More Than a Business

My jaw dropped.

As my boyfriend Jacob and I stepped out of the car and into the bridal suite of On-A-Whim Event Barn, it was as though I’d been whisked away, back in time.

The room was lavished with décor befitting a fairytale.

Repurposed barnwood walls, a shabby-chic white table and chair set, a blush-pink vintage sofa, gold-painted mason jars and candles… To say nothing of the crystal barrel-shaped chandeliers.

It was ethereal—every candle, every golden mason jar, and every piece of art all carefully chosen and placed.

My boyfriend smiled at me and dropped our suitcases. “It’s really beautiful, isn’t it?”

And no, I know what you’re thinking, we weren’t there to get married. Far from it.

We unloaded the rest of the car—our groceries, blankets, pillows, and books. Small comforts that we would need to get us through the Wisconsin “Safer at Home” Order.

All the while, as we arranged the room and prepared for a month of quarantine, I found myself looking at the wedding aisle a few steps from the suite. Beyond the aisle, two paint horses and a miniature donkey grazed in the dim light.

During a normal April, Dawn and Joe Gajdosik, owners of On-A-Whim Event Barn, would be preparing for a fully-booked wedding season beginning in May. Instead, they decided to invite their children, Kayley and Jacob, to stay in the bride’s and groom’s suites.

The family wanted to stick together during quarantine, as we didn’t know how long the “Safer at Home” order would last. As of April 15th, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers hasn’t decided if he will extend the order beyond April 24th—and if so, for how much longer.

Kayley’s boyfriend and I were also graciously invited—and who could say no to quarantine in paradise?

While this was paradise for me, I was used to working from home and writing every day.

I didn’t have to run an event business in the middle of a pandemic. I didn’t have to look outside and feel the weight of a fully-booked wedding season that may or may not happen.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the business created for engaged couples to host the best day of their lives was now being used to get a family through some of their worst.

“When Mom and I were cleaning out the suites, we were just crying,” Kayley told me. “This is supposed to be a happy place. All this blood, sweat and tears, and now we could lose everything because of something we have no control over.”

Not just the business.

Not just the farm.

The dream.

The legacy of a six-figure business, an entire farm and venue, made with a family’s bare hands—to say nothing of the love that went into On-A-Whim. You feel it everywhere here.

Maybe that’s why so many couples have chosen to pledge their eternal love to one another here. They feel it too.

Couples who booked On-A-Whim for May 2020 have chosen to move their special day to May of 2021—still here.

Why?

This is ‘the place’ for them. They wouldn’t want to get married anywhere else.

Once Upon a Time

“It was… gross. This dilapidated old barn, cow and bird poop everywhere. Nobody would even insure our barn because it was in such bad shape,” Dawn says of the first time she saw what would become her event business.

“We just bought it for the land. We had no intention of turning this place into a business. But I guess it was divine intervention.”

Dawn and Joe said their first bride came seemingly out of nowhere and asked if she could use the barn for her wedding. They didn’t think much of it at the time, and had no idea how much to quote for her. Heck, the second they opened the barn, the first thing the would-be bride saw was a dead bird on the floor.

But something shifted when they realized this could be a wedding business.

The realization was the spark that catalyzed a dream.

Maybe you can’t build Rome in a day, but in 2 months, the family started with a broken barn foundation and created a gorgeous barn with gleaming wood floors and chandeliers overhead.

“We would work from 3:30 or 4:00 PM until we went to bed at 10 or 11,” Dawn said, referring to herself, Joe, Kayley, and Jacob. “There was 24-hour period where I just worked on staining the barn—I didn’t sleep, had to smell the fumes… But I had a vision; I couldn’t stop until it was real.”

That’s one reason why Dawn and Joe are such a good team, they told me. He’s the realist and she’s the dreamer. Together, they’re unstoppable.

Ironically enough, the pair met at a wedding.

As Joe showed me the video of the before-and-after shots of the venue, Dawn laid her head on his shoulder.

We all cried.

In four minutes, I witnessed the power of a loving family with a dream. A family who came from little, and created their own destiny, one board at a time.

A picture speaks a thousand words, but the before-and-after left me speechless.

The next 4th of July, the four and their extended family celebrated the holiday at the barn.

“We needed a name for the business, so we asked everyone to think of a few… But they all sucked. We almost named the place Half-Ass Acres,” she says, chuckling.

I was incredulous. “Half-Ass Acres?”

“Well, Marvin is a miniature donkey… so he’s half an ass.”

Marvin is a huge fan favorite of the family and the guests—here, you can see why.

“We had that name but we weren’t really satisfied with it. One day, Joe and I were talking on the porch—I remember it vividly. He said ‘we do everything on a whim, don’t we?’ And I knew right away. That was it.”

On-A-Whim Event Barn transformed from a rotted, dirty husk of a barn and a field full of weeds and manure to a sold-out wedding venue.

Now that’s a Cinderella story.

A Fairytale Venue for a Fairytale Love Story

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On-A-Whim is a gorgeous place, sure, but that’s not enough for a business. In part, the venue is so popular because of its unique take on barn weddings—a style Dawn calls ‘country-chic.’

“A lot of event barns will just look like a barn—old wood, plywood, that kind of thing. But I saw the gothic roof on this 100-year-old barn, and I knew right away that old wood wouldn’t cut it.”

Dawn says the highlight for brides touring the venue is the moment she flicks the lights on in the barn.

“You see it on their faces, right away. Their eyes light up. And the groom, they usually don’t care as much—but then they see the groom’s suite, and they’re in love with the place, too.”

On-A-Whim is also known for tailoring the perfect day for their brides. Most wedding venues will only supply the venue, and will only work with certain vendors. But On-A-Whim couldn’t be further from ‘most wedding venues.’

“If the bride has a vision, I can replicate it. If I can make it happen, I will.”

Whether you have a small budget or extravagant ideas, every wedding at On-A-Whim is unique, breathtaking, memorable, and, as Dawn says, “epic.” The barn is a blank canvas—perfect for the creative bride who knows exactly what she wants, but also stunning without a single decoration.

“90% of couples who take a tour end up booking. It’s amazing to know that I have this place that’s just perfect for them—they want to have the best, happiest day of their life here. That’s real success for me.”

A Different Kind of American Dream

“This has never been ‘just a business’ for any of us. This is our blood, sweat, and tears. But it’s also the honor—we get to be a part of the best day of someone’s life,” Dawn said.

For Dawn, success was an opportunity to give back.

Her vendors are almost always small, local businesses that she suggests for her brides. It often saves the brides money, and helps deserving businesses in the area continue to thrive.

It’s not just caterers, either. It’s deejays, gas stations, hotels, gift stores, florists, photographers, videographers—you get the picture. On-A-Whim truly creates a positive ripple effect for the community’s economy, as well as the community’s people.

She was a giver from the beginning, even when she had nothing to give.

“I came from nothing. Everyone told me I had to get married young, have kids, and stay at home. For a while, I did. But I always wanted something better for us. I was done with struggling; I was done with following someone else’s plan for me. I had to cut my own path.”

20 years ago, Dawn was a single mother with 2 young kids and 3 jobs. The stress was overwhelming—but Dawn was committed to providing for her family. She’d make any sacrifice she had to.

“We had a really small apartment in Florida and paid $1,200 a month for rent. I couldn’t afford it. But somehow, I landed a job as a real estate closer. Real estate was huge in Florida back then, so I would see my company sell these million-dollar properties and make $400,000 off of one sale. And they were so kind and generous. I wasn’t qualified for that job whatsoever, but they trained me, gave me bonuses, paid for a trip to Disney… I couldn’t believe it.”

Getting the job as a closer was a turning point in Dawn’s life. She saw the value of property, and how much an idea for one could be worth. Where she once assumed wealthy people were snooty, she realized there were plenty of people who used their wealth to help people who needed it, the way that company took a chance on her.

Wealth didn’t have to mean greed. For the right people, wealth meant the ability to give—to pay it forward.

The kindness of the real estate company left a lasting imprint on Dawn, and when she and Joe could afford it, they were beyond grateful to perform anonymous, random acts of kindness.

Many times, the couple has seen strangers in military uniforms or veterans hats out for a meal and anonymously footed the bill. The list just goes on:

Donating thousands of dollars to a young girl with a brain tumor that the couple didn’t know and never met.

Hosting a special needs pageants for free.

Donating a day of the venue, worth thousands of dollars, for a charity auction.

The story that hit me the hardest was about a couple who toured On-A-Whim and fell in love with the venue—but they couldn’t afford a deposit. At the time, they wouldn’t be able to afford a venue for at least another year. Dawn says she and Joe spent over an hour after the tour just talking and laughing with the couple.

The owners stepped aside and agreed to let the couple have the venue for free: any date of their choice, paid for.

Why?

Well… why not?

“There are times when events will book here and I let them use the venue for free. I know we could charge, and I know they’d pay it, but sometimes it’s just the right thing to do.”

Maybe growing wealthy to help others isn’t the typical “American Dream” that comes to mind, but it’s a beautiful one.

It’s the kind of dream that makes all the blood, sweat, and tears worthwhile.

Weddings in the Time of Coronavirus

Every disaster hit at the same time.

A devastating death in the family.

A broken well that needed $20,000 worth of repairs.

A lawsuit over a ridiculously tiny piece of land.

It seemed like things couldn’t get worse—until a pandemic started right before wedding season.

“We could get over everything, as long as we didn’t have to go through one more catastrophe. And then COVID-19 hit,” Joe said.

“All my life, I’ve been pulling rabbits out of a hat. So many times, I thought I’d reached a dead-end, but I worked through it. When this place became what it is, I thought I’d finally done it for good. I wouldn’t need to pull any more rabbits,” Dawn said, “Then a pandemic happens.”

At the very least, the couple will lose their revenue from May. Depending on how long the lockdown goes in Wisconsin, they could lose much more—the business, their home, and the legacy they’ve worked their entire lives to create.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but of course I’m scared. I don’t know if there are any rabbits left. I don’t know if I can pull off another miracle.”

How do you make money with an event business during a pandemic? How do you save your life’s work, keep your home, and have a legacy to pass on to your kids?

Right now, all Dawn and Joe can do is wait, and pray for just one more rabbit.

One more miracle.

A Happy Ending?

Dawn and Joe have given so much to the community, to their families, and to me. From the beginning, they’ve welcomed me like family—the way they do their friends, their couples, and their vendors.

That’s part of why I am humbled and honored to share a small piece of their story with you—a story that, with your help, can have a happy ending.

If this story has inspired you, please consider contributing to the GoFundMe page I made for this incredible business here: https://www.gofundme.com/help-onawhim-through-covid19

Even if you can’t donate at this time, please share this story with your friends and family and spread the word.

The click of a button could help this family so much more than you know.

Just do it on a whim.

I now know that’s where real magic comes from.