HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 06-01 Saying "I do" at historic barns, and helping preserve them PIONEER PRESS Saying'I do'at historic barns,and helping preserve them
By dob Shaw bshaw@pioneerpress.com TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
Posted:Sun Jun 01 23:01:00 MDT 2014 TwinCities.com
Heidi Erickson said,"I do."
And if the nearby barns could talk,they might have said,"Thank you."
Erickson was married in late May outdoors on a historic farm,surrounded by antique buildings,flowers
and farm furniture.Not only were the guests charmed by the vine-covered barns,they were helping to
preserve them.
"If this isn't God's country,I don't know what is,"sighed Pat Erickson,mother of the bride.
Erickson's wedding was one of many that will take place at historic farms in Minnesota this summer,
which makes old barns a hot trend in weddings.It also makes weddings a hot trend in barn preservation.
More than two dozen Minnesota barn-based wedding venues are listed on the website rusticbride.com,
and two more are being proposed in Washington County.In most cases,the wedding business has
brought unused barns back to life.
Why the unlikely marriage of matrimony and farm buildings?
"Barns are huge,"said Matt Rush,director of Bellagala Event Planning of St.Paul,who described them
as good sites for young couples who want to express themselves in their weddings.
"They live their lives through Facebook and Twitter,"Rush said.That means they want a personalized
event they can share with the world--with their own color scheme,quirky clothing or monogrammed
cupcakes instead of a cake.
And a unique location is part of the package.
"Rather than have a place where their friends have had a wedding,the barns are new,"Rush said,
He said young couples also prefer nature-friendly sites and the convenience of having a ceremony and
reception in one place.And in Minnesota,an outdoor wedding requires a backup plan--a large sheltered
area--in case of rain.
Barns,he said,fit those needs like a custom-made wedding gown.
Unlike old houses,barns are difficult to retrofit for human habitation.They were built without electricity,
heat or plumbing,perhaps 100 years ago.They tend to be in remote locations.
Scott Jordan loves his 100-year-old dairy barn in Grant but said it would be useless without his business,
Dellwood Barn Weddings.
"If that barn were to go away in an act of God,a fire or tornado,I would just put up a pole barn,"he said.
In Minnesota,a handful of barns have been rebuilt at great cost to house people or businesses.A few
more have been restored by local governments to create parks.
But mostly,they have been rotting away—until now.
"The whole secret to saving barns is finding a use for them,"said Curt Richter of Scandia,who is a
restoration contractor and former chairman of the Friends of Minnesota Barns.
The wedding business is one of few that can make a profit by operating only in warm months. That means
the barns don't have to be rebuilt with insulation and furnaces --and makes the businesses easy to start.
"You just get an old farm and away you go. It's really crazy,"said Michael Bushilla, co-owner of Hope
Glen Farm in Cottage Grove.
The site fees for barns can range from $2,000 to $6,000.
Wayne and Angie Butt bought a 5-acre historic farm in Cottage Grove and plan to open it for weddings
this fall. He said couples like barn weddings because they are casual.
"They want to wear blue jeans, and country-style shirts and dresses," Butt said.
In Afton, Tom Holderle hopes to open a wedding business in his 100-year-old barn. Without the
weddings, it has no purpose.
"Property has to earn its keep," he said.
If there is a loser in the barn-wedding trend, it might be churches.
Most churches are steeped in tradition and can interfere with a couple's desire for individuality, said
wedding planner Rush.
Some restrict the music that can be played. Some forbid flash photography or won't let a photographer
move freely.
Church weddings usually require guests to climb back into their cars and drive to another setting for the
reception. Churches might not even have a monopoly on spiritual inspiration.
"In my opinion, there is nothing more sacred than getting married under the canopy of nature," said Cindie
Sinclair, who owns Camrose Hill in West Lakeland Township, where Heidi Erickson and Todd Bagby were
married in May.
The setting could have been handmade by Mother Nature herself.
The 75 guests signed a book on a shabby-chic antique table, then walked a path lined with candles
toward a flower-decked trellis.
The vows were exchanged on a verdant hillside with trees arching overhead and rose petals in the
birdbaths. Several 100-year-old farm buildings circled around, as if they had come to give their blessings.
Why did the couple choose this rather than a church?
Dan Erickson, father of the bride, explained, "It's a Frank Sinatra wedding --they did it their way."
Bob Shaw can be reached at 651-228-5433.
Follow him at twitter.com/BshawPP.
BARN WEDDINGS
Local wedding venues with restored or reproduced barns include:
-- Berry Hill Farm, 6510 185th Avenue N.W., Anoka, 763-753-5891, www.berryhillfarm.com
Saying 'I do' at historic barns, and helping preserve them - TwinCities.com Page
- Bruentrup Heritage Farm, Maplewood, 2170 East County Road D, Maplewood, 651-748-8645,
maplewoodhistoricalsociety.org.
-- Camrose Hill Farm, 14587 30th St. N., West Lakeland Township, 651-351-9631,
camrosehillflowers.com
- Dellwood Barn, 7373 120th St., Dellwood, 612-325-5388, dellwoodbarnweddings.com
-- Hope Glen Farm, 10276 East Point Douglas Road S., Cottage Grove, 612-202-2886,
hopeglenfarm.com
-- Maple Ridge Farm, Taylors Falls, 651-210-9520, mapleridgefarmmn.com
-- Red Barn at Gibbs Museum, 2097 W. Larpenteur Ave., St. Paul, 651-646-8629, rchs.com
-- Terra Nue Farm, 32025 Ranch Trail, Shafer, 651-332-4191, terranue.com