Not me..we have a really trashy neighbor down the road who burns garbage all the time. But I did work with a guy who raised white homing pigeons, he would rent them out to couples on their wedding day for the ceremony. They would release the birds after they said their vows (he had a little neat looking cage for them), they'd fly up in the air and come back home to roost. I think he charged like 100 bucks for that, maybe more. HTH! :)

We have a neighbor who put up a section of weathered three-board fence, parked a piece of rusty farm equipment near it, planted a big rose bush and charges people to have engagement, wedding, graduation pictures taken there. I think he charges $25 an hour. During graduation season you can't get in his front gate!

I'm really not trying to rain on your parade, but would like you to make this to be a well-reasoned decision, with all the plusses and all the minusses thought through.

If you are thinking about doing this seriously, you might first talk to your insurance agent - if you are generating income, your homeowners insurance probably won't cover it. You will probably need at LEAST a liability coverage of one million dollars to be safe, and the way litigiousness (If it wasn't a word, it is now!) is the first thought through people's minds if anyone gets hurt, more might be better.

For the set-up above, just for photos, there's probably not a liability issue, but for parties, where people are going to be wandering around, and maybe having a bit too much to drink, things can happen.

That's another thing to think about - where are you going to stage these things, what are you going to do about crowd/people control? Considering the lack of parental control over kids that I have seen in public lately, who will be keeping an eye on the little darlings so that dogs, cats, hens, etc. don't get hurt, gates don't get opened, and the little darlings don't get hurt? If the people who will be using your farm are already country people, they will be understanding about the poop and general "countryness" of some unavoidable smells and sights, but if they are city folk - it will just be "dirty"! And you will have to have the areas that the public will be using very neat and tidy for the events - lawn mowed, weeds pulled, paths raked, dogs penned up, etc., etc..

I am sure there are other thoughts, but those are some of the first off my so-called mind. If your place is attractive, and full of photo opportunities, then I can imagine it could be lovely to hold a wedding there.

We've helped with two country weddings this year on two different locations.

I agree with the need for insurance for weddings if alcohol is served. Document your pre-wedding search for any hazards, trip and fall, or other potential dangers. Is there a pond or swimming pool? Do you have a mean bull or stallion?

I've thought about eventually doing this at my place.

If I do this I'll need a large white gazebo and a smooth path leading to it for the wedding march, through a flat area with room for 200 or so folding chairs. The path for the wedding march will be carefully laid brick. And long before the first wedding, I will work hard to level my lawn.

I wont want people coming into my house so will need a large summer house with bathrooms, and with a stage for bands. Wiring will have to be heavy duty to keep the amplifiers from blowing fuses.

I'll need candelabras, folding chairs, etc, etc, etc....

For a large wedding with alcohol, I'd hire an off duty police officer as security.

Could be very expensive ... just a way to pay off PART of the summer house I want.

I actually wrote a business plan on this subject. I want to be able to host weddings on my future property. I planned to have several different garden styles to please clients adjecent to a dance area. I also plan on including a guest house for the wedding party to prepare and stay in if needed. Layout must be carefully considered to keep the flow of guests and there vehicles in order.
I also intend to have a collection of good caterers, cake makers, photographers, floor/chair rental, and all the other needs of a wedding and reception. I would make recomendations to my clients to use these services. Im thinking that i would get a small cut of there profit for handing them regular business.

Ive thought about doing fancy horse drawn carriages as well.

The idea above about renting the property for photography is a great one. Cheap to do and easy to make money from. I think i will try that too.
michelle

Having worked for a restaurant that catered weddings I would not want to do weddings on my farm. Dealing with Bridezillas and their mothers is often a dreadful thing to do. At least I would not want to be the wedding planner. I could be open to having my farm used as a venue and some else does all the planning for the event.

You would have to have a good liability policy regardless of the presence of alcohol.

Granted, this could be incredibly lucrative as weddings these days seem to be about how much money can one spend. But personally I can think of a lot of other ways to make money from a farm.

Interesting concept. Are you offering a location for pictures, or are you planning on offering wedding planning services? The difference is colossal.

The catch is, as always is, what is the cost to income ratio? This need not be a dollars only calculation; value such as satisfaction may be a factor. If all you provide is a section of fence and an antiquated piece of machinery, it may be worth it.

As far as agritainment, imagination and location seem to be the biggest factor involved. Pumpkin patches and corn mazes, haunted houses and hay rides, grain bins laid on their sides and put on rollers; I know a neighbor that offers several acres for paintball.

I have one neighbor who would be the most successful at the business of agritainment, if it were not for the fact that the nearest town has a sum total of 68 people (90 miles a town of more than 20,000). He makes caterpillars out of bales, puts an old toilet on the side of the road (emergency use only [it has been used]), and put a mail box on the top of an old power line pole (air mail delivery).

Ever hear of a publication called The Farm Show? Some of the best money you could ever spend. Now if you really have a farm, you probably get all sorts of publications about dairying, beef cattle, hay and forage and other crops. From time to time, there are articles on agritainment, ideas and what people are doing. The best summation I can do is imagination and location.

Debbie,

I asked our neighbor about the photo-op business. In addition to the fence/rusty equipment/rose bush area, he has a weathered shed with two faux-stalls; square straw bales next to a barn wall painted with the Texas flag (which wouldn't go over big in TN, but use your imagination); and an ancient quarter horse who hangs his head over a fence and looks photogenic. He charges $25 an hour for couples and singles. For wedding parties he charges $10 per head (people, not livestock) and schedules two dates for each photo-op in case of rain (or family squabbles). He said he clears about $800 in graduation season, and about $3,000 over the year in wedding photos. He is also advertising "youth" photos--kids in western or farm gear, sitting on a hay bale or near the horse. That business is picking up, too. He carries extra liability insurance (in case the horse falls over) which costs him about $200 a year (but insurance in Texas is really high--probably because we have so many old horses and young idiots).He said he probably puts about 10 hours a year into the "business" which is mainly mowing, checking the fence and spending time scheduling.

Thank you to all who have responded. I would love to hear from
more people, so I'm bumping this back to the top of the list. I'll give you all a better idea of our situation. We aren't inexperienced with weddings. We have already done several weddings and receptions just on our front lawn...all for free. I have done lots of wedding cakes and catering...all for free. I have a hard time charging people. Now, I would like to move the weddings to a 1 1/2 acre pond in the woods behind our house and starting to make a little money to help keep up the farm. I'm interested in hearing from people who have ideas or can offer advice.
Thank you,

Debbie

Michelle and Debbie, if either of you did pursue this idea of hosting farm weddings, I would love to hear from you. I live in Oregon and am strongly considering this and would love to share ideas. My email is chrissa49@hotmail.com. I hope you get this email, as this thread is quite dated.

My Aunt and Uncle have this beautiful old barn that is just amazing and they host wedding receptions there. The also host the cities plow day in the field behind the barn. They put up white Christmas lights and string them way up to the top of the barn - it's got to be nerve-wracking getting them up there!

There was a farm in my area doing it. Renting out their facilities for weddings.

All the neighbors got together and filed a class action lawsuit against them to make them quit.

The neighbors had had all they could take of cars parked every where, traffic blocking the roads, loud amplified music, and loud drunken celebrations 2 days every weekend and daily all summer.

It's one thing for your neighbors to have a loud party a couple of times every year. It's another thing if they do it 2-3 days every week.

The county received so many complaints that they decided that agricultural zoning doesn't allow commercial use and they shut the place down for zoning violation.