousse Cake with passion fruit gelee spheres, fresh citrus. The frozen mousse cake slices are sprayed with white chocolate in a vivid shade of jaunty yellow, the better to play off peeled segments of cara cara, kumquat, blood orange and grapefruit, which nestle on blood orange gel.

Mignardise of Hibiscus Campari Pâte de fruit and Coriander Guanaja Valrhona fudge- surprise delights after a meal - a small but sweet thank you for dining with us.

@saverestaurants #staytuned #stayhealthy @stayhealdsburg #healdsburgchamber #eattheview #barndiva #healdsburg #thisishealdsburg #sonomacounty #mendocinocounty #sommtablehealdsburg #sonomastrong #ediblemarinwc #lovehealdsburg @barndivahealdsburg @sonomamag @winecountry @slowfoodusa @chef.jordan.rosas, @spontaneidy, @wckitchen, @independantrestaurantcoalition, @BarndivaHealdsburg, @CityofHealdsburg, @HealdsburgChamber @tockhq @socomeatco @frecklefarmshealdsburg @suncatcherfarm @feedsonoma, @eater_sf

THE GARDENS ARE OPEN!

On the Valentine’s Menu: Strawberry Cream Gâteau for two, coconut & fresh citrus. Dessert will also include assorted mignardises.

We wish to sincerely thank everyone who has continued to support us through this dreadful pandemic by ordering Barndiva To Go, buying Gift Certificates to pay it forward, and patronizing our new Shop Provisions which Jordan and Neidy are growing by the week. To Go has widened our understanding of food in new ways, not just what holds up on the ride home and what doesn’t, but what hits comfort notes and still captures the thrill of new flavors. We’re honored it has been lauded in reviews, and we intend to keep it going, but hearing from so many of you, knowing this community had our backs, is what has made all the difference.

We are so thrilled we are able to open the Gardens again to dining on property from Feb. 3. We have missed seeing the gardens full of diners, the interactions, the ambiance. For the time being it will be weather permitting so please make reservations with the knowledge that if rain is inclement, while we will contact you, we are going to play it close because often the skies clear and we have glorious days after a good rain.

It’s been quite a challenge to continue to push out creatively these past months, but we knew in our hearts there was no point in surviving if we didn’t. As we reopen we want to share dishes with you that excite us, cook food that captures the singular seasonality of the beautiful landscape that surrounds us, celebrate the extraordinary talents of small local farmers and purveyors.

And yes, we are taking reservations for Valentine’s in the gardens, and they are filling up fast. But with an understanding we all have different comfort levels for meeting again in person, we are also offering the same prix fixe menu as an interactive VALENTINE’S kit you can enjoy at home. It will come with videos for each dish - how to simply plate, gently re-heat, or cook from scratch, hopefully together! Included are perfect wines to pair with your romantic meal, and we’d love to add a beautiful bouquet from Dan and Nick. Following our sold out Mother’s Day model, Barndiva’s interactive Valentine’s kit will be available for pick up in Healdsburg, Marin and San Francisco.

We’re pulling out all the stops for Valentine’s because it’s a holiday focused on a consideration of the importance of love - the perfect stepping off point as we head into a future where the joy in kindness is going to be needed in great supply. We’re so ready.

Please  keep in touch via Instagram and Facebook. Stay hopeful, stay safe, stay sane. We hope to see you in the gardens soon. Thank you again for your continued support.

 @socomeatco, @arafanelliwinery, @champagnebrunopaillard, @saverestaurants #staytuned #stayhealthy @stayhealdsburg #healdsburgchamber #eattheview #barndiva #togo #healdsburg #thisishealdsburg #sonomacounty #mendocinocounty #sommtablehealdsburg #sonomastrong #ediblemarinwc #lovehealdsburg @barndivahealdsburg @sonomamag @winecountry @slowfoodusa @chef.jordan.rosas, @spontaneidy, @wckitchen, @independantrestaurantcoalition, @BarndivaHealdsburg, @CityofHealdsburg, @HealdsburgChamber @tockhq