Hidden Gems: Meet Megan Acord of Running Horse Farm

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Acord.

Hi Megan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised (and still live) in a small rural town called Harpersfield surrounded by grape vineyards. I’ve always been a sucker for an old barn, and I particularly loved an old yellow barn located just down the road from where I lived as a child and frequently was there to load hay for my horses. Fast forward to 2017, when that barn went up for sale.

The barn had been built by my husband’s family and his cousin was retiring from farming. We jumped at the chance to purchase the 12 acres and the beautiful old barn. I had a vision for a rustic wedding venue and with the help of my husband Gabe and my parents Tate and Jen, we could make the vision come to life. In the pictures, you will see that we were able to keep the “bones” of the barn-the beautiful wooden ceilings, lots of reclaimed wood, and the brick foundation.

We are now going on year 5 and despite some hurdles (like a global pandemic), the barn is thriving. I handle all the bookings and help with every couple’s wedding vision, while my sister Jess manages the property. The barn has been a labor of love and I am so thankful I get to share it with so many couples and their loved ones for many years to come.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Getting the barn up and running was a very difficult (and expensive) process. We changed our layout several times before deciding to keep the downstairs (the old milk parlor) a ceremony area and use the upstairs hay loft for receptions. The renovations took two years to complete and at times tested our marriage and willpower. But we stuck through it and opened up in 2019. We had so much support from family and our community and the word spread that we were open and we were fully booked solid for 2020.

Then the pandemic happened and the world shut down. Luckily, most of our couples decided to postpone instead of cancel or they greatly downsized their wedding to comply with Covid mandates. At one point dancing was banned so we had a wedding watch The Office on the big screen as their source of entertainment-craziness! We tiptoed into 2021 and are coming out of the pandemic with a successful year of weddings.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
One thing that sets our barn apart from other wedding venues is our famous “Stash”. We have a huge collection of wedding decor that brides can choose from, and we also set up every couple’s wedding for them so they can arrive on their wedding day with the barn all ready to go, beautiful, and stress-free.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Buying an 80-year-old barn and turning it into a wedding venue was a huge risk, financially and emotionally. My husband and I already had full-time jobs and two small children, so taking that leap was very scary.

In the midst of it were many sleepless nights, long hours working on the barn, and many times when we asked ourselves what the heck we had gotten ourselves into. But both of our families were amazingly supportive and we are so glad we took that risk because it has paid off tenfold.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.runninghorsefarmohio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runninghorsefarmohio/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/runninghorsefarm/