The Pavilion at Black Water Junction

Within several months of buying a farm close to our home, our daughter got engaged. She announced that she wanted to have her wedding on the farm. We had named the farm “Black Water Junction” because the arm of the Blackwater channel of Smith Mountain Lake comes up in front of and beside of the land surrounding us. We had started a pole barn to hold our equipment and hay, so agreed to host the wedding there. That is when our adventure began. She decided that she really did not want porta johns, so we added plans for a bathroom. It was then decided that one bathroom would not be enough for all of her guests. She thought it would be nice if a gravel parking lot lead to a walkway to the Pavilion so that even if it were raining, her guests would not be concerned about getting stuck in a field, or the ladies would not ruin their high heels, so we added a parking lot big enough for all of her guests’ cars. As the contractors were pouring the concrete floor inside, she thought that it would be nice to extend the concrete outside of the building for a dance floor, so she laid out a free-flowing edge with a garden hose, thus creating a gorgeous dance floor that flows out from the building. Each step of the venue was built like this. The materials used for the venue were reclaimed from old structures on the farm, from my father’s pack house that housed cedar he had rough sawn in the 1950’s, and from logs cut on the farm. The doors, windows, stained and leaded glass all came from old buildings that my family had owned throughout the last 60 years. The decorations were collected from family and friends making each piece special. A kitchen and pizza oven were added to accommodate our family gatherings. We built a bar out of an old door, complete with rollers, epoxy top and bottle opener on the side. We bought tables and chairs from an auction. We were then ready to host our daughter’s bridal shower, even though construction was not quite done. The day of her wedding, we were still taking tools out of the building, ignoring the few pieces of molding that did not get put up, and had the most wonderful day. It was only as an afterthought, that The Pavilion at Black Water Junction was opened up for others to have their event there. It was built by my family with all of us putting our hearts and souls into each and every detail of the venue. Because this place is so special to us, we hope that all of you get the chance to make it a special place for you too.