We were lucky to catch up with Alissa McPeek recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alissa, appreciate you joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
The Barn at White Pine Acres was started as a dream of two sisters-in-law (and their husbands), Alissa and Heidi, in 2021. (Alissa is married to Heidi’s brother) They both had large weddings and saw the need for a nice wedding and event facility that could accommodate a large guest list. The original plan was to purchase a piece of land and build their dream wedding and event barn. Land was found, blueprints were sketched, and the two were about to sign on the dotted line when a dream piece of property came for sale with a structure already in place. The property that is now White Pine Acres was built by Don and Karen Oakley and is where they raised their three children. The property had a 3500+ square foot home as well as Don’s “shed” which is now The Barn at White Pine Acres. Once Heidi and Alissa officially purchased the property in April of 2021, the magic began. The “shed” was completely transformed- an upstairs loft eliminated to showcase a grand ceiling, square footage added, an outdoor ceremony with stage completed, and a complete inside transformation. As far as the home that was on the property, it was completely refurnished and listed on Air BnB until the barn renovations were complete. The first event took place in the barn in April of 2022 being a high school prom. Ten weddings were also held in the barn during 2022. The following year, business doubled with 24 weddings being held and countless nights booked through Air BnB for the house. For 2024, the barn has 37 wedding scheduled as well as 2025 starting to book up quickly.
Alissa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
About the Owners: The Barn at White Pine Acres is owned by sisters-in-law, Alissa McPeek and Heidi Comstock. Alissa has been married to her high school sweetheart, Quinton (Heidi’s brother) for 11 years. They have three children, Rylee (8), Gavin (6), and Tucker (2 months). Alissa is a math teacher at Frontier High School, where she and Quinton both graduated from, as well as a Realtor. Heidi has been married to her high school sweetheart, Kris, for 7 years. She is in charge of accreditation at Washington County Career Center. They just welcomed their first child, Colton, in January.
About the Venue:
Travel just 10 miles outside of the city of Marietta, Ohio and you will find yourself in a place that radiates tranquility and charm. Our 15 acre property sits atop a ridge in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains and offers stunning views of the surrounding forest and hills.
Our 6,000+ square foot barn features:
A gorgeous white exterior
Wood accents
24 foot ceilings
Crystal chandeliers
Heating and AC
Covered front patio area
Large front barn doors
Handicapped accessible restrooms and parking
Prep kitchen space
Unstaffed bar area
Outdoor ceremony area w/ bench seating
The Barn at White Pine Acres is designed to enhance the unique personalities of every wedding style, whether it be shabby chic, sequins and glam, elegance and sophistication (or anything in between!)–we’re here to help make your big day dreams come true!
We are different from other venues in our area in that we can seat over 300 guests. We also have a rental house that couples can book for an entire wedding weekend. The house has a pool and hot tub.
We are proud of everything we have built from the ground up. From wondering if we were going to have enough events to make the payments to having to turn couples away because months are completely full. We pride ourselves in always providing couples with a clean, well maintained facility.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
The road has not always been smooth. The entire building/renovating process was so stressful with the constant permit checks and paperwork submissions. Trying to sell a venue to couples when it was still in the renovation phase was a challenge. Couples who did book basically booked off pictures and drawings of what it would look like. Trying to find the right pricing, accommodations, and packages to offer is a constant trial and error process.
How’d you meet your business partner?
We are sisters-in-law.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thebarnatwpa.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebarnatwpa