Happily Ever After
Two new event venues provide bucolic backdrops against which to tie the knot
For lots of couples, springtime brings wedding bells … and the quest to find an event space offering the right blend of rustic charm and the right amenities to make a special celebration complete. Two recently opened Vernon Parish venues capitalize on Legend Country’s natural beauty, presenting a lush backdrop for events ranging from wedding nuptials to team-building events, while offering top-notch hospitality, too.
For Tammy Stephens, owner of the Venue at Laurel Hill, opening an event space had been a long-held dream. “It had been a little dream of mine for ten, fifteen years,” she said. “We built it from the ground up,” After purchasing ninety-five acres in Hicks, Stephens drew on her own experience as a mother-of-the-bride (twice!), and built a carefully-considered space to accommodate the needs of a wedding party and guests. The Venue’s serene location—it’s a mile from the highway and twenty-five miles outside of Leesville—lends an aura of seclusion. Stephens is attuned to the needs of the wedding party. She designed the bridal suite to be tucked away, so the bride “has her own little haven” to get ready before her ‘Wow’ moment. The groomsmen aren’t overlooked, with a “Groom’s Room” equipped with corn hole and an outdoor barbecue. Stephens says her favorite part is meeting brides and their mothers, and giving them a special day at a reasonable price. thevenueatlaurelhill.net
At the end of Josh Lee Road near Leesville awaits The Farm. Tucked alongside a grassy knoll surrounded by emerald-green woods not far from Prairie Creek, The Farm is run by Norma Gass and her daughters Cyndi, Tammy and Kristi, on property that has been in their family for 65 years. Today they offer their picturesque location as a venue in which to host events for up to two hundred guests. Inside the purpose-built event barn, which the Gass family decorated using duck decoys and farming motifs created by Norma’s husband John Gass, light filtering through the rafters casts an atmospheric glow over weddings, showers and corporate events alike. The women behind The Farm hold the place near and dear, and in the events they host, it shows. Visit thefarmjg.com to learn more.