Welcome to The Barn at Cranberry Creek Blog
Welcome to The Barn at Cranberry Creek Blog. Thanks for stopping by! We’d like to introduce ourselves. We are in the process of transforming our family dairy farm into a barn wedding venue. We began renovations to the farm in September and have been working non-stop since. Our plans are fairly large, but we know the end result will be the barn wedding venue of many brides-to-be’s dreams.
Our vision for the venue is to give couples several possibilities for their ceremony and reception. Currently, our largest renovation is happening in our hay barn. This two-story structure features a lower level perfect for serving and seating, as well as a gorgeous loft. The loft will be perfect for dining, dancing, or even the wedding ceremony should a couple choose to marry indoors. We have an elegant bridal room in the works – with a lounging area, vanities and a dressing area. We’re also adding modern restrooms and a catering prep-kitchen for our clients’ convenience.
Other changes happening around the farm include the transformation of what we once called “the lot” (the concrete area where cows fed before and after milkings). This area will now be a courtyard adorned with pergolas, seating, firepits, and rustic Edison lights. The milk barn is in the process of becoming office and storage space. We’re also restoring the milking parlor to preserve a little piece of our history. Our silo is getting a fun makeover. It’s soon to be the most sought after groom’s hangout in the area – the man cave of all man caves! The field behind the barn has soybeans on it at the moment, but by Spring it will be a picturesque grass meadow with arbors and seating for wedding ceremonies.
As you can see, there’s so much happening right now around the farm. It’s a surreal time for our family. We haven’t had a working dairy since 1998 but now it’s abuzz with new life and new energy. It’s hard work, but special times nonetheless. We are thankful for this opportunity!
Check back with us weekly for updates on what’s going on around the farm. For now, here are a few of our current projects.
Painting the Milk Barn
The milk barn is a cinder block building with 3 rooms — a milking parlor, milk tank room & stanchion room. The milking parlor is in good condition and has remained untouched since the barn’s dairy farming days. We’re restoring this room as a tribute to our past, so guests can enjoy a little piece of history when they visit with us. The stanchion room (where cows were milked by hand before the parlor was added) will be used for storage, specifically for our decorations and all of the “pretty things” our brides are going to love. The milk tank room is taking on the greatest transformation. This space originally housed a 400 gallon milk tank, later replaced by an 800 gallon tank. Today, it’s being remodeled into The Barn at Cranberry Creek office. We look forward to meeting with brides in this room very soon! (Maybe you?)
New Barn Doors
It’s barn doors for days in our free stalls right now! Our carpenter has built the most magnificent barn doors for both of our barns. The lower level doors for the hay barn are enormous. We can’t wait to see them hung! We spent a large portion of this past Saturday sanding and staining the 4 main doors. We’ll be back at work on them again Monday. Hopefully by the end of the week they’ll be hanging on the barn.
Loft Staircases
Construction of our loft staircases begins Monday. We’ll have a total of two sets of stairs leading up to the loft, one on each end of the hay barn. We have some fun plans for the railing on the stairs and around the loft. The space is going to be a showstopper, and I can’t wait to see the look on our clients’ faces when they see it for the first time! The staircases are going to make such a beautiful spot for photographs.
Entrance Sign
We’re working on the sign along Cranberry Road (pictured above), adding a pergola-type structure which will be stained to match the rest of the woodwork and will visually tie in to the pergolas we’re planning for “the lot.” We’re going relocate the original Coble Dairy Products sign to a special spot on the milk barn, and hang the new Barn at Cranberry Creek sign in its place in the next several weeks. Of course, we’ll add some pretty landscaping to finish it off!
Lighting
This entire process is truly a decorating aficionado’s dream! I’m having a large time making plans, picking out accessories and blowing up Pinterest with ideas for the wedding barn venue. From chandeliers in the barn loft, to pendant barn lights in the office, we’re combining a sense of elegance with a twist of rustic charm. Oh, and let us not forget the Edison lights! I can’t wait to see our pergolas and courtyard lit up at night. Lighting is such an important touch!
Office Addition
Speaking of a decorator’s dream, I’ve been itching to use shiplap in a room, (Thank you, Joanna Gaines!) and it’s happening, y’all! White shiplapped walls, a tall ceiling with beautiful wooden beams, a gorgeous old tin roof that shines extra bright at night above the barn lights… These are a few of my favorite things! I truly cannot wait to style this space with furniture and a few accessories. Speaking of which, it should be happening soon. Our carpenter is replacing windows and has most of the demo completed. It should be an exciting week as the space begins to take shape. Photos coming soon!
Exciting changes are happening at The Barn at Cranberry Creek every day. The thrill of this process is like watching a dream come true, except it’s even better than I could have imagined!
Keep checking back for updates on what’s happening around the farm AND for a HUGE announcement coming very soon. (Hint, if you are in search of a barn wedding venue, you’re going to like it. A lot.)
Take a look through our website and get to know us better. Be sure to subscribe to our blog, and for the most current updates and news about The Barn at Cranberry Creek, don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram!
This has been fun! Let’s do this again soon, shall we?
