“This place is enchanting,” my husband, Chris, said after our tour of Satolah Creek Farm. He rarely uses that word, so I knew he was really charmed by the bucolic setting, the pond with wandering animals and the whimsical artsy touches throughout the property.
You don’t have to be attending a wedding to enjoy the charms of Satolah Creek Farm. Yes, it’s a lovely wedding venue with a spacious barn, 45 acres of property and a groom’s room in an Airstream, but it’s also a delightful place for a quiet stay either in the two-bedroom Carriage House or in the five-bedroom Blackberry House. Three more properties will be available for rent soon.
Satolah Creek Farm is located near Clayton, Georgia, and less than 20 minutes from Highlands, North Carolina.
You can relax on the deck and observe the menagerie of animals that includes Highland cows, a mini horse, a Clydesdale and ducks. Or get a bit more intimate with them by feeding some of the animals or holding a baby geese or duck. You can also fish in the pond and brush the two donkeys named Candy and Candy (named by a three-year-old). If there’s a baby cow there, try your hand at bottle feeding it.
Other activities include hiking on the property and visiting the Folk Art Galley or Root Cellar Museum, which traces the history of the property back to the Cherokee Indians.
Pippa Seichrist, one of the owners, is a talented potter with a studio where she crafts jugs that are commissioned by dog owners to resemble their beloved pets. You can sign up to take a pottery class from her or one for making walking sticks.
Pippa Seichrist, one of the owners, is a talented potter with a studio where she crafts jugs that are commissioned by dog owners to resemble their beloved pets. You can sign up to take a pottery class from her or one for making walking sticks.
The property has been owned by Pippa and her husband Ron since 1988 when they bought it as a getaway from Atlanta. They are both artists who started a creative school that expanded worldwide. They also adopted two children from a Ukrainian orphanage. When their daughter wanted to get married on the property, they created a beautiful venue for the wedding and the 150 guests.
After selling the school, they opened Satolah Creek Farm as a small resort and live there full-time. For a wedding they provide everything except the food and drink and can even officiate the wedding.
Their son, Andry, works on the farm. He co-wrote a book with Pippa about his life before he was adopted at age 13, My Life Before: A Memoir of a Family Created Through Adoption.
Satolah Creek Farm is located near Clayton, Georgia, and less than 20 minutes from Highlands, North Carolina.
The Accommodations at Satolah Creek Farm
We stayed in the gorgeous Carriage House, which is exquisitely decorated. I loved checking out all the whimsical touches, like the chairs that Pippa made, and the beautiful live edge tables Ron crafted.
On the main floor there’s a bedroom, large open kitchen and fireplace in the living room. A second bedroom is upstairs.
The downstairs bedroom in the Carriage House has a large bathroom and closet with a rod hung high to accommodate wedding dresses. (Photo courtesy of Satolah Creek Farm)
The back of the Carriage House has a large deck where we sat outside for dinner, watching the cows relax in the pond and the ducks and geese swimming around.
If you prefer to go out to dinner, there are plenty of options in Highlands and Clayton. We knew once we settled in we wouldn’t want to leave so brought dinner and breakfast with us. I highly recommend picking up a fried chicken dinner at The Sunday Diner in Clayton, which was right on our way from Atlanta. It tastes like the fried chicken my mama used to make.
Children are welcome and love the freedom to run around the property, play in the playhouse and feed the animals.
Upon arrival, you may find a bowl of peaches, fresh eggs or a note from Pippa inviting you to take a tour of the farm and meet the animals.