06/05/2026
People often think owning a wedding venue is all styled shoots, beautiful weddings, and celebrating with couples. And yes, there’s some of that. But yesterday? I was fixing a toilet. What should have been a simple repair—replacing a flapper, handle, and chain inside the tank—was going perfectly. The toilet was fixed, and I felt pretty proud of myself. Then I turned the water back on. A pipe broke. Not the toilet. Not the repair I had just completed. A completely different pipe before the shutoff valve. Within seconds, water was spraying everywhere. The men’s restroom started flooding. Water made its way into the basement. It was literally raining in parts of the basement and flooding the groom’s room. And to make things more exciting, I couldn’t get the water shut off. Thankfully, Brian rushed to the venue and was able to shut the water off at the main valve while my son showed up with a shop vac. Between the three of us, we were able to minimize the damage and start cleanup immediately. It’s a good reminder that when you own a business—especially a historic venue—one small project can quickly turn into a much bigger one. The part most people don’t see is the constant maintenance, repairs, problem-solving, and unexpected challenges happening behind the scenes. For every beautiful wedding photo, there are dozens of moments spent fixing toilets, tracking down leaks, troubleshooting equipment, mowing, cleaning, repairing, and putting out fires (sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively). Venue owner life isn’t always glamorous, but it’s never boring. And somehow, even after days like this, I still wouldn’t trade it for anything.
