Rustic Barn Wedding

Amee Barn Wedding

This past weekend was one of our favorite weddings of all time. John and Celia chose to host their wedding day reception in the Amee Farm barn (an organic farm just a half a mile down the road).  They love Vermont, farms and great produce:) and chose the barn as a rustic backdrop for their farm fresh meal. My favorite element of their design was the farm table. They chose locally-made 8 foot,  rectangular  "farmhouse tables"  to set the scene in this intimate space. They chose a sweet, white hemstitch runner and flowers in season (great bright oranges, deep green, reds and cranberry colors) sitting in an tomato tin can. It was just so adorable...I hope my photos do it justice. This dining experience was definitely not your typical (boring) wedding feel....The dinner was buzzing with comfortable conversation and beautiful toasts of friends and family, the setting sun, soft glow of candle light and the simple and classic textures (raw wood tables and white cotton linens) created the perfect mood. It was relaxed and classic and elegant and fun.... just like John and Celia.

Shannon and Ben - a beautiful summer wedding

June 2010

We had the honor of hosting Shannon and Ben's family here at the Amee Farm for their lovely wedding weekend in June. The weather was perfect- sunny but not too warm. The morning of the wedding all the guests enjoyed hiking, relaxing on the front porch and just chatting with one another. With everyone staying right here in Pittsfield, it made for a very relaxing "family reunion" style event. These families were so laid back and just enjoyed spending the weekend catching up and celebrating with the happy couple. After a long day of lounging at the Amee Lodge, they gathered for a quiet ceremony by the waterfall and then walked over the beautiful candle lit barn and dined together over a fabulous summer farm fare which of course included fresh produce plucked right out of The Amee Farm garden. Lovely weekend. Enjoy the photos courtesy of Courtney Desena:)

Ben and Shannon

Walking together from the pond up the hill to their ceremony...

With live mandolin music being played, the walked hand in hand- their first steps as a married couple

Shannon is so happy... she grinned through the entire ceremony. Love it!

Shannon and Ben are getting married

OK Here is your country wedding in Vermont and this photo is the inspiration you've been needing to break out your paper and pen (or laptop) and write those vows. Grab some tissues and a glass of wine and get to work:) 

This is the view from the ceremony... what your bridesmaids, groomsman and officiant will see throughout your private service... pretty awesome. 

Mountain view and garden bridge 

View from the ceremony site... the mountains, the barns, the pond... Pure Vermont!

flowers....

Ceremony site - waterfall  and garden.... remember that it's YOUR choice of chair for your guests... anything from wooden benches, hay bales with mexican blankets, church pews or white wooden folding chairs... anything you want:) We encourage creativity...

There are so many great places to get the "country" shot- with the tall grasses here, behind the stone path...it makes for a fantastic setting for your farm wedding... without the manure smell of course:)

Shannon in the garden 

The country garden is in full bloom (June)

Ben and Shannon sitting in the garden

Walking through the garden

View from the ceremony site by the waterfall

Quiet time before the wedding ceremony

A quiet moment  in the bridal suite before the ceremony... 

Grandmother's golden heirloom pendant

Popular shoe choice among Vermont brides... practical, adorable and comfy!

Beautiful, simple bridesmaid flowers tied with a white ribbon....Thanks to Trish from The Pittsfield Garden Center (her shop is right next door)

Shannon's bouquet... lovely

"Country charm meets city chic" - Sashay Magazine

Here's a great new article telling the WHOLE story of The Amee Farm & Riverside Farm... the only correction is that The Amee Farm is owned by a group of people including Michael Halovatch (great friend of The Desena's) and others...

Sashay Magazine...Summer 2010

"And so their search began. They clipped newspaper ads and hunted for barns. They sought out country real estate agents. On weekends, they cruised the byways of upstate New York and the New England states, all without success until the day they boarded a plane for a western ski vacation. A magazine left on their seat lay open to a picture advertising the 300-year-old Riverside Farm in the heart of Vermont ski country.

If Joe and Courtney Desena, the proprietors of historic Amee Farm in Pittsfield, Vermont, don’t seem like typical innkeepers, it’s because they’re not. Only seven years ago, they were the model Manhattan couple: smart, young sophisticates living in the city and working in the fast-paced world of high finance.

Nor is Amee Farm a typical inn. It retains the architectural charm of a traditional New England farmhouse built about 300 years ago – which it is -- but within its historic exterior there’s up-to-date technology that reflects a contemporary respect for sustainable ecology that includes geothermal heating and soy insulation. And Amee Farm’s garden is organic.

Just as rigorous are the standards for hospitality. Guests

have a choice of double, queen or king-sized beds dressed in

organic sheets. Private bathrooms are outfitted with

organic towels and organic toiletries.

The genesis for Amee Farm also is organic. It grew naturally. Before Joe and Courtney decided to marry, he asked, “How do you feel about old barns?” His beautiful, dark-haired bride-to-be listened as he told her that his childhood in upstate New York had nurtured an enduring fondness for old barns. If she agreed, he wished to be married in one.

Courtney and Joe visited the New England Village of Pittsfield, population 427, and the historic farmstead, one of the first dwellings in the Green Mountains region. They fell in love with the decaying barn that begged for TLC. The covered bridge was a plus. The combination was irresistible.

But when their parents saw it, they shuddered. The neglected property was a disaster. How could a couple of young city-dwellers possibly cope with the extensive repairs and maintenance the decrepit buildings required?

Undiscouraged, the engaged couple went ahead and purchased the 300-acres with the dilapidated house, crumbling barn, bridge, and outbuildings. For a year, they devoted themselves to rehabbing the barn. And when they were done, Joe’s wish came true. They married in the meadow, then danced and dined with guests in the handsomely restored barn. Townsfolk talked about the beautiful barn and romantic wedding for months.

After a honeymoon in India, the newlyweds returned to the city. They planned to use the barn as a weekend retreat, a ski house for nearby Killington in winter, a country home in summer.

One day Courtney opened the barn door to a woman she did not know. “I’ve heard that you host lovely weddings here,” said the stranger. Before Courtney could correct her, the woman continued. Her daughter was being graduated from nearby Bennington College and had set her heart on a country wedding. “We’d like to rent the barn,” she said.

Courtney was about to explain that the barn was not available for rentals, but Joe, who overheard the conversation, encouraged her to consider the idea. Courtney had researched caterers, florists, ministers, photographers, and transportation for her own wedding. She had a bulging file of local resources. Before she knew what had happened, she found herself planning the Bennington College grad’s wedding.

Word got around about the weddings at Riverside Farm and other couples asked to marry there. Soon Courtney had made an unintended career change and was busy as a professional wedding planner. The new trade was good for the local businesses and the town. Courtney found it increasingly difficult, however, to coordinate the many details of Vermont weddings from New York.

Vermont beckoned. With each stay, their barn had become more special. Courtney and Joe packed up their belongings and moved to Pittsfield. Joe restored one of the outbuildings on the farm for an office and, thanks to the Internet, manages investments from Pittsfield. They also restored two small houses on the farm. One is a feminine bride’s cottage decorated with local crafts. The other is the groom’s house, a rustic cabin where guys can put up their feet and not worry about beer bottles leaving rings on the furniture.

When Courtney and Joe noticed that historic barns around New England were disappearing faster than they could be preserved, they began a rescue effort. They hired craftspeople familiar with traditional building techniques to dismantle the antique barns, number the boards, and to resurrect the barns at Riverside Farm, where they are meticulously maintained. Now couples have a choice of four barns for their wedding.

To accommodate guests, Joe and Courtney also restored nearby Amee Farm, preserving its charming architecture in a green building. Each guest room is uniquely furnished in casual luxury with antiques Courtney personally selected. It is another way of recycling.

She also purchased the work of local artists and artisans. Award-winning chainsaw artist Barre Pinske, whose carving of a bear the U.S. Government presented as a gift to the Russians on the signing of a treaty, constructed much of the furniture. Whenever possible, he recycled fallen trees and other discarded wood on the property. Expressing his witty sense of humor with a board he found in the cow barn that was scarred by hooves of cows, he attached four legs and carved cow feet at the bottom. It’s now a comfortable bench beside the sitting room fireplace. He also designed and made the custom headboard and the wardrobe in each of the twelve guest rooms.

The Amee Farm art gallery showcases local talent. On opening nights, there’s a wine and cheese reception for the artist and guests. It’s a taste of Manhattan in Vermont. Like Courtney and Joe Desena, Amee Farm brings together country charm and city chic."

Shirley Moskow traded  work as a newspaper editor for the life of a footloose freelancer. She writes for magazines and newspapers about her two passions, the arts and travel. Currently, she's putting the finishing touches on her third book, first novel.