Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Buffington.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
We came upon the property because Jeff had always wanted some acreage with horses as well as blending our families, 9 kids total and needed to be geographically located so it worked best for the kids. Initially, Jeff wanted to use the barn and 16 acres as a petting zoo, I had no interest in that. I grew up on my grandparent’s farm in Indiana where we raised cattle and hogs as well as keeping a pony or horse for my sister and myself. I had a better idea of what would be required physically and financially to run a petting zoo. Jeff grew up a city boy in Marietta, GA.
We had owned the property only for a few months when a couple asked to host their wedding reception in the barn for their 300 invited guest!! My college degree is in hotel management so I have a hospitality background and Jeff is always game to do most anything so we said YES! Jeff has amazing market skills and knows just how to make our business grow.
After that first event, we thought hard about continuing in the event business and decided it would be a worthwhile adventure
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The property had been a foreclosure and sat vacant for 2 years. There were no flower beds, some landscaping existed from the original builder but time had taken over and everything needed some serious TLC. Large grading machines changed the layout of the driveway, fences were built to mark the property lines and flower beds were established to anchor the ends of the barn with defined walking paths for the guest to make their way around the lawn.
A lot of the work was done by our kids and their friends, many hours and weekends spent raking, digging, planting and weed pulling! An extreme rain came just weeks before that first event and 7” fell in 1-hour flooding the inside of the barn and setting panic in my mind of what if something like this happens on their wedding day!! Knowing and trusting in God replaced the panic and the evening was a beautiful event.
The second event with 275 guests helped to show us better how to manage the different aspects of an event, planning, layout and so on. We took the task in full force and created our wedding business.
My oldest daughter, Caitlyn, and I were the only “staff” we had in the beginning. Caitlyn and I set up every table and chair for every event in 2013 (14 weddings) and 2014 (67 weddings). At the end of our 2014 season and progressing from 2 wedding in 2012, 14 in 2013, and then 67 in our third year, I knew I was no longer physically capable of keeping that pace while working fulltime away from the barn and Caitlyn had her senior year of college to finish and establish her own photography business.
For 2015 we hired staff, hallelujah! I reached out to our community and found high school students to work as Porters to assist with all that physical labor. We were lucky to find a few decorators as well to decorate the reception tables and the ceremony space.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Cold Creek Farm – what should we know?
We are a wedding venue located at the base of the Appalachian Trail in Northern Georgia. We have a barn and 16 acres with a variety of animals including horses, donkeys, chickens, dogs, and cats. The wedding guest really enjoys seeing the animals, petting the horses and feeding them treats during cocktail hour. I would say what we specialize in is how we run our business compared to other venues.
Our prices are posted on our website, no hidden fees, flexible packages allowing the client to customize vendors to fit their budget. Our decorating style seems to differ from other venues as well. We believe is showing the personality of the couples who book us, allowing them to share their style and show that in the decor because it isn’t our wedding day, it’s theirs.
I think we are most proud of maintaining the truth of our mission, we know none of this would be possible without God.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
We believe in our packages that we offer to our clients. We have included everything that is needed to have a successful wedding and use vendors who do wonderful work. Our prices are competitive and we really want the couples who tour and book with us to know they are important, we kinda are like family once we’ve gone through the planning process with them and they are husband and wife!!
We also host invitation-only meetings for those who have booked with us to get the chance to meet the vendors and make decisions for their special day. We want the process to be as simple and easy as possible for the couple.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1491 Shoal Creek Rd
Dawsonville, GA 30534 - Website: www.coldcreekfarm.com
- Phone:706-395-0011
- Email:info@coldcreekfarm.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/coldcreekfarm
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/coldcreekfarm
Image Credit:
CaitCarr Photography, Christina Kelley Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
