Some people start
planning their wedding day as soon as they know the meaning of the
word wedding – with “Here Comes the Bride” constantly
playing through their mind. But where some people are getting married
now conjures up images of square dances and scarecrows instead of
flowing white gowns, rose petals and string quartets. And it’s
not just farm kids and those on a tight budget.
On-farm weddings seem to be one of the trends coming to the industry
as more farmers face a choice between diversifying or selling.
“It’s fun because it’s such a joyous event,”
said Kate Zurschmeide, co-owner of Great Country Farms and Foggy Bottom
Vineyard in Virginia. “Some people are kind of stressed, but
then they get out here. One of the beauties of a farm event is they
can come out and enjoy it and it’s not quite as formal in atmosphere
and people can let their hair down and have fun with it.”
Great Country Farms has been offering special events and weddings
at their location for four or five years, Zurschmeide said. And in
those years, Great Country Farms has expanded on their special events.
They now have two locations where they hold weddings: one more formal
and one for the more casual weddings. They also have three venues
on their farm where they hold the rehearsal dinners. Their goal this
year is to hold 10 weddings at each of the venues.
County Line Orchards in Hobart, Ind., is in their first year of holding
weddings on their farm.
“People who are in the banquet hall business say that if you
get three bookings your first year, you’re really doing well,”
said Bonnie McAfee. “We have 17.”
Their facility is a barn that they purchased from a neighboring farm
that McAfee’s husband, David, thought would be a good addition
to the farm.
“My husband has this tremendous gift to see things that I can’t
see,” she said. “He moved this 40-year-old barn that used
to house animals onto our orchard – I still couldn’t see
it. He knew we needed the space. He said ‘the barn will tell
us what we’re going to do with it.’”
And tell them it did. With this additional space, the McAfee’s
are able to hold a variety of special events from weddings to fund-raisers
to anniversary parties. And McAfee said the reaction from brides-to-be
is mixed.
“People either love it or it’s just not for them,”
she said. “We have brides-to-be who just love it but have problems
convincing their parents.”
The McAfee’s, through their farm market, are helping to advertise
their event venue to future generations.
“We had 38,000 kids here on school tours last year,” McAfee
said. “One of the teachers said ‘My daughter’s getting
married here.’ My husband (David) said ‘Oh, that’s
wonderful, how old is she?’ The mother said, ‘She’s
in third grade.”
Zurschmeide said their u-pick customers also get a kick out of seeing
weddings on the farm – and they’re more than willing to
help keep the noise down while a wedding is taking place.
“People really enjoy it,” Zurschmeide said. “When
we do a wedding at the farm, we hold all tractors at, for example,
4 o’clock because we have an event at 4. We hold all noise during
the ceremony, and people love it. The other guests (on the farm) enjoy
it as much as the guests of the wedding themselves.”
Neither County Line Orchard and Great Country Farm offer on-site catering,
but both work with two or three local caterers. At County Line, the
supply the table settings, the tables and all of those necessities;
Great Country Farms provides tables, chairs and linens. At Great Country
Farms, the soon-to-be couple can even purchase their wedding favors
at the farm to create a complete, experience wedding.
“We have jams and jellies and small plants,” Zurschmeide
said. “One bride wants us to do little bags of cherries for
her. From a fruit standpoint there’s kind of a neat angle –
you can do an up sell on favors.”
These weddings aren’t the break-the-bank, sell your motorcycle
kind of weddings. Weddings at Great Country start at $800 for the
more casual location and around $3,000 for the more formal venue –
those prices include tables, chairs and linens as well as the location.
At County Line Orchards, costs are per person and depend on the day
of the week. But, on average, McAfee said the price is around $10
per person.
“Fall is the most popular time of year,” Zurschmeide said.
“ There are no weekends in October left – it’s just
such a beautiful time of year here in Virginia…I have bookings
into 2005. There are one-year out people, then there’s the six-month
people who tend to book things six months in advance.”
McAfee said they, too, have inquiries into 2005.
But down-home, casual and modern weddings aren’t the only ones
that people will find in the on-farm wedding category. Riley’s
Orchards, in Oak Glen, Calif., takes a more old-fashioned view to
weddings.
The theme of the farm is a Revolutionary War/18th Century theme, and
weddings follow suit. This June, they will be playing host to their
first wedding.
“We provide the place to have the wedding, and we have a nice
commercial kitchen, and Mrs. Riley cooks fabulous meals,” said
Nancy Gondringer, who does reservations and wedding coordination at
Riley’s.
The menu they provide for the wedding features and 18th century feast
and includes cider ham, Mt. Vernon pie, corn pudding and, of course,
apple pie.
“We stay within the colonial theme,” Gondringer said.
“No outside DJ’s. We have a house band – a three-piece
string ensemble that plays colonial tunes and the traditional (wedding
songs).”
Weddings at Riley’s run from $34.50 per person for groups of
25 to 49 to $29 per person for groups more than 100.
For those farmers looking to get into the wedding business, Zurschmeide
and McAfee said they suggest getting involved with the local visitors
and convention bureau as well as taking part in the area bridal shows.
In the end, for County Line Orchards, weddings are another way for
them to ensure they stay in the farming business.
“In order to survive in farming we believe you have to think
outside the box,” McAfee said. “Now we’re a destination
farm – but it’s only because my husband has thought outside
the box.”
To learn more about the on-farm weddings at these locations, visit
www.foggybottomvineyard.com, www.greatcountryfarms.com, www.countylineorchard.com
and www.rileysfarm.com
