As all of us involved in our land management decisions know, it costs a lot to run a farm. If it’s not a tractor part it’s more fuel, more seed, more labor, more, more and more! As I have pondered various schemes to support my outdoor addiction, I have turned my attention to one very happy, very fun and enjoyable business plan: weddings and retreats on the farm. Although not a new idea, it’s taken the imagination of the urban and suburban dwelling public by storm.
My inspiration to create venues was sparked by a lovely old warehouse I updated in 2005. Previously home to Preston Rose Printing, the space has been in various uses since the 1920s. A wall of windows running the entire length of the warehouse frames a breathtaking skyline panorama of Atlantic Station and Midtown. Careful, creative re-uses of industrial elements guarantee surprise and delight, and—as an unforgettable focal point—a hand-crafted wood replica of Michelangelo’s Laurentian Library staircase sits grandly but quietly at the room’s south wall. It was such an inspirational, joyful place I didn’t want to keep it all to myself.
So, at first, I used my own studio space during off hours as a wedding and meeting venue. As a space used for business, people would come and go, meetings would be had, and everything was relatively quiet and sedate. But then people not accustomed to buildings like that would come in to see the space, or a bride would come in with family, and the atmosphere completely changes. It’s fun to see people get excited about a place you helped create.
Over two years the venue became such a successful business that we’re now booking two and a half years in advance. Summerour Studio is now the top venue of its size in Atlanta. My working office moved several miles away, and from there we have created buildings and designs for other owners around the South, including other farm owners. I also began thinking about offering a rural space for weddings, corporate retreats, health and wellness workshops in a peaceful, idyllic environment instead of an urban one.
Bramble Hall: Everything New is Old Again
Personal musings about retreat and event space happily coincided with my professional life when Summerour Associates was selected to create event space at the renowned Blackberry Farm. We were tasked with marrying state-of-the-art culinary and winery hospitality with the feel and aesthetic of a long-established country estate.
Chris Jones, Principal of Design, is the lead architect for this project. “Kreis and Sandy Beall purchased some property in the Smoky Mountains with a farmhouse on it in the late 70s, and Kreis was inspired to create a mountain retreat where they could share good food and fun with family.” Creators of the Ruby Tuesday Restaurant chain, it was a natural fit for the Bealls to host office retreats and different company events here as Blackberry Farm grew into a small country inn.
Its 4,200 acres have been a mountain haven and tranquil escape for family, friends and guests for more than 25 years as it evolved into a luxurious resort of breathtaking scenery, gourmet cuisine and pleasurable pastimes. Private ownership, now available at Blackberry Farm, gives anyone in the world access to bespoke country mountain living and the Southern hospitality it made famous.
“Food is a big part of the culture at Blackberry Farm,” Chris continues. “They have cottages and houses to rent, there’s a brewery, an award-winning creamery, outdoor activities like fly fishing, horseback riding and hiking. They’re rather well known for road bike racing, with several road rally events each year.”
The gathering point for the Farm has always been the restaurant, housed in the barn. When more event space was needed, the owners called on Summerour Associates.
“Bramble Hall was built from scratch, evolving from the farm yard idea and the existing buildings, the barn and creamery,” Chris continues. The design team connected the new event space with the barn via an underground tunnel. “At the center of the farm yard is a cold frame, which is also a skylight into the tunnel wine-tasting room. So, guests enjoy a procession of events as they move from dinner at the barn across to the evening’s entertainment.
Our intention was to create a farm structure that ended up looking like it’d been there for a hundred years,” Chris says. “We achieved that in many ways, not only through the overall form and assemblage of forms but in material selections, like aged cypress siding.” Since its opening in 2016, Bramble Hall has hosted hundreds of events, including any number of dream weddings down on the farm with impeccable hospitality.
More Advantages for Hosting Events
My time is my most valuable asset, and that’s just one advantage of using my farm as an event venue. It’s a great way to supplement my farm income because events are planned not to interfere with the real work of operating a farm. Depending on your farm and how much land you have, a little creativity can result in unforgettable events. An old barn on the property might take only minimal efforts to fix it up. The obvious trade-off is giving up an area of your property for others to rent and enjoy on occasion – as much or as little as you like – in exchange for farm income. I suggest finding a spot for weddings, either tented or permanent pavilion, far enough from your home to allow the revelers to have their space and not disturb you. I would also find a location that has easy access to utilities; noisy generators are not much fun at a party. A picturesque view for photographs with farm props, if available, is important too.
My own country retreat, Towerhouse Farm, quickly became a favorite location for office parties. Kristin Meredith, my assistant, was in charge of organizing parties, and they got bigger and better every year. “When the tower was finished about ten years ago, we started having office happy hours, once a month, at the farm. Whether we’re riding four wheelers, just relaxing on the porch with its beautiful views, skeet shooting, having a bonfire or grilling, it’s a great gathering place,” Kristin says. “Since it’s not too far away from Atlanta people are always happy to make the trip.” Building camaraderie within a company, large or small, is one of many reasons event planning is a lucrative business. Providing the physical space to host events gives land owners additional income as well as the satisfaction of showcasing their property and creating wonderful memories.
“Keith has at least one big party annually, for designers and other architects, vendors and other consultants. One year we had a falconer at the Christmas party. Another year, we had tents set up across the property, it looked like the Italian countryside.” Keith and Kristin also take advantage of the natural splendor offered up on a farm. One year, that included a sea of bobbing sunflowers and the wildlife they attract.
Some days, tens of thousands of blackbirds would come in big, swooping waves and descend on the sunflowers and trees. The setting inspired a memorable late-summer party and a ravishing tabletop, set with stoneware plates, rustic pottery, pewter glasses, natural linens and freshly picked figs. Towerhouse Farm has also hosted health and wellness retreats, weekend photography workshops, plein air painting sessions and corporate events including hunting.
Our most recent and exiting addition is our “farm house brewery” Towerhouse Farm Brewery, which was developed and is set in our old tobacco barn. We love to create unique experiences at the highest level for our guests and events. Implementing a farm to table beverage service to our existing platform seemed like a great next step for furthering our culinary interest; plus the beer is great!
There’s Nothing Complicated About Having a Good Time.
When you begin to plan operating as an event venue, don’t make it complicated. The public is coming to us and our farms because they are drawn to simple, natural beauty. The amenities you provide are only a framework for that.
I wish I had known how much money I could have been making if I’d started hosting events sooner. A steady stream of people to your farm is good cross-branding and increases name recognition; over the years you might have thousands of people visit. So, if your farm hosts quail hunters or you have bees and promote their products, events are a terrific way to expand another existing business without spending any additional money on marketing.
Most weddings take place on Saturdays, and you should plan for load in either one or two days beforehand. This would include rental, food and beverage deliveries and set up. Load out is the day after or immediately after the wedding by the catering staff. Retreats are usually smaller groups of people, either family reunions or business parties and can be quite short or last several days.
Shorter retreats are a better option for most of us, because that reduces the need for onsite housing. But, if you already accommodate hunting parties, you may have housing already available.
How Profitable Can a Wedding Venue be?
Financial rewards for creating a wedding and retreat venue are varied with many caveats. Some basic rental rates can be discovered by researching similar locations – but bear in mind, your goals must be similar. I have seen farm wedding rates from $5,000 to $150,000, so knowing the land and clientele you are catering to is paramount.
Generally speaking, you should seek to have a high level of picturesque farm beauty mixed with traditional farm architecture such as old barns and farm homes with porches. It falls into the difficult to define category of “you know it when you see it.”
To me, a beautiful farm is rolling pastures, mature oak trees and wild flowers, hay bales in the field and old barns, great tractor and trucks, and a bass pond. But this description takes on many forms and covers a lot of territory. In other words, a low country plantation can be just as appealing as Tennessee foothill farmland outside Nashville.
The approach and setting are the most critical factors in venue success. I believe every property has its best and unique features for creating quiet enchantment. It could be a short view of a large pond or lake with a beautiful dock or a pastoral view of row crops with the event site under shade trees. It could be a repurposed barn and sharecropper cabins or a cypress grove at sunset.
The demographic trend of a rural economy shifting to urban dwelling has created an inherent desire to return (if only for a short time) to the ancestral bucolic land. For most folks, the farm is an exotic experience. For us who find our land anything but exotic, this is an opportunity to share our landed heaven for the assured conservation that we seek through this and other farm business ventures.