Jennifer Wilson, Celestial Farms Wedding Venue

So nice to meet you! First off, what’s your name? Tell our readers a bit about yourself: where you’re from originally and where you live now.

My name is Jennifer Wilson, and I’m the owner of Celestial Farms Wedding Venue in Clio, Michigan. I’m originally from Clio and have always had a strong connection to the area and the people here. Today, I feel very fortunate to be running a successful Michigan wedding venue in my hometown.

Tell us one thing you love about where you live now.

One of the things I love most about where I live is being able to raise my family in a place where I’ve always had deep roots. Both my husband’s family and my family are originally from this area. There’s something really special about being surrounded by generations of people who have known and supported us throughout our lives.

Tell us a little more about what your company does and how it started. How does it help your customers?

Celestial Farms began as a family horse farm, long before I ever imagined it would become a wedding venue. After our family experienced a loss in 2013, horses became part of our lives, and the property slowly evolved into something very meaningful to our family. Eventually, the horses were gone, but I wasn’t ready to let go of what we had created here.

That’s when I began to see the potential for Celestial Farms to become a place where people could celebrate some of the most important moments of their lives. We renovated our barn and transformed the property into a beautiful wedding venue, while keeping the natural beauty and character that made the property special to us in the first place.

Today, we focus just as much on the experience as we do the space itself. We provide our couples with planning support and coordination throughout the entire process, along with a beautiful setting, dedicated staff, and a network of trusted vendors.

For me, the biggest way we help our customers is by taking the stress out of the process. I’m not just the owner—I’m also the lead coordinator, so our couples have someone who genuinely knows their wedding, their plans, and their vision. We’re able to anticipate problems, handle the unexpected, and make sure their wedding day feels seamless so they can actually enjoy it.

If someone wants to start a business, what advice would you give them?

Start by doing something you’re genuinely passionate about. Building a business takes a lot of time, energy, and persistence, so I think it’s important to choose something that you truly care about. I also believe you should pay attention to the skills that come naturally to you and find a way to use those strengths in your business. You don’t have to be good at everything—you just need to recognize what you are good at and build from there.

What is one piece of feedback from a happy customer or client that you won't forget?

There are honestly so many that it’s hard to choose just one. We receive a lot of wonderful Google reviews, and I’m incredibly grateful for every one of them. But one of the things that means the most to me is when a couple tells us they had the perfect wedding day and had no idea about the hiccups we were handling behind the scenes.

That is exactly what we want for our couples. Weddings rarely go completely according to plan, but if we can quietly solve those problems, keep everything moving, and allow the couple to enjoy their day without ever knowing what happened behind the scenes, then we’ve done our job well.

Where do you see your company in the future?

I’m very invested in the Celestial Farms brand and, more importantly, in what it represents. A big part of our success has been being able to keep as much as possible in-house so we can maintain the level of service and experience we want our couples to have. We’ve even brought bartending in-house, which has been an exciting addition for us.

We also recently closed our preferred vendor list, so going into 2027, we’ll be working closely with the best of the best. I think that will make the entire wedding experience even more seamless for our couples and our team.

I see Celestial Farms continuing to grow while staying true to what makes us special. I see us continuing to attract even more diverse celebrations, as well as larger, more complex weddings that allow us to continue pushing ourselves creatively. Ultimately, I see us taking on more elevated celebrations with bigger visions and greater investment in the overall wedding experience.

What is the biggest misconception about your industry?

There are actually a few. One is that owning a wedding venue means we’re making a fortune. The reality is that venues have an incredible amount of overhead. Between the property, maintenance, utilities, insurance, staff, improvements, and everything that goes into operating a wedding venue, there are expenses that people simply don’t see.

Another misconception is that if someone has a barn or a beautiful property, they can easily turn it into a wedding venue. There is so much more to it than having a pretty space. There are logistics, infrastructure, staffing, safety, insurance, vendor relationships, guest experience, and countless details that have to work together behind the scenes.

I also think there’s sometimes a misconception that because our coordinator is in-house, they aren’t as invested in the couple’s experience. I actually believe the opposite. Because we’re in-house, we have the opportunity to build a much stronger relationship with our couples and take greater ownership of their entire experience. We hold ourselves and our vendors to high standards because our name is attached to every part of the wedding day.

What has been one of your biggest struggles building your business, and how did you deal with it?

One of my biggest challenges has been learning how to grow the business without losing the personal touch and high level of service that made Celestial Farms successful in the first place. As we’ve grown, there are more couples, more weddings, more staff, and more moving parts, but I never want our couples to feel like they’re just another wedding on the calendar.

One thing that has helped tremendously is bringing more of my family into the business. Kylee and Yolanda are both involved in managing coordination, and they are just as invested in the success of Celestial Farms and the experience we provide as I am. Because they’re family, they genuinely care about the business and our couples in a way that is very personal.

I’ve also become much more intentional about what we keep in-house, who we work with, and the standards we set. I’ve learned that growth isn’t just about doing more—it’s about building the right systems and the right team so we can continue delivering the experience our couples expect. Having people beside me who are truly invested in the brand has allowed us to grow while still maintaining the personal, family-owned feel that is such a big part of Celestial Farms.

Any shoutouts you want to make?

Absolutely. I have to give a huge shout out to my husband, Kyle, and our daughters, Kylee and Khloe, as well as Yolanda. They have all supported me and this dream in so many different ways. Kylee and Yolanda are now such an important part of the day-to-day work at Celestial Farms, while Khloe has grown up watching this business become such a big part of our family. None of this would be possible without their support, encouragement, and willingness to be part of the journey with me. I’m incredibly grateful to have my family beside me while building something I’ve poured so much of my heart into.