Our Story
We are Aldo and Sharon, a husband and wife team. We work together with four amazing human beings that God put in our care. We are far from perfect but we try to honor that gift by teaching our children to be good people, to be independent, to take risks, to believe in themselves and to have courage to take the unbeaten path. Our closest friends are our own brothers and sisters so we wish the same for them. In our house, you will always hear "be nice to your brother (or sister), that's your best friend!" We are originally from NYC, but fell in love with the countryside, built a business here and now call it home. Our story...
Ours is a love story that was destined to happen. Our lives crossed paths a ridiculous number of times before we ever met - we are in the same extended family circle but never even knew of each other until the day we met, on at least three occasions we were both present at the same event but never met, we shared the same neighborhood for four years and never met, we had mutual acquaintances and friendships for years and still did not even know of each other. When we actually did meet, there was an instant attraction. You might say it was love at first sight or maybe fate working its magic. Whatever it was, it was strong. Seven months later we were married. We eloped (ha!) It was crazy, we were in love and we were committed to making it work. We have always stuck to our guiding principle: if you want to stay together no matter what... stay together. No matter what. We have learned that love is a choice. It is about commitment and loyalty and acceptance of each other. Those are the gifts of marriage.
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.
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.
