A seamless combination of beautiful scenery, nestled amongst severe frustration and disappointment.
My wife and I were married here in January, 2017. We had been in contact with Patrick for several months and discussed several ideas with him,... all of which he made out to be no big deal. Everything seemed to be on the right track...
Fast forward to the day before the wedding. We arrived on site and Patrick made damn sure that we did not feel welcome. The things that we had discussed in person, he made out to be major setbacks to himself, personally. We had discussed using the barn from 9AM-9PM instead of 10-10. Patrick's new response, "I'm sure not getting up that early to turn the heater on." Huh. The over $11,000 in your bank account suggests otherwise, but maybe he's new to the hospitality industry.
That welcoming attitude continued through the weekend. One of the water pipes in the barn was frozen, and Patrick said he would work on it that night. My wife asked what we could do if it wasn't cleared by morning, and Patrick snapped back that someone would just stand in the restroom with a bucket to flush the toilets.
Several guests pulled into the wrong parking lot. There are two driveways into the venue. One large, marked one. One unmarked and really hard to find if you're not aware. Guess which one he wanted the majority of visitors to use? Naturally, Patrick was right on cue to snap at anyone who didn't go into the correct one. Because Patrick is unable to set up any sort of logical parking situation, he conveniently parks his quad in the middle of the driveway, which really makes things difficult to load and unload into the barn. Don't you dare use the other road he's plowed around the barn though. Apparently there's $10,000 worth of slate under that snow and he's just itching to tell your guests that he'll sue them.
Patrick's genuine hospitality followed through the evening, where he found himself standing by the bar, smiling at no one and reminding anyone who cared to ask that it's, "his barn." He went as far as to ask my father in law when he planned to leave his barn. He was so nice that several of my guests asked why he was so pissed off. Even some family members that are also in the hospitality industry said he seemed very off-put by any kind of hosting. How embarrassing is that?
Fear not, the disappointment goes beyond the host. The rooms were dated and even with the heaters on high, my wife and I were both freezing in our room. The shower was only luke-warm, and we couldn't use the bathtub during any hours one normally would, per Patrick's drill sergeant-esque rules. The breakfast, though very tasty, was portioned for... I don't know. A runway model. Bring your own food, you'll need it. If you or anyone in your party has kids, don't bother. He will make sure you know he will not make extra food, and that he will count a 7 year old as "practically an adult."
Interestingly, I'm reading that several wedding coordinators have said they had a great experience. I was told that they are very defensive of their reviews. Maybe he thinks he only has to by cordial to people within the industry? Well, here's an honest one. I gave it 2 stars because the venue really is beautiful. But I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. It's not worth the headache. Patrick will only go out of his way if it means reminding you that this is his place and you're really not welcome. Lovely pictures though.