CLAREMONT, N.H. – This year, Emily Baldwin transitioned the family-owned farm property located at 519 Jarvis Hill Road into a full-time career, as the owner of Monarch Farms, a wedding venue in Claremont, N.H.
Baldwin recalled that her family moved to the farm property in 1999, and, while she was growing up, her parents, Mike and Beth Lemieux, raised farm animals, including, chickens, ducks, goats, and horses. In 2007, they opened an ice cream shop operating out of the barn on the property, called Le Moo’s Dairy, where she worked through high school.
A 2010 graduate of Stevens High School, Baldwin went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in marine and freshwater biology at the University of New Hampshire, and thereafter gained her teaching certification. She taught in both the Lebanon and Claremont public school districts until 2025.
Baldwin’s concept to offer the property as an event destination began as a way to fill her summers off from teaching. She had spent some time working in hospitality, where she had met her husband, Alex. Emily and Alex eventually married, and returned to Claremont and the family property. They now have two children, Ryder, 4, and Zoey, 2, with a third baby due in November of this year.
Baldwin’s father is the owner of Pine Hill Construction, and her husband is an electrician. Both have helped her to make the needed upgrades to the structures and to transform the property into a thriving wedding destination. Initial upgrades began with necessary repairs to the barns, beginning in 2019.
Baldwin first announced her plan to host an event destination at the property on the Le Moo’s Facebook page, and she had her first bookings that year, with two weddings. Fourteen weddings were booked prior to the onset of the Covid pandemic in 2020, though all but two bookings were ultimately cancelled. So, Baldwin used that time to improve the venue, adding a second barn and upgrading existing spaces on site, lifting and repairing the foundation of the existing barn structure, and putting in a new floor. In 2021, she was booked through the summer months, June to early September, while also teaching throughout the school year. Her dad built a new pavilion in 2023.
The Yellow Barn is where the ice cream shop was, and it is now offered as kitchen space for catering. It holds two wedding party lounges, for the bride and groom, and restrooms. The Sun Barn is typically where the buffet and bar are set up, and the Main Event Barn is for dancing, with the attached pavilion, which seats up to 125 people, set up for dining.
Baldwin has subcontracted with Megan Mosher, a wedding coordinator with 11 years’ experience, to offer her services with wedding packages beginning in 2027.
This is the first year that Baldwin has stopped teaching and has transitioned to a full-time role operating Monarch Farms. She advertises primarily through Google Ads and Zola, along with a customer relations management system, her website, www.monarchfarmsnh.com, and on Instagram and Facebook.
Monarch Farms is nearly booked through 2027, with only two Saturdays available. Bookings come from all over, with 80% of couples coming from out of state, and 20% from the local area.
Bookings are available for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday weddings from mid-May to October, with two weddings maximum per weekend. There are two package options available: a single-day package or a double-day package.