We recently connected with Lynette McCarthy and have shared our conversation below.
Lynette, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
Each one of us has a different definition of what success is and how to achieve it. To some it could be financial success. To others, it could mean success in Love.
To be successful in anything, you need to work towards a goal and know that there will be failures along the way. Sometimes that goal may shift a little along the way or look very different from where you started. For me, using failures as a way to improve is key. Success isn’t all about the end result, it’s more about the journey and the path you take to achieve it. And a big one for me, who you can share the journey with!
Before I met my husband Jerry, I was used to doing things on my own and creating my own individual successes which felt a little hollow. After I met my husband, I found out how much sweeter things were when you could work towards a common goal with a partner and share those accomplishments with someone. Not only is the journey that much enjoyable but there is someone there to pick you up and motivate you when things don’t quite go as planned. In turn, you can be the motivator for your partner, or both cry on each other shoulders when things get really tough. We did a lot of that during COVID when you couldn’t gather or use our Wedding Venue, we worked so hard to build and open!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
If you had asked me 25 years ago, if I would like to own a Christmas Tree Farm and run a Wedding Venue, I would have asked “Are you crazy?”. Even though I am a romantic at heart, am a planner, love animals and gardening, I never imagined I would be doing what I/we do today.
What brought us to our property, was our love of old houses. My grandfather restored old houses in Deerfield MA, and I always had the dream of living in one. Grandpa had a love of antiques and restoring and repurposing things which he passed on to me. Jerry, came across our gem while on a service call and we ultimately became the stewards of the house and property fulfilling a lifelong dream of both of us.
I think it was on our final walkthrough that we found out it was a Christmas Tree Farm. We both thought, “Ok, we both love Christmas and working outdoors, we can do this!”. As the Christmas Tree Farm grew in popularity as an experience, we had more and more couples tell us they would love to get married here. We started with outside weddings and began planning an indoor space for the main part of the event/reception. We wanted a building that was a natural extension of the farm and the rich history of the property, but also climate-controlled and comfortable for a wedding. Country Charm meet Sophisticated Elegance!
This is where our love of restoration and repurposing items kicked into high gear. We started collecting items for 10+ years that we wanted to incorporate into the finished building. Not only did this save things from the landfill, but it also allowed us to bring in features, such as our restored Bank Vault Gates, that won’t be found anywhere else.
The other thing that was extremely important to us, was to make our couples feel like they were family and not just another number/wedding. This is a major life event, and we think our couples deserve personal attention and to feel welcome. Having a wedding on our farm means there are no other events on their day nor are there any venue tours. They have the venue and property to themselves. My husband even throws in a little joke on our venue tours, “If there is someone here you don’t like on your wedding day, one of you invited them”.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
I met my husband/business partner when he moved in across the street from me in Newark Delaware. I had lived in the neighborhood for several years already and this was his first house. As we got to know each other, we found out we both had some of the same dreams, like moving to the country and owning an old house that was at least 100 years old with a few acres of land.
We also discovered we worked together very well. We both brought different skills to the table: I love to plan and design, and he loves to build things! We both were hard workers but also loved to laugh even at ourselves when one of us did something silly or by accident. It was a perfect match!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
One of the biggest blows we’ve had on our journey to opening a Wedding Venue was the unfortunate arrival of COVID back in 2020. We had been planning the building and business for 10+ years and had put a lot of our own sweat into the build as well as an investment of time and money. And the day we were set to officially open our building to the public for weddings was the day everything shut down. It was the worst time to open a new small business and an even worse time for a hospitality business where people ‘gather’!
After the shock wore off and the tears dried, we had to think about ways to pivot the business based on the new gathering rules. We looked at what options we could give the couples that had already booked with us as well as any future couples. As this was also very devastating to our couples, we had to make sure we approached this with empathy and understanding.
We looked for multiple solutions as a single solution didn’t fit all couples. We were able to come up with solutions that fit their individual needs and wedding vision. For some, it meant moving their entire event to a later date. For others, it meant holding their wedding ceremony with their immediate family and coming back the following year for their big event, and others doing the full event with a smaller number of people that were within the allowable count at that point in time. We didn’t get discouraged and didn’t let our couples worry. We let them know ‘we have your backs and were flexible to make their wedding dreams come true’.
A key to being resilient is being able to pivot the business when things are thrown your way that are out of your control.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.farmweddingde.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farmweddingde/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/farmweddingde
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/farmweddingde/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/farmweddingde
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePJjb6-h5iSYHUO5cMv3gw
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/farmweddingde/
Image Credits
Additional Photos with couples: Natalie Wagner Photography Photos without couples: Lynette McCarthy