Our Story
There’s a reason this section is at the back of the website, because honestly, our story takes a back seat to yours. But if you want to know a little more about us, what makes us tick, and how we got here, keep reading…
It all Starts with an idea…
“History shows us that people who end up changing the world are always nuts, until they are right, and then they are geniuses.”
- John Eliot
And no, that’s not a quote about us, but it is a quote about the founders of Wind in the Willows, Dave and Pam Graybill. In the year 2000, Dave and Pam’s oldest daughter was planning her wedding. At the time, the Graybills owned an old hay barn - covered in dust, with a dirt floor, it was hardly what most would consider the scene of a dream wedding. People were astonished that anyone would get married in a barn… oh the difference a few decades makes.
Unlike most venues, Wind in the Willows started accidentally, as a family wedding in an old hay barn. Twenty-two years and hundreds of weddings later, much has changed, but the approach remains the same. Dave and Pam had a vision of a venue where couples were invited as family and treated as family - that tradition lives on.
The power of a single conversation…
(Written by Aaron)
In 2015, while attending a wedding at Wind in the Willows, I struck up a conversation with Dave, and casually mentioned that Andrea and I had dreamed of owning a venue someday. Dave quipped, “well, maybe you should buy this place.”
I’ve often reflected upon this conversation and to this day it still impresses upon me how powerful (and frankly life changing) a single interaction can be. I walked away from that conversation and didn’t think of it again until Andrea and I attended my brother’s wedding in 2018. We left that wedding and the whole ride home we discussed our dream of opening our own venue. Somehow Wind in the Willows came up - we reconnected with Dave and Pam, and the rest is history.
It was always important to Dave and Pam who they left Wind in the Willows to. Dave often referred to Wind in the Willows as a labor of love - if you read below, you’ll see why. Our sincere hope is that the legacy they left behind lives on in us and that our couples view this as a place they feel at home and feel welcomed.
Photo credit: Timewies Photography
All part of the plan…
(Written by Andrea)
I remember it like it was yesterday… Aaron was on his way to DJ another wedding that weekend. He called me panicked because he couldn’t find the venue where he was supposed to DJ! It was nowhere to be found on the internet. Thankfully he always left early and he eventually found the address to Wind in the Willows on a photographer’s website (because my husband is just like that - when he puts his mind to something, he figures it out!) and still made it on time! Anyway, the next morning he mentioned that conversation he and Dave had about potentially buying this wedding venue. We had spoken of this dream together often, so we were hoping if it was something God wanted for us that an opportunity would eventually come around. However, we wanted to start a family and were standing in a house we had bought less than a year ago, so we looked at each other and agreed it wasn’t the right time. We moved on and waited, but not as long as we thought we would.
About three years later we talked about Wind in the Willows again and thought there was absolutely no way they were still in the process of looking for a buyer. God works miracles, people, because although a lot of couples came close to buying Wind in the Willows, Dave and Pam were still looking to sell! So, we started packing, sold our house after 3 days on the market, packed up and moved an hour North to Grantville. What an adventure it has been!
We are so thankful for the friendly, loving couples we get to meet and serve along the way! It’s so fun to watch families and friends unite and work together to make a wedding happen and then celebrate while enjoying each other’s company, because love and relationships with family and others… well, that’s what life is all about.
And for those of you who love history…
…here’s a few historic facts about the property that you might find interesting.
The property at Wind in the Willows began at the end of the 19th century. The house and barn were built in 1888, and were part of what was originally a 250 acre dairy farm. The property continued to operate as a dairy farm until the late 50s. Above is a picture of the property taken in 1954.
Between the late 50s and the 80s, the property fell into serious disrepair and eventually was sold at a sheriff’s sale in 1984 to Dave and Pam (pictures above). The barn especially was in such disrepair that they considered tearing it down. Between 1984 when they bought the property and 2000, when they hosted their first wedding, Dave and Pam poured significant time and effort into bringing the property back to life. This included the addition of a 3 acre lake, which Dave dug by himself over the course of 2 years in the early 90s.