Today we’d like to introduce you to Yvonne Fortner.
Hi Yvonne, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Aurora Farms is owned and operated by me and my husband Mike, and our story really begins with our children. We are the proud parents of three children: Identical twin daughters, Ashleigh and Holly, and younger son Steven. For years, our girls have run and operated their own businesses: Ashleigh Howard has her own baking business (Baking by Ashleigh), and she is also now our optional on-site, certified wedding coordinator and planner (Ashleigh Howard Weddings); Holly Goshorn owns her own photography business (H.G. Photography), and of course, is our optional on-site photographer.
For many years, Mike and I had dreamed of owning our own family business. Specifically, my dream was to own a wedding venue, to share in each couple’s happiest of days, but also because of how wonderful it would be to do it with our daughters! And when both daughters have married just five months apart (in 2013, prior to creating Aurora Farms), we all learned firsthand how difficult it can be to work within a limited wedding budget.
Once our youngest was out of the house, Mike and I periodically would entertain the idea of building a wedding venue. We would periodically search for the right property, looking at several mountain view properties but ultimately felt the mountain commute would be too much for most folks. Living in a subdivision for 18 years, we had no choice but to daily drive by an old horse farm. I had commented countless times how they had the most beautiful weeping willow tree that would make the perfect wedding backdrop.
Suddenly, in 2015, that property was for sale. The location was perfect, and it came with an old fixer-upper farmhouse for us to live in right next door. Unfortunately, the list price was way too high for our budget, so it sat on the market for an entire year, though every time we drove by, I’d say to Mike, “There’s our wedding venue.” A year later, in 2016, the For Sale signs came down and I told Mike sadly that our “wedding venue” had sold. One week later, the For Sale by Owner signs came up and within a week, we had our offer in. We were petrified by what we had done because our house was nowhere near ready to sell, we would have two mortgages until our house sold, and the old farmhouse needed LOTS of work. But that weeping willow tree!!!
Then to pick a building style and name. It had to be unique AND affordable AND we wanted to offer packages and options that would make wedding planning much less overwhelming than it had been for our girls. Mike gets credit for the name; Aurora is actually my first name, the same name as my paternal grandmother; and “Farms” since this property was formerly a horse farm.
We are proud to say that Aurora Farms is a family run business that offers a variety of options that make planning less overwhelming, from venue only to custom packages for almost every budget (frugal to extravagant), with the ability to host all styles of events – from casual potluck dinners to elegant black-tie events. With Aurora Farms, your event options are endless – yet affordable.
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?
As you can imagine, the majority of our struggles have been financial. As described above, we initially purchased the venue property within a week of it being listed For Sale by the Owner, so we weren’t ready to sell our house. It took several months to get that house ready to sell, so we had two mortgages for about six months. The building process was also quite challenging, to get past countless legal and permitting barriers. But all said and done, each challenge help makes us who we are today.
As you know, we’re big fans of Aurora Farms. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We are a true family-run business. Mike and Yvonne are the parents, and twin daughters Ashleigh and Holly serve as the venue’s optional baker, coordinator/planner, and photographer. Their husbands Joshua and Joe also serve as cleaning crew and woodworkers (for client gifts). Together we love to bring each bride’s vision to life.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I believe in the next 5-10 years there will be a lot more wedding venues, so the additional competition will be even more challenging. This means that we have to stay fresh and listen to what our couples want.
We hear all the time that our brides love our many package options, which save them time hunting for and vetting vendors; our large selection of included decor, which saves them money; and our beautiful landscaping and exterior lighting that will never go out of style!
We are also adding a guest house in early 2023 that will be a huge draw, as so many of our couples have lots of out-of-town guests.
Contact Info:
- Email: yvonne@aurorafarmseventvenue.com
- Website: www.aurorafarmseventvenue.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurorafarmseventvenue/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuroraFarmsEventVenue
Image Credits
H.G. Photography
