Forever Blueberry Barn

I am writing this as a DJ and as a friend of a couple who chose Forever Blueberry Barn in the late summer of 2023. The wedding party and family were very frustrated with the venue and staff (Sue & Josh) throughout the planning, setup, and event. I’ve been a professional wedding DJ for more than 17 years and have never experienced such unprofessional behavior from venue staff. The bride and groom spent thousands extra to rent the facility the day before for setup and rehearsal. I also came to setup that day for rehearsal. On arrival I was given a hard time about where I parked, despite parking in the driveway near the front of the building so that I could unload heavy equipment. The family of the bride and groom were also harassed for parking and unloading near the front of the building. We were told that it was blocking the entrance to the building. Keep in mind, there was no one else there besides the party and a few family members and this was during the setup time the day before the wedding. After unloading my equipment and beginning to move it inside, I was harassed for using a hand truck (with pneumatic rubber wheels) to move my equipment into the facility. I was told that I was damaging their doorway threshold despite that the threshold was already badly damaged prior to any of us arriving. I was then asked to carry my equipment around the building instead. I observed Sue addressing the family and the bridal party in a similar manner. She also harassed them about where they parked and how they brought in their decorations. Sue repeatedly interjected into conversations that she was not a part of. During rehearsal, while we worked on the audio cues, Sue loudly yelled from the back of the room, “the sound is far too loud, it that will have to be turned down”. The sound was less than 80db inside (not very loud). On wedding day, I observed Sue and Josh openly criticizing and complaining about members of the family and the bride and groom. About 30mins after dancing started, volume around 85db (very low), a police officer showed up and asked me to turn the music down. As it turns out, a police officer is present at every event, but no one was told this. I politely expressed to the officer that the sound was not loud and showed him a decibel meter. He told me that he understood, but regardless it had to come down because there was a noise ordinance recently passed. This meant, that the music had to be turned down to a level that was so quiet that you could not hear it right outside of the barn, not more than 15ft from the speakers. After cleaning up, my assistant and I were the last ones left and ready to leave. At this point Josh started to complain to us for 20-30mins about how terrible their guests are. In more than 17 years of professional DJing, I have never experienced such an unprofessional venue and staff. The bridal party and family were also very displeased. This lack of respect and transparency is inexcusable. It is possible that Sue or Josh were just having a bad day, but by what I have seen in other reviews and what I experienced, I would highly recommend avoiding Forever Blueberry Barn at all cost. There are much more affordable wedding venues with much better staff that do not criticize, harass, and lie about what to expect for your event or wedding. For reference, here is the noise ordinance for Litchfield Township so that you may be aware of what to expect: https://tinyurl.com/4b3yc4mb