The barn renovation was going beautifully. Maybe a little too
well. Mary Valentino couldn’t picture housing cows in a building as nice as
that. And the friends who visited the farm she and her husband, Paul, recently
bought commented how spacious and picturesque the property was. “We got into
the wedding business because the barn turned out so good,” said Mary.
The Valentinos are the owners of the 6 Pastures cattle farm and
event venue in Winchester. The parishioners of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in
Winchester bought the farm in 2015 after Paul retired from working in real estate.
“I was looking for something to occupy my time and stay busy, and my loving
wife agreed to buy a farm,” said Paul.
They have one nice barn for events, and another for the black
angus cattle they breed. Many of the cows are sold to farms trying to improve
the quality of their herds, but some end up in hamburgers, said Paul. When
they’re able, they donate beef to the diocesan Catholic Charities’ St. Lucy
Project, a food pantry network. “It's especially gratifying to know that we are
providing food for others,” said Paul.
Mary’s involvement on the cattle side of things is oohing and
ahhing over the newborn calves, said Paul. But they split the event planning
work. “I do the initial upfront contact and the marketing and the website. We
do tours together when couples come out to tour the venue. Once they sign the
contract, it falls over to Mary. She takes it from there to the wedding day,”
said Paul.
6 Pastures typically has an event 20-22 weekends a year, many of
which are wedding receptions. Over the years, they’ve come to know the best
local vendors, which they recommend to the couples. On the wedding day, they
have an on-site coordinator, parking and restroom attendants, and two golf cart
drivers to take people around the property. “We have four kids and we know how
to run a railroad,” said Mary.
But the pandemic restrictions have complicated things. “All of
those events from last spring got rescheduled in 2021 and we sit here now
getting inquiries from couples wondering if they’re going to have their spring
wedding and nobody knows. It’s very challenging for everybody in the wedding
industry, especially for couples,” said Paul. “We did have couples that said,
we’re getting married anyway and then we’ll use our money that we put down for
your venue as a one-year anniversary celebration. I thought that was
fantastic.”
When wedding days do roll around, the Valentinos, who have been
married for 46 years, enjoy the exciting and joyful atmosphere. Mary loves
seeing the bride and bridesmaids get ready as the photographer runs around
snapping photos. She loves watching the dramatic exits when the couple leaves
for the night. “Everyone has a different idea of what their perfect day is so
it’s really fun to see the creativity,” she said.
“Everybody's in a good mood, people are happy at wedding
receptions,” said Paul. “We enjoy working with couples — we just have fun.”
Hopefully, the cows are enjoying their barn just as much.