Our Story
Hi! I’m Dean and this is my wife Kris.
The Birdseye Barn at Western Star is our baby (I guess technically our 4th baby). We absolutely love weddings! Honestly, there is no better day, no better occasion and our goal is to make sure you have as much fun as we did at ours.
The Birdseye Barn is a dream come true 25 years in the making. Planning our own wedding in 1995, we both thought that running an event center was just a fantastic idea. What could be better than being around happy couples all year long. One glorious party after another.
The Birdseye sits right in the heart of historic Western Star. One of the original seven villages of Norton, Western Star is home to us and we want to share the magic with you. And Birdseye? Well that was easy. Paying homage to Birdseye Norton, Norton’s namesake seemed overly appropriate and well overdue.
The facility is now open! We couldn’t be more excited. It’s like everything has come full circle for us as we rushed to get it all done. 2020 put us way behind on the project like so many other things, but we’ve got a plan and we’ve got a promise so here we go!
Our daughter had the first wedding here on September 18, 2021 and we look forward to hosting your wedding! Please contact us at your earliest convenience to reserve a date as we’re anticipating a significant amount of interest from throughout northeast Ohio once the word gets out.
As a kid (and adult), I’ve picked corn and baled hay right where the barn stands today. I’m definitely on board with trading all that hard work and those long, hot days for a wedding feast, the chicken dance and some refreshments into the night.
The farm has been in our family now for 50+ years and we have no plan on selling even one square inch of it. Instead, we’ve been searching for new ways to capitalize on what is fast becoming a thing of the past as family farms have disappeared and continue to disappear at an alarming rate. No housing developments, no industrial parks. We love the outdoors and love the wide-open spaces.
We want our kids and our kid’s kids to experience the same enjoyment and fulfillment that comes with farm living. When my dad was asked if he raised corn when we were growing up his standard reply was no, I’m raising boys.