Searching for the Perfect Property

Back in 2021, I began looking throughout Kentucky for the perfect property to build my dream wedding venue. I was living in North Carolina at the time with my Kentucky native husband, but we wanted to make the move back to Kentucky and have the venue there. We had no idea where in Kentucky we would move to, so I made a list of all the things our future property had to have to make the perfect venue.

The first must have was that I wanted the property to be within 45 minutes from one of Kentucky's larger cities, with my ideal cities being Louisville or the Kentucky side of Cincinatti, so that venue would be close to as many people as possible.

The second was that I wanted at least 10 acres of land, so that venue could be set among the countryside, and be surrounded by grass and trees.

I also wanted the property to have a water feature, whether that be a pond or river, that would help to create the tranquil space I desired for my guests.

Lastly, I wanted the venue space to have an expansive view. Kentucky is such a beautiful state, and I envisioned guests sitting outside the venue with friends, taking it all in. So, with those four requirements in mind and a budget that was set, the search began.

I honestly thought it would be easy to find "the" property, but as we searched and viewed properties for sale, they would be either missing something from the list or if a property did have it all, it was either out of our budget or snatched up before I had the chance to make an offer. After 18 months of searching I was starting to lose hope, and that maybe I would have to let go of my dream.

Then, one March night, my husband, Frank announced that he had found the one. At first, I didn't believe it. How many times had he said that in the past, we went to view it and then were disappointed? Several. But this time he said this time was different, and so I begrudgingly took a look at the listing. It was 25 minutes from Louisville and 45 minutes from Florence. Check! The property consisted of 40 acres and had two ponds! Check, check! Lastly, despite the overgrown grasses and downed tree limbs, you could see rolling hills for miles. Check! The cherry on top was that it was in our budget. It seemed too good to be true, but at the same time, I believed it was the one. The only problem was that we couldn't get away from our jobs to see it in person, and we knew from past experiences, that if we didn't make a move quickly, we could this one.

We asked our Kentucky realtor to visit the property for us and give his opinion. We trusted him that he understood my vision, and he happily agreed to view it on our behalf. While he was visiting, he facetimed us and showed us as he walked around. If you could have seen the smile on my face. Yes, it was overgrown, the main pond was in bad shape, and the old, dilapidated tobacco barn would have to be torn down due the fact that it was in the ideal spot for the venue, but I could see its potential. Besides, I love a good challenge. 24 hours later we made an offer, and 3 months later, my husband and I made the drive from North Carolina to Kentucky to sign the closing documents and step foot on the property for the first time afterwards. It wasn't perfect and there was so much to work to do, but I knew that with a lot of hard work, it could be my dream bespoke venue.

A few months after we closed, we made the permanent move to our new Kentucky home, and now we are just three months away from opening our wedding and event venue. The venue and the property is becoming everything I dreamed it would be, and I can't wait to the day when the first weddings and events take place here.

~Christal