Satoyama Mountain Farm Reviews
Reviews
4.7 out of 5 rating
4.7 out of 5 rating
11 Reviews
94% recommend it
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![Lex]()
Lex H. Sent on 10/12/2022The BEST Fall wedding
I’m not sure I’ll be able to put into this short post just how wonderful our experience was getting married at Satoyama Mountain Farm. My husband and I were able to arrive a bit early with friends and family staying all together in the house on site. We all cooked together (the kitchen is, wow), walked the trails, relaxed and enjoyed the scenery and cows, and were able to easily hop on Rte 100 for daily adventures.
Ben and his family were all great to work with, allowing us a ton of flexibility to really make our weekend what we envisioned. Living on the property, it was incredibly easy to text Ben with questions and have him come over to help with house things if we needed but he also allowed us space to enjoy our time there.
We were also very lucky, the Fall foliage popped at just the right time - but it would honestly be a beautiful location any time of the year.
Very much a DIY wedding location, it IS the place for you if:
- You want a much more private setting than most offer. There aren’t any random strangers walking around, only the cows will photo bomb you (if you’re lucky).
- You’re looking for a lot of flexibility and a much more relaxed wedding environment.
- You aren’t looking to have to deal with a ton of wasteful decorations. There’s beautiful string lighting already in the barn, the barn itself is amazing post and beam (why would you ever want to cover that up), and the surrounding views/landscape are GORGEOUS.
- You’d like to spend a good amount of quality time with your bridal party or close friends & family who can also stay on site.
- You’re looking for much more than just a wedding day and more of a wedding weekend.
All in all I couldn’t imagine our wedding taking place anywhere else.
**the total cost was for four nights and included full access and use to everything**Satoyama Mountain Farm's reply:
Wonderful having your chill and down to earth friendly group here! You guys were a real pleasure and we are grateful for you chose this place for your special weekend. Congrats again! Ben and the Falks -
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Tyler L. Sent on 10/08/2021
Amazing Farm Wedding
This was the perfect venue for our Vermont barn wedding! The owner, Ben, was super friendly and easy to work with. He gave us the run of the property for 3 days and allowed us to move things around in the barn to our liking. The house on site was perfect for hosting our large wedding party all weekend and afterparty for the reception. This was the perfect venue for our authentic farm wedding. The cows even moo'd during our ceremony! We would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for an authentic Vermont wedding.Satoyama Mountain Farm's reply:
Thanks for the reflection Tyler and so glad that you guys enjoyed the place during your weekend! We hope you visit if you're in the area and take a walk up to the ceremony site.
Best,
Ben and the Falks -
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![Fayth]()
Fayth K. Sent on 09/30/2019The Most Magical Wedding Weekend
Satoyama Mountain Farm is the most amazing place and we couldn't be happier with our decision to have our wedding here. The grounds are beautiful and it felt like we had our own private piece of Vermont for the weekend. Everyone was very helpful in the months leading up to the event, and throughout wedding weekend Ben was always available to help if needed or to answer questions. It was the perfect combination of the laid back, DIY wedding that we wanted without feeling like we were completely on our own. The house is really comfortable, and the barn is gorgeous. Our guests were in awe of the entire venue and we were told by many people (most of whom were from Texas and had never been to Vermont before) that it was the best wedding they had ever been to. Everything was just perfect and we wish we could do it all over again!Satoyama Mountain Farm's reply:
Thanks Fayth, it was great having you guys enjoy the place so much for your gathering. Congrats again! Best, Ben and the Falks -
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Karissa Sent on 10/17/2018
A more perfect wedding venue doesn't exist
Ben, Stephen, and Erica at Satoyama Mountain Farm were a pleasure to work with. They were extremely responsive through our entire wedding planning process leading up to and on the weekend of the event. When we booked the venue for our wedding, we were provided with a list of local vendors (you may use any vendor), blueprints of the barn and the house which made planning so much easier, and assistance with obtaining event insurance and any other odds and ends. We could not have asked for a better people to work with for our DIY wedding. I would do it over and over and over again at Satyoama Farm.
The venue is GORGEOUS, serene, and perfect for an outdoor wedding. The barn was a great space for the reception – and very beautiful on it's own, requiring very little decorating. All of our guests were raving about how amazing Satoyama Mountain Farm was. We rented the venue for a long weekend (Friday-Monday) and our entire bridal party (and significant others) were able to stay on location with us in the house for the weekend. This allowed us to spend quality time with family and friends both before and after the wedding.
A more perfect wedding venue doesn't exist.Satoyama Mountain Farm's reply:
Thanks for coming guys - what a great group and so glad you enjoyed the place so much...! best, Ben and the Falks -
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![Allie]()
Allie B. Sent on 12/10/2018Best Wedding Ever
This barn + house + surrounding property is absolutely beautiful. I could not recommend this venue enough. It's more than just a venue. Ben has done incredible work on the property, making it perfect for a couple who wants more than just a "barn wedding." This venue is above and beyond that. I can't even put into words how lucky we were to have found Ben's property. We had a 3 day weekend long wedding & it was perfect. From swimming in the ponds to playing kickball amongst currant bushes, to having a bonfire and smores at night, it was incredible. I cannot recommend this venue enough!!!Satoyama Mountain Farm's reply:
Thanks Allie - so awesome to have you and Jed be on the farm for your special week! What an awesome couple and family you have and we are always thrilled to see people so thoroughly enjoy this place. -
![Nolin]()
Nolin G. Sent on 07/29/2022A truly special venue
Satoyama truly is a unique and special place. This 175 acre permaculture farm had calming energy, stunning views, and the most beautiful barn for our reception's backdrop. The ability to have guests stay on-site helped us feel connected and supported throughout the weekend and afforded us quality time with people we love. Ben and Stephen were accommodating throughout the pandemic, and responsive to our questions as we planned our event. The venue is a great option for those who don't mind spending a bit more time and attention gathering a team of vendors and curating the event to fit their preferences.Satoyama Mountain Farm's reply:
Thanks Nolin, It was great having you and your family here for the weekend... Best wishes to you all! Best, Ben -
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![Kaileigh]()
Kaileigh A. Sent on 09/13/2021Beautiful and yet
This space is absolutely stunning, unique, and wonderful. We got so many compliments on the views and the barn. Many guests had never been to Vermont before and were blown away by the scenery here.
Despite all its natural beauty, unfortunately we found the management of the space to be the most stressful part of our planning process and our wedding weekend. This makes us very emotional, so I’m going to try to leave emotions out of this review, and just state facts:
When we drove two hours to tour the venue, the proprietor was nowhere to be found, despite having made an appointment to meet only a few days before.
A week before our wedding, we received a phone call telling us that things had changed since we signed our agreement. There were now new rules and restrictions on where music could be located within the barn and other noise management strategies, including closing the barn windows and doors during the reception. The open air space we were so excited about (we were originally told that by design the barn had more air flow than a white wedding tent - perfect for our pandemic wedding!) was no more.
The day of our rehearsal dinner, my Mom arrived in the morning to drop some things off and found that the first floor of the barn had not been cleaned or cleared out. She cleaned the whole area by herself.
When we toured the venue originally, the main barn space was clear and open minus the ceremony benches and a few miscellaneous tables. Our contract states that the 2nd level of the barn shall be empty except tables and benches. When we arrived for our wedding weekend, there were large stacks of wood slabs located all over. It was a massive ordeal to get even a few stacks moved (they were in the way of where our bar items needed to go), and the groomsmen had to do the heavy lifting themselves.
At our wedding reception, the proprietor was always around, even after closing all the windows and doors. We felt like we were being patrolled. On Sunday we took our wedding party to go swimming in the big pond, only to discover it was full of leeches (which are very cool to watch, but not so cool to swim with).
Overall, we consistently felt like an inconvenience and a burden being here. No one should feel like that at their wedding. I do not believe this was Ben’s intention; I have the utmost respect for his mission (his TED talk was a big driving factor in us choosing this venue) and I am so appreciative of having gotten married here, but unfortunately this was the result.
I hope that by sharing our experience, it helps others have a better idea of what they’re walking into. Thank you, Falk family, for letting us use your beautiful space for our celebration.Satoyama Mountain Farm's reply:
Hi Kayleigh,
I understand you and especially your family wedding coordinator had quite a frustrating time while here.
First, I appreciate that you chose this place for the reasons you mentioned.
I will start by saying the lumber stacks were new to the space and other parties had treated them as part of the barn and working farm ambiance - they don't take up usable square footage so we made the call to put them there. I did move the ones you didn't want to see and do appreciate that the guys helped for a few minutes.
The fact that these are present will be totally clear to new groups before they book. Most seem to very much enjoy the decor.
Otherwise it seems your review is a lot of exaggerated claims and/or stems from misunderstanding.
First: The music setup was explained to you on the phone. It was simply to move the band from one side to the other. You guys happily agreed that it was ok - since it doesn't change much about the space (all tables can still be located with the view. I asked if this impacted your layout and you said no and were fine to arrange the music that way. This is a change necessary for sound mitigation. It's a very immaterial constraint to a party and venues do need to modify rules here and there especially over a 2 year span which covid caused between your agreement and the event.
Secondly: The canvases always have to be closed at sunset, this is not new and is outlined clearly in your agreement. You came with the expectation that they could stay up, which was not at all what your agreement lays out. We could have not been clearer.
Thirdly: I am around because I live here and because we've had groups violate our sound policy. Since your group was resistant to the sound policy I had to make sure they happened (like canvases closing at sunset). Most groups are not resistant to it and come with the correct expectation since it's in their agreement, so my presence is less necessary.
Fourth: The barn STILL has far more air flow than a tent, since the floor itself is ventilated, there's a huge 3rd story with open windows pulling air vertically in a convection loop into it, the entire east wall has open windows and the downstairs is open with breezes coming up through the floor and stairwell. Tents have far less ventilation simply because they have no connective air flow with a closed top.
Fifth: The benches and tables which your coordinator was pretty livid about having to move are always left there by the last group. This is a DIY venue and we make that totally clear. Every other group we've had has thus had no issue arranging it as they see fit. Another case of not understand the expectation and the nature of the farm here.
Additionally:
I did clean out the downstairs the day before your group rented the barn - this is typical. It was no in way putting your group out to sweep and remove a few things the day before your barn rental started (the day your house rental did). I do this that day or one before with other groups, so I don't understand the frustration - your mom did move some things but this is because she was setting up in the space before it was even officially hers to use. I didn't say anything because she didn't seem to make it an issue.
Yes the big pond has some leaches but it is not FULL of leaches - i've swam it in many times a year for 10 years and have never gotten one. We've had either 10-day workshops in the summer and no on has gotten a leach then either, at all. I am sorry if it freaked you out but well, large ponds in vermont tend to have a few leaches.
If you felt like your group was a burden it might have had to do with your crew being incredibly and abnormally LOUD and often. We normally get pretty chill groups who aren't yelling often and have no trouble following our reasonable sound guidelines. Your group was very rowdy and high volume - no judgement but this isn't the best place for that. When i pulled up on sunday at noon and you guys were literally shotgunning canned beers with beer spraying all over the patio by the house I realized this probably just wasn't the best setting for you guys.
Glad you had a blast though!
I really appreciate that you understand our mission here and wish I could have done more to set the tone of what this place is about so you could have decided that this kind of quiet refuge setting wasn't the best place for your group.
I do wish you guys the best...
Ben and the Falks
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