“To build a wedding venue has been a dream of mine for 15 years, we felt that we had a need in the area for one. I love event planning, and hosting and so we moved forward,” said co-owner Maria Waymire.
Maria and husband Chris Waymire own and operate the 8,600-square-foot facility, and are already scheduled to host over 50 weddings between now and 2022.
The venue was formerly a family farm, purchased by Chris Waymire’s father in the 1970s.
“We have a farm, and we had a greenhouse,” Maria said. “My husband and I ran it for 32 years. It was started by my father-in-law. As we saw the direction the farm was going, with the greenhouse a few years ago, I said to my husband, ‘This is the door opening for our wedding venue, and I really think we should start digging into this, and see what the opportunities are.”
After working under a mentor from Nashville and learning from wedding venues in Tennessee and North Carolina, the Waymires began the process of opening the venue.
“With all that, I developed my vision, and began to get an idea of what I wanted my barn to look like, then we started doing designs, the layout. We also farm the property that it sits at, and so we had the location, and we thought it was a great location because of the elevation, and the 360 view up there,” Maria Waymire said.
The facility is built to accommodate up to 300 guests, with spaces for indoor or outdoor ceremonies, catering kitchen, dining, “get-ready” suites, and more. The property also features a wildflower field, which has come to be a favorite location for photos.
The venue planning and opening took a hit from the pandemic, which pushed the Waymires’ timeline back by several months.
“We were going to open up a few months earlier, but when we were originally going to go to the county for a permit, that was right when everything closed down, so we froze for a couple months. Then we said that, you know, this was where my passion was and where my heart was, so we just took that leap of faith, prayed about it a lot, and we went for it,” Maria said.
Although the process wasn’t easy, the Waymires still wanted to be part of helping others celebrate, even in the pandemic.
“It was what we planned, so we just stayed with it, people are still going to get married was our thought. I think the pandemic made some people think even more that life is short, why wait too long for that next step,” Maria said.
Groundbreaking began in October, with the venue opening in July.
“It was a lot of planning, and a lot of research, a lot of work, but it’s where my heart has been, and you have to do what you love, and that was the ultimate point where we said, ‘All right, let’s close the greenhouse, and let’s go forward with this venue,” Maria said.
The venue will remain open for guests as long as no mandated shutdown happens in accordance with pandemic guidelines, she said.
“COVID is obviously always a question with our contract, with how we handle that, and I say we’re open unless the government shuts down. We’ll give a free date though, if a wedding date has to be moved because of restrictions,” Maria said.
With Ivory Meadows being located in southern Clark County, this has given the Waymires a chance to accommodate weddings and events for residents of Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton, and sometimes as far away as Piqua or Arcanum.
“It’s really an honor to serve people on one of the most important days of their lives, not only to serve them, but to give them a beautiful space,” Maria said. “My goal is to have a beautiful space inside and out, I just hope that we can provide this excellent space for people to have their wedding here.
“We strive to give extraordinary service, we think it’s important to accommodate the people, and make their day run as smooth as possible.”
For more information, visit the Ivory Meadows LLC page on Facebook, or their website at https://www.ivorymeadowsweddings.com/.
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