From heartache grew Harvest Moon Glamping and Black Barn wedding venue in Smithville Flats.
Cassandra Vance, formerly the owner of the Houndstooth Bakery & Boutique in Sidney, launched the “glamping” site following the death of her husband, Jim.
“He was a recipient of a bilateral lung transplant — the 23rd ever performed — and he received the lungs of a 19-year-old girl killed in an automobile accident,” she said. “They gave him five years to live and, at 10, he went into renal failure. I was able to donate my left kidney to him and he lived another 10 years. So, he was the longest-surviving bilateral lung transplant recipient.
“Jim and I had started the Houndstooth and, after he passed away, it just didn’t hold the same joy for me,” Vance continued. “After he passed away, I didn’t want to live where we had lived, so I found this great cabin in the middle of the woods, and my dog and I moved in here.”
That purchase, Vance said, proved pivotal.
“I moved here to this beautiful small cabin, and I just started buying pieces around me, because surrounding me is 2,000 acres of protected land,” she said. “So, I lived here and met another great guy, Kevin Tripp, who is involved with this whole thing. A 2.5-acre piece came up for sale beside me and it was an old house they’d buried. I bought it and had it all cleaned out and put a beautiful pond there.
“Then behind me was 40 acres of old-world forest,” Vance continued. “My family grew up vacationing in the Adirondacks and I always loved any property that had paths in the woods. That just fed my soul. And I loved those woods and I remember sitting … and saying to Kevin, ‘Just mow a path into those woods, I want to pretend I own those woods’ and, six weeks later, those 40 acres came up for sale and Kevin and I bought them. To me, it was almost a manifestation. Energy flows where energy goes, and I loved those woods. They always seemed sad and dark before we owned it and I feel like there was some … spiritual way that the woods were ready for people to be in them and appreciate them again.”
From there, Vance said, plans took root quickly.
“In a very short period of time, Kevin and I went in … and were able to build a trail for a four-by-four and put glamping sites in,” she said. “From September to December of 2020, we cleared a path and found three spaces, deep in the woods, for glamping sites. People will say to me, ‘How did you know where to put them?’ and I say, ‘The woods led us to the right spots.’ In 2021, we put up beautiful glamping sites, fully appointed, and I designed each cabin with different atmospheres; one is the Adirondack, one is wildflower and one is pine spirit. To get to them, we ranger your gear out there, but people don’t need to bring anything — they have queen beds, fire pits and are based on the concept that people need to go into the woods and unplug and listen to the breeze and the birds.”
Inspiration to expand services, Vance said, followed a niece’s wedding.
“She had gotten married in Skaneateles in a barn and … to me, it was almost as meaningful in the days up to her wedding, because we were allowed to stay onsite,” she said. “So, as we’re in the midst of glamping, I said to Kevin, ‘We’re going to build a barn and offer weddings, because weddings can then use the glamping sites, and the barn is going to be black. I have a creative spirit. And we were very blessed; we had weddings the very first year. This is our second full year being open, and we’ve got 16 weddings for this year.”
The response to Harvest Moon Glamping and Black Barn, Vance said, was swift.
“We’re in the middle of nowhere, and we’d get campers from Boston or Philadelphia … and people were so changed by it,” she said. “We get a lot of very urban people, but they want that experience … and that’s how glamping came about. They were the very people that would … almost weep, saying, ‘I’ve never slept better.’ We’ve met so many great people.
“So many reviews say it was just a fairytale wedding and that we’re very sincere people,” Vance continued. “I am humbled when somebody chooses this venue to get married. I don’t take that responsibility lightly. Brides just love it — the laidback nature and the fact that we are here onsite, willing to do whatever it takes to make their day and their vision come to life. It’s not a big venue; it’s designed for more intimate, meaningful gatherings, if nature and a forest are your vibe, but there’s such energy here. It takes a lot of work to build trails and … keep the grounds looking as beautiful and as natural as they can, because we don’t want to change nature — we are guardians of this place — but we do the best we can to enhance the natural beauty.”
Vance said she hopes to continue evolving offerings while remaining connected to the setting.
“It’s a place that embraces nature and creativity and, recently, we built a forest ceremony site called the Cathedral,” she said. “It’s built deeper in the forest, with a cathedral of ancient timbers and a beautiful French country vintage chandelier and Kevin has hand-built these rustic benches and there are beautiful French doors draped with branches. It’s a very meaningful spot, and you really are surrounded with 100-foot trees. So, that’s our new thing and we have several brides using it this year.
“(For brides who choose) the Full Moon package, you rent the property for four days, and that includes the glamping sites, luxury RV with spaces near it, the gathering pavilion and the cedar sauna,” Vance continued. “Recently, my niece and another girl and I started Cedar, Lace and Lilies, an event company, which is the perfect tie-in with the Black Barn. Most brides want to rent plates or want a beautiful vintage green couch or lace linens … so this is a great add-on for them, and I think it was just meant to be. Long term, we might put actual structures — little cabins — in the glamping sites where the tent-cabins are. We’re kind of toying with that in the next couple years, and we might also put up a treehouse that could be a honeymoon suite.”
For more information, visit harvestmoonoutdoor.com, find Harvest Moon Glamping on Facebook or call 607-422-0904.