Wedding DJ at Willowdale in Kennett Square, PA

The Space

Willowdale spent generations as Landhope Farms, the working dairy operation Dixon Stroud ran to supply milk and ice cream to Chester County families, and the shop he opened in 1969 sold milk for 89 cents a gallon before growing into a small local chain. That agricultural history is the foundation for the $6 million renovation now turning the property into a wedding venue rather than erasing what came before it.

The barn’s Loft anchors the reception side of the property, an upstairs room with vaulted arches, willow-leaf chandeliers, and floor-to-ceiling windows that pull the surrounding Chester County hills into view during dinner and dancing. Downstairs, the newly built Millstone Lounge occupies the barn’s lower level, giving a couple a second indoor space with its own character for cocktail hour or a late-night change of scene.

Capacity & Layout

The venue can accommodate as many as 300 guests, a real ceiling that opens Willowdale up to larger weddings without asking a couple to compromise on the property’s farm character. Ceremonies have two options: the Silo Courtyard, or beneath the old tree on the Silver Maple Lawn, both outdoor settings that keep the vows in view of the working landscape before everyone moves toward the barn.

The farmhouse itself, the Yellow House, holds eight bedrooms and nine bathrooms along with two private getting-ready suites, so the wedding party can prepare on site rather than arriving already dressed, and depending on the package, some or all of that space can be booked for an overnight stay that extends the celebration past the reception itself.

Amenities

Willowdale is owned by Michael and Katherine Bucklin, Katherine being Dixon Stroud’s daughter, which keeps the property in the family that built it, and that continuity shows in details like the preserved Willowdale Steeplechase next door, a course her father founded as a steeplechase enthusiast and that still borders the grounds today, tying the new event business directly back to the family that farmed the land.

Two private getting-ready suites, the eight-bedroom farmhouse, and both an indoor and outdoor ceremony option give a couple real flexibility in how they structure the day, whether that means a small group staying overnight before the wedding or simply using the suites for a few hours to dress before the ceremony begins in the Silo Courtyard or on the lawn.

Location & Getting There

Willowdale sits in Kennett Square, in the rolling hills of Chester County, Pennsylvania, and its grounds look out over the steeplechase course next door, giving the property a genuine countryside setting rather than a manufactured one. Willowdale opened to celebrations in September 2026, so this is a newly available venue with a long working history behind the polish, and a couple booking now will be among its first weddings.

With the reception centered upstairs in the barn’s Loft, a room defined by hard floors, high vaulted ceilings, and glass on multiple sides, sound in that space will carry cleanly across the room while the windows keep the surrounding hills visible, and the option to shift downstairs into the enclosed Millstone Lounge gives a DJ a second, more contained room to work with later in the night.