Daily Inspiration: Meet Kristin and Jeff Chiodi

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristin and Jeff Chiodi.  

Hi Kristin and Jeff, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We have lived in Marquette, MI, for 23 years. We started our journey in Michigan as organic farmers, co-owning an organic farm with our dear friends. After 13 years, a marriage, and 3 beautiful children later, we decided to embark on a new adventure. We sold our first farm and business to our friends/business partners and bought a very historic and picturesque fruit farm down the road; at this point, we were excited about new beginnings but also confused about how to proceed forward. We both have college degrees but were used to being self-employed and felt hesitant about “punching in and out” somewhere else. When we bought our new farm, the outbuildings were empty. The barn is an old dairy barn built in the late 1960s. The property consists of 20 acres of rolling hills and farmland and 40 acres of woods. There is an abundance of apple trees, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and some pear, plum, and cherry trees. We decided to invite the community to our barn and property for friendship, music, and dancing. We first held fiddle workshops, drumming circles, farm proms, and dance parties. We expanded this idea and rented out the barn for concerts. At this point, we had a couple of friends that asked if they could use the barn to get married in. “Of course,” we said. Eventually, a few more friends asked the same. This led to a neighbor pulling into our driveway and asking what we charge to rent our barn for weddings. And that is how it all started! It is a family business with help from our children when they are around. For about the last 8 years, we have hosted 20-25 weddings a summer. We are booked every weekend and sometimes host 2 weddings per weekend. Every weekend from the end of May until mid-October, the barn and property are filled with community, family, friends, good food, love, marriage, ceremony, dancing, joy, music, laughter, memories, and celebration, and we love it! 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Our struggles are usually caused by challenges due to inclement weather. But every year we try to better the property, our systems, our equipment, our service, and what we have to offer. For example, due to weather and occasional power outages, we invested in a generator. We have also added several ways to heat the upper and lower half of the barn as spring and fall in the U.P. can be chilly. Another challenge at times is if it is raining during ceremony time. On a few occasions, we have had to move the ceremony to the barn instead of the apple orchard. And yet the heat from a hot and sunny summer day can also be tricky. We can only cool the barn so much with the many fans we have upstairs. Covid also added challenges as most people had to cancel. When restrictions were lifted somewhat, we were able to host weddings outdoors, but not in the barn. We decided to invest in another big wedding tent to accommodate our guests. We also invested in more tables for outdoor seating. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are genuinely excited about sharing our barn and property with the community and others who are looking for something different for their wedding ceremony and reception or any other special event. We want to offer a special experience for people to be surrounded by the beauty of nature and the outdoors in the U.P. in all seasons and all weather, a rustic barn venue that can be formal, casual, classy, whimsical, enchanted, simple, or elegant, and a place for memories to be made that will last forever. We have held concerts, photographers, dance parties, baby showers, graduation parties, memorial gatherings, drum circles, fiddle workshops, fundraisers, tree sales, and of course, weddings in the barn. We feel so blessed to be the ones to take over the beautiful land and farm that is now Belsolda Farm and to share its beauty and history with others. We have made every effort to keep the property and barn as is and not alter them too much. The family before us homesteaded the property and were such amazing farmers and hard workers. We have the utmost respect for them and what they did, and will forever feel honored and grateful to continue where they left off. Although the barn was intended to be a dairy barn, we were told that the venture was somewhat unsuccessful. We feel delighted that instead it is now often filled with beauty, celebration, people, amazing energy, good times, and love. That to us is a success. 

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
I think one thing to take into consideration is that it can be a challenge to give up every weekend in late spring, summer, and early fall. Good organization, communication, and customer service skills are necessary. The organization of the business and the scheduling is important so that a weekend isn’t accidentally double-booked. Good communication between the bride and groom, wedding planner (if there is one), vendors, etc. is also important. We have tried to make our venue affordable and easy for our guests as we feel this is important. We have tables, chairs, linens, minimal decorations, a bridal cabin, tubs for kegs and drinks, a small kitchen, garbage cans and bags, a bar area, lights, signage, parking, and bathrooms. We don’t want our guests to have to bring that all in. We try and create a minimal-stress environment so that everyone can really enjoy the day or the weekend, including ourselves. We also do all the clean-up, and we recommend this. We want it to be clean and beautiful for our next guests! Setting boundaries is important as well. We have signs explaining the rules at Belsolda Farm, for example, what time the music has to end, what time the lights go off, etc. We think it is important to be flexible and really listen to any needs or requests that the guests might have. 

Contact Info:

• Website: belsoldafarm.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belsoldafarm/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/belsoldafarm/

Image Credits
Natalie Carolyn Photography
Vafa Photography