This week we take a journey to Troy Pennsylvania to meet Pamela McMcKenney of Maple Ridge at Red Maple Ranch. Troy is located in northern Pennsylvania, bordering New York. This beautiful property started out as a dairy farm back in 1890! Pennsylvania hosts 34,000 weddings a year and ranks 12th in the nation for total weddings annually. When you think of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Pittsburg might come to mind first but Pennsylvania leads the nations in farm numbers. There are an estimated 4,229 farms in Pennsylvania! So, when you are not located near one of the large metropolitan areas and have a rustic farm wedding venue, how do you stand out and book weddings? This is a challenge many wedding venue owners face and the solutions vary widely. When it comes to wedding venue success, there are so many variables to consider. Pamela McKenney shares that over the past 18 months several new farm wedding venues have opened up in or near her market. She is not alone, Wedding Venue Owners & Managers Facebook group members report 6 to 10 new wedding venues opening in their markets in the past 18 months! Maybe this is due to the wedding industry success in 2019, or maybe during Covid quarantine, those who had dreamed of starting a wedding venue had time to make their dream a reality. This creates even more challenges as wedding venue owners strive to figure out the strategies for success that will work for their wedding venue as what worked before Covid might not work anymore. The Wedding Venue Stories, Maple Ridge at Red Maple Ranch video link is below and scroll down for images of the gorgeous venue and stunning mountain views!
In the video below I have the pleasure of chatting with Pamela to find out more about Maple Ridge at Red Maple Valley, her wedding venue story and learn what it’s like to own & operate a historic farm wedding venue in Pennsylvania. What does it take to transform a 130 year old dairy barn into a wedding venue? Pamela shares her success, struggles, wedding philosophies and even gets emotional when we discuss her wedding couples. When you love weddings as much as the McKenney’s, you still get choked up when you think about those special couples you hosted & those magical wedding moments you shared over the years! No wonder there are so many who love the idea of wedding venue ownership! If you have wedding venue ownership in mind, please watch the video. Pamela does not hold back on some of the hard realities of wedding venue ownership. Pamela & Brian McKenney own and operate Maple Ridge together. Having a partner who is on board with your dream of wedding venue ownership is so important. You can definitely do it on your own, but having a partner who is just as passionate about the wedding venue succeeding is a big bonus.
Are you struggling to get your wedding venue mojo back after Covid shut downs? Have you struggled to book weddings and stand out in competitive markets? I believe the answer relies heavily on wedding venue owners working together to lead their local wedding markets. In the past year I have heard over and over, “There are too many local venues trying to get a piece of the pie”. It the pie is too small, maybe we need a bigger pie! Wedding venue owners have given up too much of their power to big wedding websites and advertising options. Please join an upcoming Wedding Venue Owners Working Vacation to a gorgeous city near you, where we talk about powerful solutions wedding venue owners can implement easily, quickly and for little to no cost in their markets to increase that wedding pie and make lasting changes to improve wedding venue owners access to wedding success! Didi@weddingvenueowners.com
From the “About Us” page on the Maple Ridge at Red Maple Valley website, “Our barn has been serving a purpose since the 1890’s. We strive to keep that legacy going. In the fall of 2017, our family discovered this serene property nestled in the picturesque mountainscapes of northeastern Pennsylvania. We fell in love with the classic characteristics of the bank barn, the way the fireflies rise over the fields at night and the beautiful sunsets that fall over the mountains. My husband and I decided to share this little piece of heaven by starting Maple Ridge at Red Maple Ranch. we are truly blessed to call this place home and cannot wait for you to share special memories here that you are sure to hold dear to your heart forever.”
