The Barn at the Olde Homestead

ntract of do’s and don’t comes the day of dos and don’t that are not listed in the contract. A lengthy list of surprise add-on dos and don'ts - all of which come with additional costs. From providing alcohol for the bar cart that we paid a significant amount of money for (which we apparently provided “too much alcohol for just a good time” (2 beers per person if you’re curious)), to having to suddenly provide large coolers day of for this bar cart since our coolers apparently weren’t large enough (an extra $200 on the day), don’t let the kids play on the grass, no biodegradable flower petals allowed, but never fear - we found and cleaned up flower petals from the previous party so we didn’t get charged. The air conditioner in the bride's cabin did not function well enough. It was roasting! The owners indicated in the contract that they would set up tables and chairs (and we couldn’t touch them), however the day before we were told we had to set up ourselves because they didn’t have staff for that. Decorations were difficult because there were not a lot of places to hang things from. We were told they would direct the wedding party for the service on when the bridal party should begin entering, however that never happened and we had to direct ourselves. There was little direction or organization of the parking to ensure the wedding party could access vehicles and leave as needed (despite being assured they’d have parking set aside just for the wedding party). Setup and takedown (especially) were frustrating as the owners were missing during setup and there micromanaging during takedown and offering opinions and asking multiple questions. In fact, they would ask the matron of honor questions and then ask the bride the same questions when an answer wasn’t liked. They also acted like we were going to intentionally trash their property at every turn. We took care to ensure that the property was in as good or better shape than when we arrived and always worked to ensure we showed respect at every turn. It would have been nice to have been shown some of that in return considering the amount of money spent on this place. Additionally, when “booking” this place, you have to pay in check or cash, unless you would like to pay an additional fee for "convenience" of a credit/debit card. Be prepared to wait for your "refundable damage deposit” as it can take up to 30 days to have returned to you. So yes. It’s beautiful. But it comes with a lot of caveats.