Holcomb Farm Weddings & Events

I am currently on my honeymoon but felt so strongly about leaving a review that this is going to take precedent over sunbathing!! My husband and I (still not used to that!) just had our wedding at holcomb farm. When we first booked in spring of 2018 all seemed like a dream! But alas as others have mentioned, the staff had changed and things that were said to me that were included we not. Nothing major- and with having a year to plan it was nothing too difficult to sort out. This is whereTerri comes in. She is the current “go to contact” at Holcomb Farm regarding functions. I can not give her enough praise. She answered every question, was prompt at returning emails, and even sat on the phone with me multiple times just to work out the details. (To be clear there is still no wedding planner/coordinator at Holcomb farm, this is not Terri’s job. But she does a fantastic job at being black and white with how things work). A new patio was just built with a beautiful gas fire pit- our cocktail truck was able to pull up on a side road meant for farm use and it was absolutely perfect. If you have the drive to plan your wedding and are dreaming of that farm setting in a beautiful quaint town- and are willing to work through every detail of planning your wedding from set up to breakdown , than look no further! It was the perfect setting for our “comfy but classy” wedding.

My bridal party hosted my Jack and Jill at Holcomb Farm. It was a beautiful space and was able to accommodate over 100 people. The space has very clean, organized, and open allowing people to go inside and out. There was also plenty of open space outside which allowed us to play yard games such as cornhole, ladderball etc. The staff was very accommodating and easy to work with. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a space to host a fun and elegant Jack and Jill and/or wedding!

Our bridal party hosted our wedding shower and Holcomb Farm. It was an absolutely beautiful setting. We had about 100 people and there was more than enough room. Our bridal party supplied the caterer and decorations and it was so perfect! It would also make a great venue for a wedding!

I am so sad to be leaving this review but feel that others should know what they are getting into with Holcomb. We booked with Holcomb in June 2017 for a September 2018 wedding. Within two weeks of booking the venue, including paying the deposit, we received a "call me" email. When my husband called, they told us that they had made a mistake and that the town had an event on the calendar for the venue that day that wasn't there before, and could we switch our date. Luckily, our ceremony venue was available for he different date and we were able to change. They apologized for their mistake and gave us a small discount. On their site, you can see what the venue is booked for, and weeks later, we saw that it was not reserved for a town event, but another wedding. We let this go though, still assuming that we were getting a good deal and since we were able to change the vendors to the new date, all was well. In August, a month and a half before our wedding, I emailed Ida-Marie, who I had been communicating with for the entire year before the wedding. She had been very responsive and helpful with all of my questions. I got an automatic response back that she had left Holcomb. No one from Holcomb had reached out to let us know and I had to send an email through their main address to find out who our new POC was. Once it was established that Terri was taking over Ida's responsibility, everything seemed fine, except she wanted to call everytime we spoke instead of responding to emails. It seemed like she didn't want to put what she was saying in writing. After seeing the review from Larah, I emailed them with my concerns and again, Terri wanted to talk on the phone. My husband made it clear he wanted what she was telling us in writing so their couldn't be any he-said, she-said later on. We also spoke with our caterers, Harvest in Simsbury (SO AMAZING BTW), who had catered a number of weddings there that summer. Kim from Harvest assured us they hadn't had any issues since the change in POC, and that the weddings over the summer went off without a hitch. This greatly reassured us. However, we experienced many of the same issues as Larah did. Our caterers were responsible for loading the rental stuff (silverware, linens, dishware) into the designated area where they had always done for the rental pickup on Monday. Once they were done, the monitor informed us that was not the correct location, and it all had to be moved down the hall. This was entirely new to the cateres, who said they had not had this issue at all over the summer. There were only 3 caterers left, and I wasn't leaving until everything was put away as we could not afford to lose the deposit money. So my husband, sister, and friends helped the catering staff carry all of the rentals to the new location. I am not blaming the monitor, as he was doing his job, but should this have not been communicated before 11pm? As well, when I was finally driving away from the venue, we realized the outdoor tables on the patio still had their linens. In fear of our $500 being kept over six tablecloths, I went back to remove them myself. So while you can certainly expect a beautiful spot for your wedding, and while you may already be aware you are getting zero help from the venue, be prepared to have different stories told to you, rules changed, and poor communication. Shoutout to 2 Pour Guys and Harvest Catering for all their help and wonderful work.

I'm incredibly sad to read the prior reviews were so negative about Holcomb. We just got married there this past weekend (11/3/2018) and had an absolutely beautiful wedding. The first thing I will acknowledge is that yes, it is just a venue with no other services included. But, we knew this going into the day and chose to hire a coordinator to assist us with this. As a town owned facility, we felt the price was right and preferred to pay towards a town run venue than some over priced, commercialized place. The reviews are correct in that there were staff changes, but this was a positive change. Both staff members we worked with were helpful and responsive. Their new coordinator, Terri, was incredibly helpful and responsive. She provided us with her own cell phone number and repeatedly checked in on us leading up to our date. She made herself available and was very flexible with our crazy schedules. There was a monitor present for the day of who was very friendly and helpful. When we signed the contract, we were informed of the monitor's duties and told that they are there to oversee, take the trash out, unlock doors, etc. The expectations were very clear and understood. Overall, my husband and I completely fell in love with Holcomb Farm. We received countless compliments on how beautiful the venue was, not to mention the outside with its vast farmland. Our vendors enjoyed working with Terri and had zero complaints. For those looking at this venue, please consider!!!! Sounds as though others did not understand the terms and conditions and expected more than they paid for. You will not be disappointed.

I'm so glad to see I'm not the only person who had a negative experience planning their wedding at Holcomb Farm. Now I know it wasn't just me! If there's one thing you take away from my review its this: Holcomb Farm is a town-owned property that is trying to advertise itself as a wedding venue. You get four walls and a ceiling and zero customer service. If I could do it over again I'd get a wedding planner because of the complications and stress working with this facility. I booked Holcomb Farm in September 2016 for my wedding in October 2018. Over that time there were numerous staff changes and zero communication notifying me that my point of contact was no longer working there. In addition to staff changes there were countless EXTREME changes made to the venue itself for example: a gravel road was put right in the middle of the lawn, the carpeting was ripped out and left as cement, and walls were installed where it was once an open walkway. When I asked about the carpeting I was told (rather rudely) that I would have to pay an extra $500 to have carpeting laid back down. Meaning I would have to PAY EXTRA for something that was there when I booked the venue and they removed without telling me. You can't have a fire pit anywhere on the property, you can't hang anything from the beams in the ceiling (lighting, fabric or streamers), you can't use any of their tables in chairs outside or even on their covered patio which is connected to the building. You can't put a tent on the lawn adjacent to the barn, it has to be at least 20 feet from the building which defeats the purpose of providing rain coverage during an outdoor ceremony if guest have to walk through the rain to get there. You can't have any vehicles anywhere on the lawn next to the building (food trucks, delivery trucks etc). They provide a "monitor" who is supposed to help set up and break down the event but they cannot help with anything that is outside the barn, even though it's on the property. You have to provide your own staff to clean up decorations and empty the space by midnight which is an extreme headache since most catering companies only clean up their equipment and leave by 8/9PM. The bathrooms are very outdated and gross, we had to put a lot of work to spruce them up before my wedding. When I toured the venue in 2016 the FIRST question I asked was "do you do more than one event a weekend" (I would not book a venue that did more than one event a weekend). I was told "no, we only do one event a weekend", but of course Holcomb Farm went back on their word a year later, and blamed the employee (who had since quit) for telling me false information. I had two well-known rental and decorating vendors in the area tell me they do not work with Holcomb Farm because they are particularly difficult to work with. The worst part of the whole experience was the attitude given to us throughout the entire 2 years. This is a town-owned property trying to make a buck. They will treat you like they're doing YOU a favor by letting you use this venue. Just like dealing with the DMV you get zero customer service and deal with employees who enjoy telling you "no". Holcomb Farm is a beautiful venue and it is very inexpensive but be warned that you will end up spending almost the same amount of money adding all the items that other legitimate wedding venues include (linens, glassware, silverware, cleanup staff). This is more suitable for a shower/birthday party venue.

I actually feel sad writing this because my husband and I just had a perfect wedding day at Holcomb. As a venue itself it is a beautiful place. It is owned by the Town of Granby who has had recent turnover in the department related to the farm's events. That being said, procedures were poorly communicated and their "monitors" that were promised to help us set up and breakdown the day of our wedding did nothing. Our caterer who has worked with the farm many times also agreed that this 2018 summer has been completely disorganized and has also put in a complaint. As a result, they kept our security deposit which is disheartening for a couple on a budget. If you choose to work with Holcomb, hire an event planner to square away details with the farm and correspond through email. Until the town hires someone strictly responsible for coordinating with couples, I would say Holcomb is a better venue for smaller events such as showers.

Great venue for a wedding. I had my ceremony on the grounds outside in a little private area and my reception inside the hall. They provide tables and chairs included in the price. Pricing was very reasonable.

Fantastic venue! If you are looking for a venue with a rustic feel without breaking the bank, this is the place! We looked at several other rustic/farm venues in the area but decided on Holcomb because it was centrally located to both sides of the family. The representatives with the town were very easy to work with and very accommodating. They have a good number of reception tables and chairs that are included in the rental fee. They also have a kitchen and a great area for the bar, with coolers, sinks etc. You will have to bring everything else in, but we found the perfect team of vendors. We had an outdoor ceremony with the reception inside. They have a great patio area with cocktail tables for the cocktail hour. It was chilly and a little drizzly when we had the wedding so we had to move the cocktail hour inside-but the patio is a great spot if weather permits. We had 93 guests which fit perfectly inside for a reception, allowing enough room for a dessert table, cake setup, DJ, and dance floor. The inside is pretty much an open canvas. There is a nice stone fireplace and the beams have great lights wrapped around them. The town also provides an event monitor that was very helpful with setup, breakdown, and even though we had no issues, if any arose, I'm certain she would have taken care of them. Great spot, you won't be disappointed.