Metropolitan Weddings Podcast
Metropolitan Weddings Podcast
Meet The Wedding Pro - Leigh Anne with Cassell Vineyards
Leigh Anne Cassell reveals her captivating journey of transforming Cassell Vineyard into an enchanting destination for weddings and dining experiences. Picture yourself in an Italian-themed wonderland, where a historic 150-year-old homestead sets the stage for unforgettable weddings and anniversaries. Leanne shares her emotional connection to each event, bringing to life the sentimental stories that unfold within the vineyard's picturesque chapel area. With its rich history and breathtaking ambiance, Cassell Vineyard promises to be the ideal backdrop for creating lasting memories.
Discover how this versatile venue accommodates up to 150 guests, with options ranging from micro weddings to elopement packages amidst the serene charm reminiscent of Italy. Leanne paints a vivid picture of hosting rehearsal dinners or bachelorette parties surrounded by lush vines, and highlights unique features such as a bridal suite, groom's quarters, and climate-controlled catering facilities. And let's not forget their exciting grape stomp festival! Whether you're a couple seeking a dream setting for your special day or someone planning an intimate gathering, this episode opens a world of possibilities at Cassell Vineyard.
Welcome to Metropolitan Weddings. I'm Meg, I'm Dawn, and we are here to educate couples with information from wedding professionals in the industry.
Speaker 2:Our goal is to make the wedding planning process as seamless as possible by providing you with insight from industry professionals.
Speaker 1:Okay, couples, let's get this party started. Hello listeners, we are here today with a special kind of merchant, one of our favorites. Don't tell the others.
Speaker 3:Leanne, do you want to introduce yourself and your business? Yes, I'm Leanne Cassell and I'm owner of Cassell Vineyard, which is a wedding venue, a winery and a restaurant.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a winery and a restaurant, so how could you not have our hearts with the wine and the food over there? So how?
Speaker 3:long have you guys been wining and restauranting? Well, we opened the restaurant last summer. Our Father's Day weekend was our grand opening weekend, and then we're seasonal, so we closed the last weekend of October, so at about a four and a half month season, and then we reopened again this May and we'll run again through the end of October. So we're in our second season right now. So it's new to us, even though we've been running weddings for since 2021.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, so the restaurant part is really the newer part, but the vineyard as a wedding and events like location. You've been doing that for a few years now.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:Yes, nice, and so do you enjoy which one is more fun.
Speaker 3:Well, I think it's kind of funny that you asked that, because I was thinking about this the other day and I thought you know I'm really good at the wedding side of it and Bill's really good at the restaurant side of it, so we run them all together and we work together on all of it. But I tend to lean towards the weddings. They're really fun. Sentimental Maybe because I'm a woman, I cry for every wedding that comes, but he's really really good at entertaining the guests and explaining the wines and you know he makes that fun for them and I'm usually in the back helping manage the staff in the kitchen makes that fun for them and I'm usually in the back helping manage the staff in the kitchen.
Speaker 1:So for this podcast it's really more about the weddings than the restaurant. But I just want to say I do love it when I go to a restaurant and like the owners are interactive and I get to like chat with them and they educate me on stuff and that's always a fun like part of the atmosphere. So I love it. It's fun for us too.
Speaker 3:We love to atmosphere, so I love it. It's fun for us too. We love to do that. Yes, it's fun for us too.
Speaker 1:Perfect so okay. So back to the weddings, because that's really why our listeners are here, unless they want a date night. And then Cassiel.
Speaker 3:Vineyards is your, is your spot. We cover it all. We cover all the, the romance.
Speaker 1:You guys are very romantic, that's probably the best word to use.
Speaker 2:I mean they could literally have a date night, get engaged, get married and have their reception Boom.
Speaker 1:Just all in the same spot One-stop shop.
Speaker 3:Well, and we had a couple that got married last June that came out and they celebrated their anniversary and it was so they didn't tell us. They told us after they did this that they went down in the chapel and they said their vows to each other again on their one-year anniversary, and that was the sweetest thing ever. So we get to celebrate anniversaries as well.
Speaker 2:Aw, that's awesome. Did you cry?
Speaker 3:I. I cried when they showed up because I knew it was their anniversary. I remembered them and, um, what had been thinking about them? Uh and and uh I was. It was a weekend, you know. So I was trying to get a post up for our anniversary couple and that didn't get done, but when I saw them it was very exciting. We were really happy to see them. That's sweet and when they told us they did that it was, I was like, oh, it's so perfect. What a way to celebrate your first anniversary.
Speaker 3:That is smart I like that for them, and we were honored. Of course, we loved it.
Speaker 1:In the pictures before I ever got to visit your venue. I definitely it just has. I don't know. It has a flavor and vibe about it that you don't get at other locations in the area as much. You know what I mean just the vineyard feel of it. And then the old I don't know talk to me about what. What is the structure that's left partially standing that makes such a? I don't know, it's like it's an old homestead.
Speaker 3:it's an old homestead that was built we don't know when exactly. It was on the property when we bought it and and it was just the three walls it was overgrown pretty heavily and my oldest daughter wanted to get married there when she got married in 2011. She was living at home and attending college. She was in her last year of college that summer before and she and I spent a couple of months just clearing it out, pulling vines down. There was dirt 12 inches deep. It just hadn't been used in years and years and years and we weren't really sure about the history of the structure.
Speaker 3:But once we started posting pictures of it after it became a venue, we had family members in the area that didn't know it was still there that came out to look at it. We heard all kinds of stories about it and then we got it dated back to about 150 years. But it's the perfect chapel area, it, it. It fits in pretty well with our italian theme. You know the age of it. And then we added some things. We added an arbor at the top of it, and that stabilizes the structure too, because it is it is old and it was crumbling in some areas when we had to do some repairs. We added power so that there's lights on the arbor and then you can have a DJing sound system down there as well, and it's just a neat historical building. So we loved hearing about the history of it from the family members that are in the area of Mansfield. But it fits in with the Italian vibe, I think it does, and then it has a separate ceremony space from the terrace, so it's very romantic down there.
Speaker 1:I completely agree. And the pictures it just reads like an old Italian. I don't know like the remnants of somebody. Help me out here with like what I'm trying to say but it has like an Italian village.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yes, yes, out here with like what I'm trying to say, but it's like an Italian village.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yes, yes, yes so that's an Italian countryside, village, so you just feel like you're just off the beaten path. You know you're not in, you know one of the cities, city areas, but the, the countryside of Italy. You're just beautiful and fortunately for us, they're not too unlike what it looks like in Missouri just a lot more history to it, a lot more age and the charm is different, of course. So we're trying to recapture that and then bring that romantic vibe. And you know, a lot of people dream of going to Italy or Europe for a wedding, a destination wedding. But see, you don't have to do that. With us, you can have a local wedding and feel like you're in Italy having your romantic wedding.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Exactly.
Speaker 1:Sounds romantic.
Speaker 2:It is romantic If you go out there. It is for sure.
Speaker 1:So that's just one like little spot that is part of the property that goes like that you host the event. So let's talk about some of the other so you could have your ceremony there um and set it up. I love it that you guys have updated it with the power and got it all cleaned out and that sounds like it was a lot of work but good job, it was not worth it so paint the picture of the rest of the property for us.
Speaker 3:Well, when you drive into the entry which we're redoing now we're kind of putting a big giant. We're calling it a Euro circle. It's just a big circle driveway area kind of defines things a little better, with better direction. Going in, you pull into a parking lot If you're having a wedding there then your guests park and then they walk through our vineyard section that's below the terrace, so they get to actually walk through the vine back to the chapel area, which is secluded. You go through an arbor and then you're just in this area surrounded by woods, and it's very serene and very beautiful. When the ceremony is over you can take the path back up. There's a curved staircase with rock and just kind of goes along the woods. So it's a little to me fairy-like. It's romantic.
Speaker 3:Also We've been adding lights in through there and they walk up to the terrace. Everywhere they have the reception and then that's where we have the winery building, where we used to make our hobby wine and a bar, and then the terrace, which is open air. We are working on a new type of covering for it. Our last one got damaged in storms but we have lights. It's just very pretty when it's open air, but the coverings are just in case of inclement weather. When you're on the terrace then you're overlooking the vineyard because the terrace is on the hill and you have beautiful views of the Ozark Mountains. And if you're coming to the restaurant side then you still park in the same parking area. But then you walk up to where the terrace is and there's some stairs and a little stand there for the stand. I'm so sorry about that. Hold on Life of a small business owner.
Speaker 3:Yes, so you have two phones. Um yeah, so you come up there and then same thing when you're dining. Then you just overlook the vines and we just really encourage that European experience where you're not rushed, you sit and visit, even with our weddings, you know just that relaxed feel with family and friends, just we. Really that's one of our favorites things about Italy that we loved was just that sense of connection and not rushing like we Americans tend to do. So we try to put that into everything. And so when we do have weddings out there, bill and I are there, we're hands on. We're not wedding planners, but we really try to be like the extra set of parents or grandparents that are there helping, making sure that you know we're troubleshooting anything. They just get a real personal experience with that and we do have staff that helps with that as well. And then with the restaurant, we also really encourage just come out, relax and enjoy life. It's just you know you get out and you're busy all the time and you just don't take that time to do that.
Speaker 2:We want to create that place for people to enjoy their weddings and their food and their wine.
Speaker 3:Perfect, you got it all going on Trying.
Speaker 1:So how many? What's your capacity for wedding guests?
Speaker 3:We can see up to 150 guests. Of course we're on property, so somebody wanted to expand that they could always rent more tables and chairs, but we we just have in our you know our basic information 150 that everybody's going to have a good view line of the dance floor. Keep cutting all of that. And then, and then we do offer micro weddings and elopement packages. We just opened that up this year and that you can pretty much get married anytime on any part of the property, because it's 15 and under people. The micro wedding you have options too. As far as do you want to have your dinner in the vineyard? Know, you have options to. As as far as do you want to have your dinner in the vineyard. We created some spaces in the vineyard that we can set up tables for a micro wedding, which is 30 or under. And then our regular weddings are, you know, full wedding package.
Speaker 1:They will have their reception on the terrace so I didn't even know you did the micro weddings with the table setups in the vineyard. How romantic is that.
Speaker 3:Yes, and that was inspired a little bit by you guys with the photo shoot in there and I've had brides contact me and they have sent me that photo Like I want this for my micro wedding. They have sent me that photo like I want this for my master wedding. So that's been an inspiration photo for a few brides that were looking for that. We also host wine pairing dinners, and if we did a dinner on a smaller scale then we could also host that in the vineyard as well. So that was the goal. That was one of our winter projects this year was to level out some spaces to make room for more than one table, and it's very pretty. It does feel like you're in Italy when you're just sitting there in the vines at a table.
Speaker 1:So even if a couple already has their venue but is thinking about maybe a rehearsal dinner or something like that, thinking about maybe a rehearsal dinner or something like that, this sounds like a fun option for like a big, nice, family style table in the middle of the vines.
Speaker 3:I love it. Yes, we don't have that, you know, in our package pricing, but we would consider that like a custom package option, and so they would call us and we would just kind of walk through it, listen to their vision and make a plan, and they usually we have them come out and view the vineyard and if you see it, then you get a better idea of what you're, what you're, what you're going to experience and where we'll set everything up. And and so we yeah, we offer all kinds of things, even bachelorette parties. Bachelor parties, just a family dinner in the vineyard. We've had a few people contact us about even a corporate event, nice.
Speaker 3:That's a classy corporate event right there, there's a lot of options. Yeah, yes, so, yeah, so we also have the swimming pool, which we don't use the swimming pool for weddings. Um, but it is. It is something that would. You could have a table space, you know, rent a space in the vineyard and have a meal out there and then rent the pool. So there's a lot of things going on. It could really be a fun experience, especially for a family, family reunion, anything like that. So the pool rents separately. It rents on Swimpley and App, so we don't rent it with the wedding venue, but they could coincide an event with it.
Speaker 1:Interesting and I know you've got a bride area for the Brides Getting Ready room.
Speaker 3:Yes, we do. I didn't walk you through that part of it but visually we did add another archway um for another ceremony space and we used that for the first time this spring for a main wedding um. But we also have the bridal suite and the groom's quarters that are. That are part of our wedding packages, where the bride and and bride and her bridal party and the groom's parties can both get ready.
Speaker 1:That's nice.
Speaker 3:We also have a kitchen area for catering. We offer a package for if you're self-catering, but we have a room that is climate controlled for food as well. So the bathroom, the kitchen space and the buffet space and the bridal suite and groom's quarters are all climate controlled for food as well. So the bathrooms, the kitchen space and the buffet space and the bridal suite and groom's quarters are all climate controlled, because everything else is open air.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. I'm not sure what I'm forgetting to talk about, I mean, she took you on a pretty good journey.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think I covered almost everything.
Speaker 1:You really did. I think seeing some of the pictures of you guys' property is very just. I think the pictures do speak a thousand words, for you know, pardon my cliche, but it's very, very, very, very romantically set. It's beautiful, it's trees and it's vines and it's it's. It is, it's what you think of Italy being, and I like that. Even your idea of the like slowing down and taking time and spending it with the family and talking and not just rushing through everything, like even the mentality of how to have the event, it all just kind of comes together in this beautiful, peaceful. You know Well one thing we didn't talk about was our grape stomp option.
Speaker 3:We have an annual grape stomp festival out at the vineyard on the second weekend of September this year. But we also offer as a package for couples for a full wedding. We can't get 150 people in the stomp, that would probably take two days. But we offer a couple toast in the grape stomp kit as an add-on package or to their package the grape stomp kit as an add-on package or to their package. And then we offer a rehearsal dinner package option where they can come out for up to a certain number of people.
Speaker 3:We have it where we provide a meal and the grape stomp or just the grape stomp, and if they come and do their rehearsal when we're not open for business hours, they can bring in their own meal and then and then just add on the grape stomp for that. And the grape stomp goes for micro weddings because we can do up to 30 people and then a wedding could add that on as well. So that's that's only offered in the fall, because grapes harvest the varietals all harvest for anywhere from the end of August until the first hard freeze in October. So we we offer it for September and October weddings.
Speaker 2:How fun that's not something I get to do every day. First hard breeze in October, so we offer it for September and October weddings.
Speaker 3:How fun that's not something I get to do every day. Yeah, no, kidding, no, and we created this. It's like a replica, old world style grape stomp pit, so it's very aesthetic as well. It looks nice in the photos. It's fun. It's really a fun time.
Speaker 1:I was going to say hire a photographer for that, because how fun would those photos be of your whole family?
Speaker 3:yes, we should. We should do family photos, make all the girls come back, and it is. It really is a fun thing. I'm not saying it, it's one of my favorite times of the year and we've always done that. We've harvested our grapes by stomping them always, so it's just been a family tradition since we planted and harvested our first grape. Yeah, so now we do stomp grapes and we do make the wine out of it, but we don't sell and serve our own wine yet. We have spent some time trying to get our licensing going, but that it's hard to meet all their deadlines and do all that when we're busy, so we've paused that for the time being. But in the meantime we do have a nice line of italian wines and beers, and then we do offer bar packages for our weddings as well.
Speaker 1:Perfect Cause you could definitely. If you're at a winery, you've got to have some wine.
Speaker 3:Well, yeah, that's right. And wine goes with food, so we have a. We have a few food selections as well, so, yeah, it's a good time.
Speaker 1:I love it, so where's?
Speaker 3:a great spot for them to see some of the pictures of you guys' property. I would say that I post I try to post a lot on Facebook, but you know you have to scroll down a lot. But if you wanted a concentrated view of everything, our website is the best. We've been updating our website and we've added a gallery. We're still working on the gallery, but a lot of the photos just on the website will give you an idea. But if you did want to take some time and scroll through Facebook, you'll get a good idea as well from that. But our website is casellvineyardscom, with two S's and two L's, so spell it all out for them. It's C-A-S-S-E-L-L-V-I-N-E-Y-A-R-D-Scom.
Speaker 1:Perfect.
Speaker 2:Beautiful.
Speaker 3:And then at Cassell Vineyards on Facebook as well.
Speaker 1:And if they want to like, schedule a time to come out and view the property. Do you do that daily? Do you have it online where they can schedule that, or do they call, or how do they do that?
Speaker 3:We usually just ask them to contact us via phone, email, text and then we schedule tours. We schedule them since we're open as a restaurant on Friday, saturday or Sunday and also that's when events happen. We're limited on our weekend times, but if I have availability on Saturday or Sunday morning we can do tours and then we usually can schedule them pretty much any time they want to on Tuesday, wednesday and Thursday, if they need a morning, afternoon or evening time. So we just set that up around their schedules and make that happen. So it gets limited, though. You know we've been booking a lot of tours for next year People are looking into 2025 already but I have I usually have enough availability where they can get get scheduled within a week or two to come out and see it and I will work around it you know, yeah, and some people are coming in.
Speaker 3:We, you know, we have some destination couples and if they're coming in from out of town, we'll, we'll. We'll work out a time with them. We try to help them out as much as we can around our schedule. But, yes, if they're looking for, we do have a few dates available this year. They're filling up fast, but if they're looking for this year, definitely call and schedule a tour soon. And if they're looking into next year as well, we've already started booking but we still have plenty of availability. So if they're looking, call right away. And what's the email? Email is fine too. What's your email? It's tosellvineyardsgmailcom. That's tosellvineyards at gmailcom.
Speaker 1:Awesome, and what's the phone number that they can call or text?
Speaker 3:It's 4 1, 7, 8, 9, 3, 1, 7, 8. And there's also, if they go to the website and they're looking on the website, there's a contact form there and that's mostly how people reach out to me, so it's it must be pretty easy for them to access. I think I'm hoping that's what that means. But, um, so if they get on there and look at it and they think, oh yeah, I do want to look at it, they can just just contact me right from the from that.
Speaker 1:That's fantastic. I hope people will reach out and get to come see the place yeah, come have some dinner and wine.
Speaker 2:I want to see it yeah, come on out.
Speaker 3:We'd love to have you out. Have you for dinner? Yeah, come out whenever you can. Let me know when you're coming, we will. We might have a special treat for you guys even better.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for sharing your passion.
Speaker 1:I have a special treat for you guys Even better. Thank you so much for sharing your passion with the industry and with us today.
Speaker 3:It's been a good time talking to you. Thank you so much for having me on the show. I really appreciate it Absolutely and it's always a good time talking with you. You guys are some of my absolute favorites. Yay, yes, we have the best in the industry. I think Sprinkles has the best in the industry.
Speaker 2:We agree, we do. We kind of love this industry.
Speaker 3:Well, it's great, but I feel like in our area we have a lot of good camaraderie and a lot of really good people to work with. I've loved it every second of it. Thank you so much for having me on the show.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:We'll talk to you soon, okay Sounds great.
Speaker 3:All right Bye.
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