Weddingbee Blog
Remember my Camp v. Farm dilemma? Well, the more farms I looked into, the more wise to the “farm wedding” industry I became.
Most of the farms that I found that hosted weddings were not working farms any more (of course there are exceptions). While many of them used to be farms, they now exclusively do events. Some have a small veggie garden, and a few are actually working farms, but many don’t grow any food at all.
I asked one of the owners about this. He had been farming for 40 years and just started doing weddings 5 years ago. “The truth of it is, I can make more money on a wedding weekend than I can in practically a whole season of growing food. It’s a better investment for me to keep renovating for events than to put money into growing food.” Huh? Wow.
So, if the food wasn’t going to be grown on the farm (in most cases), what were we getting for our money? A beautiful venue. A finely catered meal (generally organic, some local). Great service. All this for a fairly high price tag.
Sigh. Buh bye beautiful farms.
I love your refurbished barns and picturesque settings. I love your waiters and your matching dinnerware. I will dream about being one of the beautiful brides on your website enjoying her elegant wedding. You host gorgeous weddings that I swoon over, but I think we are just too rustic and hippy for you.
Too rustic and hippy for a farm? Go figure.
Of course, this is just our experience. I know that there are some great farms out there that do wedding events. And when you choose to host your wedding at places like these, you are helping to support local farmers (of the produce, not wedding variety). One that I came across is Broadturn Farm.
Any others out there that you know of? I would love to restore my faith in the farm wedding industry by finding other food-producing venues. Or did anyone have a really great experience at a non-food-producing farm venue that might help change my mind?
I’ve come across a few apple orchards around here but that’s about it. We looked at a farm up by the mister’s former college and the prices for a Sunday afternoon wedding were outrageous. But I have to say, that farm in particular was committed to sustainable farming techniques and grows everything they serve in their amazing restaurant. Hopefully someone else out there has a better example 
My wedding was at the Round Barn Farm in VT that was in your last post. All local foods. Amazing food and venue!
http://www.theroundbarn.com/
Our wedding was on a small family farm in Rockwood, PA. They run weddings from April through late September (those edge months are verrry chilly in W. PA!) and a haunted house in October. Are they solely a working farm anymore? Not that I know of… They grow some hay and harvest their woods in addition to their wedding planning. But trust me, they’re farmers who are passionate about their land.
More importantly, because that 150 acre farm is useful and productive, it won’t be turned into a housing development any time soon. (which isn’t as likely in Rockwood as around Scranton, I’m sure.) Farmland preservation is a HUGE issue in Pennsylvania, particularly around central PA where I live now.
Just my thoughts…
We looked at a farm in Michigan for our wedding. They do grow apples and pumpkins and a few other things, but I’m pretty sure their specialty is weddings. In the end we decided it wasn’t for us but the people there were very nice.
We happen to live on a working beef farm, so the farmer happily lent us out one of his pasture fields for a marquee, having taken the cows off a couple weeks earlier.
This meant we had to do everything without access to running water or grid electricity: compost toilet, generator, paper plates etc. It was a lot of work, but it was so much fun, and friends and family chipped in to help at every stage. People camped in the field or stayed nearby. I think that this might be something more along your lines too, Miss Veggie!
Take heart, a working-farm wedding is possible to do on the cheap, but you need to really be imaginative to get around all the usual hurdles. I would suggest calling up farmers in your area who might not be set up to cater for weddings, but might be open to renting their field out for a few days.
What about a vineyard or orchard? it might be easier to find one, and they’re both so pretty!
That’s really interesting; I’m glad you posted about this.
To be honest, I can totally understand why you’d choose not to have your wedding on those farms, since it just wasn’t what you and Mr. Veggie were going for, but I can’t blame those farmers for doing what will make them money. I live in an area with a lot of small family farms, dairy mostly, but also vegetable, and these people are hurting. It’s practically impossible to make ends meet, the way things are right now. So I can understand somewhat why farmers would do what makes them money…but it would be nice if we could have the best of both worlds (events that make them money so they can continue to run their farms? I’m sure that’s a ton of work. anyway…)
in upstate new york, there is a place called blue hill at stone farms that produces a lot of their own food and has a restaurant, but it’s pretty chichi and expensive, so i wouldn’t say it fits the bill at all. i hope you find something!!
very interesting post. It’s such a shame that the very people who grow our food have to struggle financially and can hardly make ends meet. Something is so wrong in this society of ours
I can partially relate to your wedding issues.
My wedding was in a village in Romania and while I had the option to chose between a restaurant that would have done everything for me (very convenient, but it meant I would have had no control over the food and its origins) and the local hall, for which I had to run around with a list of ingredients from the lady cook and buy the ingredients myself. I chose option number #2 just because I wanted to make sure that what ended up in our plate were locally grown veggies and meats…even if this meant, for example, running around a day before the wedding to look for cabbage or getting my girls to work on the home made noodles for the wedding soup OR my father to go to the market and buy a live pig. I managed to find all the ingredients except for the rice and some spices. Yeap! it was quite the adventure, but totally worth it.
Eww. That’s the reaction I had to farms that aren’t actually farms but instead exist for the sole purpose of hosting weddings. This is really sad.
I have not seen a single wedding “farm” that produced any food. I think it might just be better to contact organic farms, rather than looking for these WIC farms.
Well, farmers have to eat too, and they’re responding to demand/supply forces. I hope you find something suitable.
Well, it is not near you, but may restore your faith!
I’m getting married at Spring Creek Ranch in Winthrop, WA, which is a working ranch that also does weddings. I think the price is really reasonable- $2500 which includes renting the place for 3 nights (and lodging 15 guests for all three nights), and porta-potty rental. Link: http://www.springcreekwinthrop.com
I had the same experience you did (glad to know that it isn’t just CA, where things are sometimes just more expensive because they can be). I had my heart set on a farm or barn, but those were the most expensive venues! I guess the wedding industry has the 411 on us rustic-loving brides!
I wouldn’t put a bit of blame on former farmers who turn to using their properties to host events, but I understand not wanting to pay the high price to host your wedding there. The sad part of it is that small family-owned food production is a dying industry and if event-hosting is pricing out food production, then that’s a negative impact on our food supply. Not as bad as Walmart or strip malls or McMansions, but still a problem. Again though, I don’t blame the former farmers; farming is an incredibly difficult business to turn a profit in, and I can’t imagine the anxiety of trying to plan for the future not knowing whether the next year’s crop will fail. I will say that if event-hosting can preserve a property that otherwise the owners might have to sell to a real estate developer, then more power to the fake-farm weddings. They’re beautiful anyway.
Our venue, the Weston Red Barn Farm, is a working farm. We are excited about giving some of their farm food as favors!
I am a farm girl, an I know from experience that most farmers don’t have time to mess with weddings when there are chores to do. The summertime is especially busy for farmers and ranchers, which is wedding season. Also, it is rare that a “real” farmer would have an extra building or two to use just for weddings. I’m all for diversified agriculture, but weddings are probably not a specialty of many farmers. Good luck with the venue hunt!
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Mrs. Veggie, Raglan, New Zealand/Scranton, PA Age and Occupation: 27, Director of Small Non-Profit Fiance's Age and Occupation: 42, PhD Student & Farmer Engagement Date: June 13, 2009 Wedding Date: August 2010 Venue: Indian Head Camp, Honesdale Pennsylvania About Me: I am a tree-huggin' farmer turned enthusiastic wedding-planner. I live in a house truck and wear flip-flops more often than shoes. In my old life I was a high school Spanish teacher in love with a crazy guy who lived off-the grid on a farm in New Hampshire. But, we decided to mix things up a bit, quit our jobs and move to New Zealand. My southern hemisphere lifestyle involves growing veggies, teaching, running our small non-profit, and surfing. I love laughing, singing, playing, and the inspirational Mr. Veggie (of course!). For our wedding, I am committed to throwing a killer party that celebrates our values without breaking the bank. Look forward to an eco-thrifty summer-campy weekend-long extravaganza.
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