Sunday, May 3, 2015

Wedding Party - Homemade, Barn Style

I mentioned in a previous post we traveled to Casstown, Ohio in April for a family wedding party. It was a great venue, with many homemade, personal touches by the marrying couple and their families, and we had a really good time. There are a lot of great ideas here for anyone planning a wedding - some you may have seen before, but a few I hadn't ever seen - so I wanted to share. Lots of photos, so grab your favorite drink, relax and enjoy.
Lostcreek Memory Barn - Casstown, OH
The reception venue was held at a 100+ year-old family farmstead - the Wilhelm Family Farm, aka Lostcreek Memory Barn, in Casstown, Ohio (SR 589). I have no idea of pricing of anything, but I know the 3rd generation of this working farm just started booking weddings last year (two), and they already have 41 booked for 2015 as of our visit.

The sign-in table was right at the curtained barn doors. Guests signed squares of fabric with permanent ink markers, and a family friend was going to be making a friendship quilt for the couple. Isn't that cool? They encouraged guests to share photos with a personal hashtag so they could easily find photos on Facebook and Instagram.
The table assignments were hung on an old ladder next to the sign-in table.
The tables were topped with burlap and had hand-burned & numbered, wood-cut toppers made by the groom's dad. Flowers were arranged in vintage milk glass vases on crochet doilies by the bride's stepmom.
The bride and groom's table was a vintage settee and table with vintage linens.
The cupcake stand was situated right next to the bride and groom's table.
The gift table was arranged just beyond the cupcake stand on a vintage dresser, with a homemade card banner over a vintage suitcase.
The setup was great while guests waited for the couple to arrive. The DJ was situated in the loft on the left, while the bartender poured drinks from the open bar just below. The photo booth was in the loft, on the right.


There were plenty of soft drinks and bottled waters for guests to serve themselves too, as well as dispenser jugs of lemonade and teas just beside the bartender.
There was a candy bar (apologies for photo quality) in the opposite corner that was only discovered by watching kids congregating. Cute little fabric bags (like the squares at sign-in) were stitched up and tucked inside the drawer for easy takeaways.
The reception card read, "BITES, BOOZE, AND BAD DANCE MOVES", but we had no idea there was a meal in store for us outside! There was a freestyle grill on wheels, cookin' up bacon burgers and grilled chicken sandwiches.
There was a cart full of sides including homemade mac & cheese, quinoa, baked potato chips, green beans, salad. Fixins for the sandwiches included grilled onions, homemade dill pickles and the normal condiment spreads.
There were smokers' stands (and seating) outside of the barn, next to the gravel road, far enough away that they weren't offensive to non-smokers.
The restrooms had doors on sliding tracks.
I made myself busy taking photos as we waited our turn for the buffet, and struck up a conversation with one of the family members of the 3rd generation who currently own the farmstead (she was tending the parking lot). That's how I learned about the property and the fact that it was over 100 years old. She asked me if I wanted to see inside the house. Oh no, I have no interest in antiques........said no Panoply sister ever!

The home was built in 1886, has nearly 200 acres of land, and is still being farmed (corn and soybeans, about 70 acres worth, I believe she said). The first generation of the current family moved in in 1916. The ceilings are at 13 feet, the doors are heavy oak, and the hardware was just awesome. There were nice pieces of antique furniture still remaining, but some not-so-great updates made over the years, and continuing.
Wilhelm Family Home at Lostcreek Memory Barn
I hurried through the tour of the ground floor, but figured my posse would come looking for me, so told her I had to go. Before leaving the house, she was extremely proud to show me their venue had been voted top wedding site for 2014 in the knot OHIO magazine, beating out Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo sites in its most recent publication. :)
On our walk back to the barn, the owner mentioned the family had cleared out the barn to make it a party venue, and all I could think about was what all they got rid of, so I asked (she said it was FULL). She said a lot of it was still under the barn's ground floor and other buildings. 8-)

A gorgeous venue, a gorgeous day, a beautiful ending. I hope the couple live happily ever after.
Sunset on the Fields at Lostcreek Memory Farmstead - Casstown, OH
This wedding was put together by the couple and their parents. When my daughter was married in 2013, we also provided a scaled-down, very affordable wedding and reception with great results. You can read about it here, here and here.

I really love the trend in weddings for a scaled-down decor and homemade, vintage options. Who doesn't love saving money and having a good time too?

Thanks for your visit!
Rita C. at Panoply
(Special thanks to Debra at Share Your Style #13 and Jill at Let's Talk Vintage #31 for featuring this post!)
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