Do you and your significant other want to get married, but have zero desire to deal with everything that goes into having a wedding?
Antrim Spring Farm, just south of Greencastle, has an opportunity for couples whose “dream wedding” is eloping.
As part of its first “no fuss” elopements event on April 11, up to six couples will take their vows in a picturesque setting and get their own cake, champagne and photo package, all for $500.
“They just bring their marriage certificate, and we basically do the rest,” said Amber Dunn, who owns the venue with her husband, Andrew.
Elopement is more popular than ever
Elopement has grown in popularity in recent years, according to The Aisle Wedding Directory. A 2021 survey by The Knot, a popular wedding planning website, found that about 20% of couples in the U.S. chose to elope or have an intimate wedding with fewer than 10 guests — a significant increase than previous years.
Millennials and Gen Z have helped drive that increase, as nearly 60% of couples ages 25 to 34 consider eloping as a viable alternative to traditional weddings.
While the pandemic helped make smaller weddings more popular, more couples today are looking to commit without spending tens of thousands of dollars. The Knot reported in 2023 that the average elopement costs $5,800, compared to $28,000 on average for a traditional wedding.
The elopement event at Antrim Spring Farm has attracted significant interest, Dunn said. She is already looking at hosting two more events later this year due to how many people have asked about later opportunities. Dunn said she is considering dates in July and October, by the far the venue’s most popular month for weddings.
“Not everybody wants to plan a big wedding,” she said. “It stresses a lot of people out.”
What will an elopement be like at Antrim Spring Farm?
The idea for an elopement event came from Antrim Spring Farm’s contractor, Dunn said.
“I had been thinking of doing some elopements but didn’t want to add to our already very busy schedule this year. Our contractor was like, ‘You should just do a bunch of elopements in one day.’ I’m like, ‘That’s a great idea.’”
Dunn and her husband eloped themselves, so she can see the appeal. They were in a dessert location, and they got to cut a cake and enjoy champagne. The experience inspired Antrim Spring Farm’s elopement event.
Each couple’s hourlong elopement booking will include a 15-minute ceremony, which they can do in the barnyard in front of a “really old, really pretty” stone fence,” or on a stone patio in front of a fireplace, which is one of the venue’s most popular ceremony spots, Dunn said. A couple can invite up to four guests.
The couple can spend the rest of the time getting their pictures taken with photographer Brie Miller, operator of Sweet and Simple Photography in Fayetteville.
They also will get a miniature wedding cake created by Heather Fisher of Divine Cake Creations, Greencastle, and a bottle of champagne to enjoy on site or to take home.
Couples and their guests also will have the opportunity to meet Peaches and Penelope, Dunn’s two miniature highland cows. Small and shaggy and very friendly, they are like giant dogs, she said.
“People just love them,” she said, adding the farm also has four goats and 20 chickens.
Venue is tucked away near PA-MD line
The Dunns opened Antrim Spring Farm in May 2025. They bought the property for the house, but they soon decided the land with all the trees, pond and old architectural features was so picture-perfect they had to share it and pursued making it an event venue.
The property is surrounded by trees and tucked away between residential neighborhoods off Williamsport Pike in southern Antrim Township. Many people are surprised to learn it is there, Dunn said.
“We are so close to Greencastle, right at the Maryland line. We have people around us, but when you’re here it doesn’t feel like it,” she said.
Dunn said she will probably cut off reservations for the inaugural elopement event no later than April 3, to ensure the baker has time to make the cakes. To learn more, check out Antrim Spring Farm’s Facebook page or website, antrimspringfarm1774.com.
