By Brooke Shultz
Photos By Arden Haley
When you step foot onto Rosewood Farms, the venue becomes “a canvas, here for the couple to paint,” says Katie White, business manager.
Sitting on 44 acres in Elkton, the venue is enveloped by rolling cornfields, growing vineyards and a pond.
“We’ve kind of taken exactly what we think a bride’s vision will be and transplanted here, and I think that’s very unique,” Katie says. “When we bring couples through here, and we see their faces glow, their expressions and the speechless moments, I think that just kind of makes everything worth it.”
The Biddle family — composed of owners and founders Rick and Anne Biddle, and their children Matt Biddle and Katie — purchased Rosewood Farms in May 2017. Before it was transformed into the venue it is today, the property was home to a winery and poultry farm.
Rosewood Farms’ first wedding was in October 2018. Currently, the venue is booking into 2022. Only a small handful of Saturdays are still available for 2020.
Rosewood Farms offers access to all the buildings on the site, which includes reception, ceremony and dressing space, from noon to 10 p.m.
When the couple arrives at noon, the wedding parties split into the lounge and suite areas.
The lounge features a pool table, flat-screen and sofas, as well as restrooms and showers.
The suite that sits adjacent to the lounge’s building, where the bride and her bridesmaids can get ready, once was a four-bedroom farmhouse. Now, the space gives way to a full kitchen, bathroom, two dressing rooms — the bride’s dressing room accented with an original cedar closet — and a hair and makeup space.
To say their official “I Do’s,” the venue offers outdoor and indoor locations. The couple could take their vows by the pond, between two pear trees or inside the Rustic Barn.
The light gray barn can seat around 175 people for a ceremony — less than 100 people for a reception — and Katie notes that the whitewashed walls allow for minimal or elaborate decorations.
A mezzanine above provides access for photographers, DJs and, in the past, harpists or quartets. “Music carries really nicely from the mezzanine,” she says.
Below the ceremony space, with the original stone and reclaimed wood from the barn, guests can enjoy cocktail hour at a full-service bar. Glass doors allow the festivities to spill out into a patio courtyard, where another bar is stationed.
The lower portion of the barn is great for photos, Katie notes, and has often been a spot for “first looks” for couples.
“The mix of rustic and original meshes well and has a charm to it,” she says.
She points to particular points of character, like cow names and dates scrawled onto the brick by past farmers.
Across from the Rustic Barn, the party continues into the Rose Barn, where the space can be set up for the reception in a spacious room with 20-foot ceilings and an ornate chandelier.
Katie notes that the space is flexible — with room for a band, a fireplace for the sweetheart table or however the couple wants to see it set up.
“Each wedding is so unique. We have the ability to create something special,” she says.
Behind the reception area, a bar is built into the silo. Covered patio space encloses the Rose Barn, where guests can enjoy the view in rocking chairs.
“I think we’ve always had that theme of having that rustic elegance, because it’s important to us to have that blending of rustic and wood and those kind of neutral tones, but mix it with upgraded amenities,” she says.
The venue also allows for the purchase of add-ons. Couples can rent a TR6, an antique sports car, for photos; yard games, like giant Jenga, tic-tac-toe and cornhole; a fire pit, which can be used during the cocktail hour and reception for gourmet s’mores; additional time, either an hour before for added preparation time or an extra hour at the end of the night; a vintage photo booth, which comes with an attendant, a scrapbook and a USB of the photos; and a golf cart, for ease of taking photos or to help transport guests.
Rosewood works exclusively with six caterers and offers a venue specialist to help things run smoothly on the big day.
“Being here is the experience,” Katie says. “So you really have to come here and see the property and see its true beauty and just walk the grounds and understand who we are and what we provide.”