I'm here in Goshen at the old bag factory, and I'm here with Lori and Michael, who are the co-owners of the Carriage Barn.

And Lori, tell me a little bit about this space and what it is that you're trying to achieve here or offering here.

Yeah, the space here is an event venue.

So we do a lot of baby showers, graduation parties.

And then we also specialize in micro weddings.

So micro weddings up to 80 guests.

That's our guest capacity where you can have weekend weddings and stay in the on site lodging next door as well.

Yeah.

And I know that we're going to have a look at the cabin next door as well in a few minutes.

But about this space and this event space, Michael, was there a big gap in the market for this, or did you guys just love the space and kind of go for it?

Or hoping for the best here right now or what?

It just kind of, I don't know.

We initially purchased this building.

Laurie's always had an interest in this building.

She initially started doing her photography next door.

Loved this building, wanted to get it, find.

Eventually we were able to to get it and as time went on, she was only here a couple days a week.

We should rent it out to some people while she's not here.

And then it just kind of snowballed after that and it was like, oh, let's run it out for a little bit.

And then next thing you know, it's a it's a venue.

Nice.

And it is a really cool venue.

And as I look at it here, I mean, when you talk about micro weddings straight away and actually like it looks like a wedding venue as I look at it here, and so is the hope that this is really a primary wedding.

Like, is weddings the big market that you're going for?

Lori.

Yeah, I think so.

We understood after several tours, after we kind of got it on the market and had had some tours, that it was a niche market that we didn't realize even existed.

Yeah.

Where you can decorate and fill a smaller space when you're planning on just a year fewer guests instead of a larger area, which would be more expensive as well.

Even your decor packages, you can have less decor because it fills it so quickly.

It's beautiful.

I mean, it's I love the rustic feel of it.

That's obviously one of the charming things, but most of being great as a photography studio, it was.

It was what do you know, it lasted.

Are you still doing that here or, you know, now you need another space.

I got kicked out a little.

I kicked myself out.

All right?

Yeah.

Michael, I once worked with my wife.

Now, I'm not trying to cause any issues, but I once worked with her, and one day she was working with me, and I looked over a shoulder and she was on com looking for jobs because she couldn't work with me anymore.

And how is that going?

I mean, you've got four kids.

It's like it's a lot to be working together at home.

Together.

Like it all gets blurry.

So how do you keep that going to blurry is a good way to describe it.

Yeah.

I mean I have a, you know, 9 to 5 job as well.

Okay.

Well that's and you know then we have three businesses on top of that now that we're, that we're trying to keep going.

Yeah.

So yeah, there's just always something to do.

And I don't know, we get we're pretty good team, we get it done.

And she has her strong suits and I have mine.

And I think ultimately we come together and get the job done.

I think you guys should do some kind of, like, renewing your vows here as a publicity stunt, like, you know, for your organization.

We actually did our rehearsal dinner here for our wedding.

All you did was that of renting additional time at the venue or whatever.

It's like, oh, let's just do it here.

And I don't know if that maybe even sparks some of the idea, like, hey, and tell me about the outside space, Lori, because I know that's important for this space to.

Yeah.

It's so we do ceremony to reception transitions.

And so it's an additional space for people to kind of spread out while we're moving chairs and adding tables and moving decor and things like that, especially if they didn't rent the cabin, then they can kind of spread out over their shop at the old bag factory so they can lounge out there, have a drink, and the reception can kind of be inside and outside of the weather's nice.

And you mentioned about the cabin now a few times, so let's go over and see that, because that's a, that's a full all other space of its own.

So we're going to head over there next.

All right.

Oh my.

Wow.

This is a this is spectacular.

The first impressions of this are absolutely amazing.

Was it like this when you got it or like I mean how much did you have to do to make it like this?

A lot.

Some days I feel like I can't even find time to vacuum our own house.

Like, how do you, like, take on this too?

It's.

It's amazing though.

It's so beautiful.

You'd never imagine this, like, close to downtown Goshen.

But it works with the old bag factory, the vibe around here.

So tell me a little bit about this space.

It was originally my photography studio.

I had purchased it from the owners that established it here in 1986.

Before that, it was standing in New Paris as two separate log cabins, and it was built in 1837 and then again reestablished here in 1986.

And then it was probably nine years ago that I bought it from my photography studio.

When we went and bought the carriage barn then and I did my studio, there were like, well, what do we do with this space?

And we're like, Airbnb.

So all of it kind of just happened organically and worked with the city to get all of the permits, had to change it from industrial to residential, and then do all of the plumbing and modernizing a building that was built in the 1830s was exceptionally difficult.

But we had a good a good team.

So it's beautiful.

And so Michael, so far, like the bookings all being around people coming for weddings.

Or do some people just rent it?

Just if there's nothing going on just to staying a cabin and Goshen.

Yeah.

I mean you get kind of a little bit of everything.

People rent it for Notre Dame games, people through the holidays.

They've had Thanksgiving dinner here, Christmas dinner here.

Christmas morning.

People have rented it for baby showers and birthday parties.

And I mean just a little bit of everything.

But yeah, we've seen ups and downs and does anybody.

Yeah, we've had a good once we kind of lumped it in with the venue.

A lot of people have just been like, yeah, yeah, we want, we want it, we want it.

And yeah, I think it's it's going to work out.

I think it will.

I know, I know every time someone who's a business owner now, every time I see people that go into business like you think about everything, like the cost of a couch, I think about everything now.

The cost of, like, the tables, you think of everything.

It's such a big investment.

And so for local people to do this, I have a lot more respect for the guts that it takes to go for these things and really do it because it's a lot, right?

It's a lot to do.

It's already how people do support you.

Is the upstairs open to the public or I see the stairs here.

I'm like, are there more bedrooms upstairs?

Yeah.

Okay.

So how many bedrooms total are up here?

There's three bedrooms but it sleeps 16.

There's I don't know what kind of family you grew up in where three bedrooms sleep.

16.

Michael, that sounds like my mother's family growing up.

Were all five sisters slept in the one bed.

You know, there's the one room upstairs, has a quadruple, a quadruple bunk bed.

Then there's two pullout couches upstairs, the pullout couch on the main level here.

And then there's a day bed downstairs as a trundle bed under it that pulls out.

So there's just somewhere to sleep.

Just about everywhere.

We even have a couple of air mattress stowed away and people exceed their exceeded capacity.

Yeah, you're really getting as many people in here as you can.

So yeah, let's have a look upstairs.

All right.

So we are upstairs now and there's something in here which is not the focus of the broadcast, but you brought it up at quadruple bunk bed.

Yeah.

I've never seen that before, but that looks like something that should be in Ireland with all the big families back home.

But.

Yeah.

So tell me about the space up here.

I mean, it is beautiful.

I really like it.

Well, this was just one of the places that Lori took pictures.

There are a couple of different things.

She had tons of her props and whatnot up here initially, and once we kind of decided on the Airbnb thing, we were just like trying to think, where can we put bedrooms?

Where can we put a bathroom?

Like, where can we, you know, put anything?

This was all open concept, as was downstairs.

And the basement was more or less how it is.

But everything else open cause.

She's like, no, I love it.

I love that you guys are doing this.

And again, it's like you for kids.

You have like three businesses.

You almost have enough businesses, one for each of the kids like to, you know, to coincide with that.

But it's really cool that you're doing this.

I think it's such a great thing.

And again, overall, like Lori, what do you want people watching to really know about?

Not just the space we've talked about, but really you guys, I'm the business as a whole.

Like, what is it that you're really trying to, like encapsulate here?

I, I really want we just got married last year and the venue shopping experience was a little stressful.

Yeah.

Everything was you could get a room and then you could add this room on for $1,500.

You could add the bar on for $1,200.

We really wanted to have a full concept space where it was affordable.

And if you wanted that micro wedding feel, if you knew you weren't going to have 200, 250 guests, you had a place that was beautiful, manageable and affordable.

I love that.

All right.

Can people get more information online about the Carriage barn?

And also here's what all in one place.

Yeah.

So we're on the not the wedding.

Meyer.

Oh, yeah.

Carriage barn events.

Com you can email us at Carriage barn events at.

Yeah.

Lots of different ways to get hold of us.

The wedding crew is a tight knit.

I remember it from 2019.

Like the knot and everything like that.

So people know where to look if they're getting married.

And then what about if you're just looking at staying here, you're thinking this would be nice.

Is that also on the website to or.

Yeah you can find on Airbnb, Vrbo Booking.com you can book direct.

Yeah.

There's a couple of QR codes out on the signs outside, but it's all over all those sites to.

Yeah.

Yep yep.

Okay.

Well thank you so much.

Best of luck with your marriage.

I don't know why that sounded sarcastic.

I didn't mean it that way, but you just got married last year.

I didn't know that until you said it.

And just best of luck with this.

And good for you for going for it, you know?

Thank you so much.

You did it.

Scared?

Absolutely.

What you have to do sometimes.

Yeah.

That's true.

That's how I got.

But once you once you get so far, you don't have a choice.

It's just like so in now.

Yep.

At least, you know you always have somewhere to sleep, right?

Like, if anything.

So now I'm just kidding.

But thank you guys for showing me around.

Yeah.