32 PSYCHOLOGIES MAGAZINE APRIL 2020
business I’d been designing on paper to the farm!’
She remembers racing home to tell her husband,
Stephen, a farmer and butcher – and he was supportive.
‘I’m so grateful to him for taking the biggest gamble
and trusting me. He had inherited the farm from an
uncle and, at the time, it was a scruy mess with little
investment.’ Celia began creating a business plan with
wellbeing at its core. ‘I formed the concept from the things
that create wellbeing for me – the countryside, learning,
having lovely food, being in nature and walking,’ she says.Obstacles and... bow ties
After plenty of rejections, a bank finally approved her
business plan – but she soon faced problems with planning
permission and tax bills. ‘Coming from the NHS, I had no
business or building experience, but I was determined to
manage the project – putting in an energy supply, wind
turbine and kitchens. Unfortunately, I was naively stumped
by a huge bill from the builder, which almost cleared us out
financially. I had barely been trading when we received a billfor business rates. I didn’t even know what business rates
were, and I couldn’t pay them. I’d been running the farm
for 18 months, but all we seemed to face was bureaucracy,
bills and challenges. I had borrowed against my partner’s
farm and, if it didn’t work out, we stood to lose everything.’
That Christmas, Celia went to her mum’s home to reflect.
‘My mum was cleaning out her wardrobe and found a bag
of my father’s old bow ties, which he had worn as a concert
pianist. I took the hand-me-downs to the farm and decided
to put a tie on one of my llamas for fun!’ She took a photo
which went viral. ‘Suddenly, everyone wanted to know
about the bow tie-wearing llamas! Enquiries started
flooding in and people couldn’t wait to get married on our
farm; and it’s grown ever since. I had been in a desperate
situation – so many people give up at that point – but if you
keep going, you can find your niche; the thing that you were
always supposed to have done.’
While courses were the initial idea, weddings are now
the focus. ‘I was determined that the farm survive, so the
business had many strands – llama trekking, butchery,“To have turned our rundown, neglected farm and
cowshed into a venue filled with demonstrations of
love every week is one of my greatest achievements”my life, my way
ABOVE AND RIGHT
The wedding venue
is filled with eclectic
finds, which Celia
sourced from the
internet, markets
and charity shops.
The ceiling is
covered with
a reclaimed military
parachute, which she
spotted on eBay!