Meet Sarah and Ashley Armstrong

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah and Ashley Armstrong. 

Hi Sarah and Ashley, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Our journey into creating a wedding and events venue starts with the creation of our regenerative farm, Angel Acres. With a desire to transform the health of our land, animals, and ourselves, refurbish the soil by implementing regenerative practices was the only option! We just so happened to purchase a property in October of 2020 with a beautiful, old red milking and hay barn on it. The property also had 5 other red barns on it, hence, the name — The Red Barns. It just made sense, and it also just made sense to start renovating the barn to bring back its original charm and character in order to allow others to celebrate special moments here because we truly believe what we are doing with our farm here is special. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been a number of challenges, but all of them have shaped this place into what it is meant to be! One of our first challenges was dealing with a huge mold infestation in the farmhouse on the property. This set us back in our barn renovations but taught us a lot in terms of properly constructing and maintaining a house to prevent this from happening in the future. 

Another huge challenge is the crazy weather we’ve had. We’ve had huge windstorms that lifted our 2000 lb. chicken coop up into the air and threw it! This left our 400+ birds without a coop for days. We had to come together that week and build a new one, which was such a challenge but brought great friends and reliable people nearby into our lives. This event also severely injured our livestock guardian puppy, Cooper. He was paralyzed from the waist down as the coop landed on him. He has made a full recovery, miraculously, and we are so grateful to this day that no one else got hurt. 

Most recently, getting architectural plans stamped and approved, as well as all the plumbing and electrical work approved, has been our next greatest hurdle. There’s hefty wait times for each step of the process, which has set us back in our final opening date. However, we were able to have our first wedding this past summer in the midst of all of the chaos, and it went wonderfully! 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My sister and I are first-generation farmers and entrepreneurs (running 3 different businesses). One business is our farm, Angel Acres, where we have milking goats, egg layers, lamb, and a horse. We sell our eggs online to customers all over the US on a subscription basis, and are soon going to explore shipping our milk and related dairy products! We also sell our lamb meat seasonally and are working on a larger business to sell cuts of lamb and other meat year-round. All of this goes under Angel Acres Farm. 

We also run a business via social media, “Strong Sistas”, where we have the privilege to help others reach their health and fitness goals. We share about nutrition, fitness, our own health journey, how farming and knowing where your food comes from fits into all of this, and so on. 

Our third business is The Red Barns, which is a wedding and events barn, but we will also be converting the barn into an Airbnb so we can host people at the farm, and hold educational events to teach more about regenerative agriculture. 

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I see so much potential because there seems to be a shift with more and more people wanting to experience farm life/country living, whether that’s just by staying at an Airbnb for the weekend, having a barn wedding, or even starting their own homestead. What we are doing here touches all three of those populations. 

Our social media also has endless potential with reach, which we’re really grateful for because it provides the opportunity to help change more people’s lives for the better, shifting their health in the right direction, connecting them with their food sources, and informing them of the importance of farming. As our world continues to shift, knowing where your food is coming from and having these alternative sources of information and health is going to be crucial! 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.armstrongsisters.com | www.angel-acresfarm.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/strong.sistas | www.instagram.com/angel__acres | www.instagram.com/redbarns.at.angelacres

Image Credits
Hey Sisters! Photography
Vander Veen Media