Chainsawing stump helps with wedding expenses

Small-town stories are sometimes the best stories.Sophia Jones worked as a clerk at Stewart's Shops across from Hartford Central School, and one of her many customers was Hilary Oreschnick of the nearby Wedding Barn at Log Village & Grist Mill.

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"She'd come in for all the usual stuff, and sometimes, she would pick up ice cream," Jones said.

Oreschnick's site focuses on "glamping," which is glamour camping, and also hosts weddings and other events.

So when Ben Van Guilder proposed marriage to Jones, the couple immediately were drawn to Oreschnick's, even though they assumed it was beyond their budget.

"But she said to come up and look, and while we were there, she commented that she hated the way the dead tree next to her house looked. To make a long, romantic story shorter, Van Guilder said he knew someone who could take care of it, and Oreschnick would make sure they could afford the wedding there.

"I asked around and found Josh Kerr, who does chainsaw carving, and he came up and looked at it and said he could do something with it," Van Guilder said.

So for two days, at the end of last month, Kerr and the engaged couple, with some friends, worked on the tree, and when it was done, it was a piece of art with carved bears climbing it.

"It's so neat. He blackened the bears with a torch, and he put glass in for their eyes," Jones said.

So, Saturday, the couple will marry there and leave Oreschnick a token of appreciation in the form of the tree sculpture.

“I have many couples who love this place and ask if they can book their wedding here," Oreschnick said. "All weddings work to a budget."

Oreschnick admitted this was an unusual wedding plan, but she noted no two weddings are alike.

“Every wedding is totally different," she said. "Our post beam barn is one of the highlights here, and so is the mill pond leading to the historic Grist Mill, and of course the yurts which give accommodation to the guests after the wedding.”