Conversations with Cassidy Mashburn

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassidy Mashburn.

Cassidy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My grandparents, Alvin and Sherrie Mashburn, purchased the farm back in the early 2000s when it was just overgrown fields and one little black barn. While I was in elementary school through highschool I watched them develop the land into a hobby farm: digging four large ponds, stocking them with fish, creating pastures for black angus cattle, llamas, and more of our “pets”. And slowly building The Pavilion, several barns, a greenhouse, an aviary, The 609, and most recently their dream home up by our front gates. They began hosting backyard weddings for their friends and fundraisers for the community once everything was rolling, and thats what sparked the idea we should convert the homestead into an event venue.

I moved away to college and got several degrees and certificates in various areas of business before moving home in 2020 and officially opening Willow Tree Farms Events, LLC. I now own and operate the venue side of the property while they continue to run the agricultural and homestead side.

We had a great start during the pandemic believe it or not. Due to our event space, The Pavilion, and our many outdoor ceremony options for weddings, we were a great fit for social distancing in an open air environment for those who couldn’t wait until lock down was over to make their commitment official.

The revenue we generate from weddings and other private events, we use to sustain the property here and our many animals. As well as host community events that benefit different local non-profits throughout the year. Typically family fun days with free admission or things like our longest running event, Christmas at the Farm, where we celebrate the holidays and feed every child that attends for free. We are very passionate about supporting and uplifting our local community through this and our exclusively small family-owned business, vendor list we recommend to clients.

We have slowly been ramping up business ever since we opened, with an influx in the past year and a half or so due to opening our new indoor reception hall, The 609, that includes two luxury apartments for getting ready and overnight stays. With this we now have a little bit of everything to choose from at our venue! It is also great because we have a wide range of packages in a wide range of price points. From more DIY friendly cost-efficient packages in the Pavilion to the full luxury wedding experience inside of The 609.

Willow Tree Farms Events, LLC is run by family and a small group of wonderful staff that we now consider family. We pride ourselves on immaculate views your can’t find any where else in Ringgold and the warm hometown customer service everyone knows and loves.

Alright, 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?
Navigating opening during the pandemic was a struggle. Even with our open air spaces, it was not the kindest climate to start a business based on gatherings amidst a lock down. We installed hand sanitizing stations throughout the farm and still had all guests wear masks even while outdoors. And we implemented a strict sanitizing policy for our staff that we still follow to this day to limit the spread of germs and keep the facilities as spotless as possible. This helped us navigate those difficult years with no spread of infection from a single event!

It has also been tough navigating an event venue through all the increased costs and uncertainty in the economy post-pandemic. For a long time I was the only employee. For 4 of our 6 years of operation I was single handedly responsible for tours, planning, cleaning, set-up, advertising, customer service, web development, accounting, and more with the occasional help from farm hands I borrowed from my grandparents on the agricultural side of things when I was lucky. Just because we couldn’t afford to hire anyone to help me and get the venue up and running. I was determined to keep our prices some of the lowest in the greater Chattanooga area to help as many brides and grooms as I could after my own stressful wedding planning experience. And I did it! We have to this day only increased our pricing one time in six years and I have only hired one assistant to help take some of the heat off me as of lately.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Growing up here I first started taking care of the animals alongside my grandparents before turning to photography in high school. I had always been deeply creative, but once I discovered a love for photographing landscapes and I had this perfect location to photograph I was hooked. Well before I got into the events, I had a passion for documenting life here at Willow Tree Farms and the beautify scenery my grandparents had created. To this day I still do all of our photography, advertising, and social media. It is one of my absolute favorite things to do here!

After getting into photography at the farm I started gaining an interest in the community events and fundraisers my grandparents were holding at the farm. They were avid bikers throughout my childhood, so they started with bike rallys and then moved to other fun things like casino nights and chamber after hours events. Around 2010 or so they began collaborating with our local church to host Christmas at the Farm. I really learned a lot from them throughout the years about hosting events and giving back to our local community. So now I deeply enjoy getting creative and finding new ways we can bring family fun to our neighbors while also supporting different non-profits along the way. Christmas at the Farm is their “baby” but mine is Paws & Pumpkins. A Halloween event where we support local businesses and a local animal rescues while letting the kids come trick or treat for free, enjoy a petting zoo, participate in a pet costume contest, and play games while the parents shop local at the trick or treat booths and listen to spooky music. It’s always a blast!

I definitely think our public events set us apart from most wedding and event venues. We love having people celebrate their most precious life events here but we love giving back to our community just as much!

What makes you happy?
Doing what I love with the people I love is one of the greatest perks to this job. I just had a baby right before Christmas 2025 and now she gets to tag along with me to work and spend time right beside me loving on my grandparents while I help brides wedding plan and carry on the venues day to day operations. Being able to stay creative and grow Willow Tree Farms Events with her still within arms reach is a blessing I do not take for granted!

A lot of people say working with family is something to avoid, but I couldn’t disagree more. Working with family gives you so much room to grow and be mentored. To fail and be picked back up. To learn from their mistakes and expand on their dreams to carry on their legacy. I would not be the woman I was today and the farm would not be as successful as it has become as a venue if not for Alvin and Sherrie Mashburn pouring their love into the property, our family, and all of our staff throughout the years. I am proud to keep growing their passion project into a self-sustaining business and not just a hobby farm so it will stay in our family for years to come for my daughter to also enjoy as she grows.

It is also just so fulfilling and rewarding to help so many other small family-owned businesses thrive in Ringgold so they can experience this same joy. We can only make it in this world of large chain corporations by lifting each other up every chance we get. We partner with so many incredibly talented locals and absolutely love helping them connect with brides or even just the general public at our public events.

And with the non-profits we help fundraise for, my grandparents always say you get back what you put out into the world. We do these events with no expectations of a return, but boy do we get something back anyways. Either through joyful reviews with photos of the kids having a blast or a bride coming to us a few years down the line because she enjoyed Christmas at the Farm as a child. Kindness always comes back around. And we are truly blessed to have this beautiful piece of land and be able to share it with so many people!

Pricing:

• Pavilion Parties $500 – $1,000
• Pavilion Weddings $1,500 – $4,000
• The 609 Weddings $6,000 – $9,000
• The 609 Non-profit Events: $2,000
• The 609 Corporate Events: $4,000

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.willowtreefarms.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Willowtreefarmsringgold
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/willowtreefarms/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@WillowTreeFarmsEvents
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@Willowtreefarmsevents