Our story actually begins, a city-life ago.
1994-2000
2000-2010
Sharon and Aldo have been building family for 25 years.
Theirs is a love story that was destined to happen. The stars had aligned long before they did.
Souls raised in connected families, Sharon and Aldo were in the right place at the right time on numerous occasions before noticing fate. They shared the same neighborhood for years, had mutual friends and acquaintances, and shared extended family.
The day they met felt like two magnets instinctively pulling together. Their families say it was love at first sight, but it was actually destiny checking the first box off the list of adventure.
Seven months later, On June 14, 1994, they eloped. Both ironic and absolutely right for the couple they grew to be. Instinctual and spontaneous, these two took their love and ran with one guiding principle: if you want to stay together no matter what... stay together. No matter what.
Victoria and Peter were born in a small house with a huge heart.
From Sharon – What we have learned through each other, we share with everyone in our lives. We work hard to be true to our values and instill them in our children. We believe in hard work and faith in yourself and in God. We believe that family is everything. We believe that you owe it to yourself to be the best version of you - that is all you owe anybody. We want our children to know that anything is possible, that there is no wrong choice and that life is a journey. Every decision and every connection and experience is just a part of that journey and it is beautiful: all of it, the good and the bad, the obstacles, and the triumphs. Every person and every moment is precious. Life is lived well when you learn to embrace the crazy and the calm, your doubts as well as your strengths, noise, quiet, time and age. Stay grounded by your roots but stay fresh through your adventures. Learn from your mistakes and be fearless to make new ones. Look with awe at this great, big, beautiful life. Find your purpose in it - that thing that inspires you - and share it with the world.
Kids and Farms
As their lives continued, their hearts and family grew with them. Olivia was born in 2005 and Aldo (jr.) was born in 2006.
In 2005 they bought the biggest piece of land they could afford to off-set their dense city life with an escape to the peace and quiet. Gilbertsville Farmhouse was as charming and young (in inception) as the family, with fate and roots as deep as the destiny that followed.
Hindsight is 2020.
Gilbertsville Farmhouse is a huge part of our journey. We purchased the property in 2005 from a family of dairy farmers who were preparing for retirement. At first it was just a family vacation home for our busy city family. Over time it became more than that. The natural beauty of the property (and area,) as well as the slower pace of small town living slowly made themselves permanent homes in our hearts. For years we enjoyed the property but barely went in to the barns and buildings that were part of the former dairy operations. We never knew what to do with them. When the idea of re purposing them to create a rustic event venue was born, we were already feeling the strains of our rat-race lifestyle. In our idea, we saw a new life. A new freedom and energy that we grabbed hold of like a life-line. At that time, rustic event and barn weddings were not the hot new trend that they later turned out to be, so our family thought we were crazy. But, we had a vision and we believed. We knew in our hearts that it would work. Through struggles, doubts, obstacles and time away from each other (traveling back and forth from the city to upstate NY while maintaining jobs and school obligations,) we persevered. We believed and it happened. In 2014, Gilbertsville Farmhouse hosted its first event to rave reviews and we are still going strong, with new inspiration and ideas every day. We have the honor to share and take part in one of the best days of a family's life. To say that it is rewarding is an understatement. This adventure has brought us together as a family and it has brought us, as a family, closer to our community. We are blessed to be a part of it. We are so grateful to share this incredible journey with all of you.
Love, Sharon and Aldo.
