2 weeks Ago
Wolf Cove Inn owner Geoff Skidmore, seen March 18, said the new sauna he had installed at his Poland bed-and-breakfast has been quite popular. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal POLAND — The owners of The Wolf Cove Inn on Tripp Pond didn’t think weddings would be a big part of their business when they bought the inn in 2023. They’ve held 100 in the two years since.
“Elopements are a big chunk of our business ...
just the two of them, maybe a few people, a few friends. They’re usually low-key,” co-owner Geoff Skidmore said, and a lot of them are last-minute bookings. Skidmore and his wife, Nicole, appear to be capitalizing on more couples interested in smaller weddings and smaller venues, either for the cozier surroundings or the lower cost.
Microweddings are also big at the inn. Think small, intimate, a dozen or so — less than 50. Lodging is on-site and the Skidmores have a culinary team in place to prepare a four-course dinner for two or 20.
Last year, they renovated the former innkeeper’s quarters into an 800-square-foot suite that includes a king-size bed, queen-size pullout, full kitchen, ensuite bathroom, sitting area and a private garden yard. Skidmore said it’s very popular because the room allows small parties to separate from the rest of the inn in privacy. The inn has a cabin just yards away from the main building that is also popular with couples.
In the past year Skidmore and his wife have been getting requests for whole-house inn buyouts. Guests book the entire inn, which has 13 rooms, including the cabin. They had one such booking in 2024 and already have eight booked this year, along with a total of 22 weddings.
And more inquiries are coming in weekly. Wolf Cove Inn owner Geoff Skidmore exits the boathouse March 18 on the side of Tripp Lake in Poland. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal The inn is about to launch a new website, complete with different wedding packages, including the option of reserving the entire inn for a private wedding.
Microwedding packages range from $3,800 to $7,000, lodging is not included. The move to more weddings does present a challenge for the owners, and in some cases clientele. “This is a shared space for other people.
If you are doing the micro weddings you have other people celebrating their own special occasions. So, there are more limitations,” Skidmore said. He’s talking about keeping the noise level down and not taking over the public spaces within the inn, out of consideration for other guests.
They can do larger weddings and have a tent option for the expansive lot, which sits next to the pond, but the owners are cautious because of the potential for noise and the wear and tear from large parties. The Skidmores installed a sauna and ice bath as another amenity and spruced up the old boathouse for intimate dinners for couples. Has the transition to more weddings been profitable? The Skidmores were considering eliminating microweddings until they looked at the extra tens of thousands of dollars they make and changed their minds.
“Our staff goes above and beyond to ensure that is your special day but there’s also a reality that there’s a balance that we have to do for the other guests. You know, we have other guests here that have the expectation that we’re going to provide exceptional quality of service,” Skidmore said. We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers.
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