Blog > A Storybook Setting at Gail Claridge's Country Meadow Ranch in Somis, CA
A Storybook Setting at Gail Claridge's Country Meadow Ranch in Somis, CA
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The multitalented Gail Claridge (interior designer-decorator-contractor) and her daughter Christie Claridge, reveal the fascinating story behind their luxury events venue Country Meadow Ranch and the exclusive Somis Inn. Gail never intended to move into a barn, but after lovingly restoring the 3,000 sq ft barn, she and her husband decided to make it their home. Tragedy struck during the global pandemic and Gail’s beloved husband passed away from COVID. Recently retired from her interior design business, Gail decided to open her gorgeous property to weddings, charitable events, commercials and the film industry.
In 1983, Gail was the only woman in a class of 2,000 men to graduate as a contractor. Not only can she design a building, she designs it with a distinctly decorator flair. Today, the Country Meadow Ranch features exclusive amenities like a polo lounge for groomsmen, a bridal cottage, wood chapel, and manicured lawns. Of course guests of the Somis Inn enjoy a meticulously manicured house, but Gail herself irons the pillowcases and handpicks the fresh flower arrangements. Find even more property details and stunning photos – and to schedule a tour – visit CountryMeadowRanch.com or visit wedding planning websites, TheKnot.com and WeddingWire.com.
Can you guess where the opening scene of the blockbuster movie Pearl Harbor was filmed? For a hint, you’ll have to watch the interview!
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Have ideas for future episodes? We’d love to answer your questions – leave a comment! For any home buying or home selling needs in the Ventura County area of California, please reach out to Paul@HomeAndRanchTeam.com or visit www.HomeAndRanchTeam.com
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BONUS CONTENT – Transcript
Paul Ward (00:05):
Hi everyone, it’s Paul Ward here, and welcome to another edition of Farm Talk. I’m very excited. Today we’re gonna be talking about country weddings and Airbnb out in the country, and of course, I wanna thank our sponsors, Escrow Hub and the Money Store, and our two very special guests today, Gail Claridge and Christie Claridge, welcome to the show.
Gail Claridge (00:26):
Thank you Paul. Nice to be here.
Paul Ward (00:28):
Absolutely. Gail, let’s just set the stage for folks that are listening, folks that are watching on YouTube can see all of this. You have a beautiful 15 acre property and you live in basically a converted barn house.
Gail Claridge (00:43):
Yes. Yes.
Paul Ward (00:44):
And what is the name of your ranch
Gail Claridge (00:46):
Country Meadow Ranch
Paul Ward (00:48):
Country Meadow Ranch. And we are in the heart of Ventura County, California. Somis, California.
Gail Claridge (00:55):
Most people don’t know where that is.
Paul Ward (00:56):
No, no. We’re about halfway between Los Angeles to the south and Santa Barbara to the north. We
Christie Claridge (01:04):
We like to say its a “Hidden Gem.”
Paul Ward (01:04):
Hidden gem. Absolutely. So how did this property, first, before we get into the whole wedding conversation, how did this property come to be?
Gail Claridge (01:17):
It came to be because we lived in Northridge and we were not ready for it. And the North Ridge earthquake hit in 1994. And this beautiful home that we had spent three years building a beautiful country, manor house. And it was on three acres on a private lake. It was so beautiful. And all of a sudden that earthquake hit and we were devastated. My daughter, Christie, was due to get married four days later. There we had the whole property. I don’t think I could have fit one more pansy in the ground. You know, she was devastated. The place that they were gonna move into was red tagged and we were just shocked. It was like, “Now what?” And it got to the point where we had to literally turn our house over to the bank. We had so much damage that it was not worth putting any more money into the property. So I signed over the deed to the bank, it’s called a “Deed in lieu of foreclosure.” My husband and I drove up and down the coast of California thinking, where are we going to go? We didn’t know where we were gonna go. Just lost, you know? And out of money, all of that equity I thought I had was gone.
Paul Ward (02:36):
Gone. .
Gail Claridge (02:38):
So we ended up thinking, because I was an interior designer, that I had to stay near the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles. Because we would’ve loved to move up to Santa Barbara, but that wasn’t gonna work; too far too long of a drive. So we ended up stopping in Thousand Oaks and Westlake and we thought that was a perfect spot, you know, it was lovely. So we rented a home there temporarily cuz we didn’t know where we were gonna buy. I didn’t even have any money to buy a house. .
Gail Claridge (03:10):
And we rented, and Christie and her husband at that time moved in with us because after we weren’t able to do the wedding, my husband says, “Come on, let’s get these kids married.” They were so sad. They’d lost their wedding. He found a judge up in Santa Barbara, and we drove up to Santa Barbara and they were married on the lawn of the Biltmore. In front of the ocean and I was the maid of honor. My husband was a photographer. <Laugh>.
Christie Claridge (03:45):
And that was my wedding!
Paul Ward (03:45):
That was it. So you eloped basically?
Christie Claridge (03:47):
Yes.
Gail Claridge (03:48):
And so, you know, we felt bad about losing out on the weddings. So we ended up opening a store in Westlake Village. I was next door to Gelson’s Market. We had a common wall.
Paul Ward (04:01):
And this was an interior design store.
Gail Claridge (04:04):
Yes. And I opened an interior design store and I didn’t have, I remember thinking to myself, I cannot afford to buy nylons. And I mean, these are the days when you, when you wore nylons in high heels to work.
Paul Ward (04:18):
I’m sure some of our listeners and watchers don’t even know what that is, but Yeah. Some will.
Gail Claridge (04:23):
So the lady that I was renting, the unit from said, I’ll loan you $25,000 so you can do your tenant improvements. I had told her the whole story of how I lost my home, et cetera. And she said, “You’ll do fine here.” And within a very short period of time, two different ladies came in who were very wealthy. And they said, “Oh, you’re new here.” And I said, “Well, I’m not new, but I’m new here.” And I told them what happened. She said, “Oh, you wanna come up and see my house?” I said, “Okay.” She had the largest home in Ventura County. And that was an enormous house. I got to decorate and I just couldn’t do it fast enough. .Then the other lady, who had just sold her company for $200 million, she says, “I bought two houses and can you do ’em both real quick?” You bet I can! So it wasn’t through pricing, it was through volume. I had so much volume of work that I was back up on my feet in no time.
Paul Ward (05:29):
Okay.
Gail Claridge (05:29):
And we rented for three years and then we finally had just enough money to maybe put a down payment on something. And my husband said, “Why don’t you go look out there where we used to ride our motorcycle through.” My husband would ride a motorcycle and I would sit on the back and we would love to go through the countryside here. I mean, if nobody’s ever driven through Somis, you have no idea how beautiful it is back here. And so I came looking and I told the realtor, “I’ll tell you what I’m looking for. I want an old ranch that has an old barn. And then I also wanted to have no CCandRs and no homeowners association. That’s the only prerequisites. I don’t want anybody telling me what color flowers I can plant.
Paul Ward (06:16):
And this barn was a barn. I mean, there were horses living in the barn. Not people living in the barn.
Gail Claridge (06:23):
In fact, “Sea Biscuit” used to train here.
Paul Ward (06:25):
Oh really?
Gail Claridge (06:26):
I certainly didn’t know that at the time. But the reason we wanted a barn is that my husband had a car collection, which in the earthquake we lost some of the cars. It was just horrible. So we thought if we found a place with a barn, he could use the barn for the cars. I had no intention of living in the barn.
Paul Ward (06:50):
Ah, okay.
Gail Claridge (06:51):
And people said to me, “Oh, have you always wanted to live in a barn?” I go, “No.”
Paul Ward (06:55):
So that was gonna be for his collection?
Gail Claridge (06:58):
Yes. And I thought, as a designer, I can design and build a nice home out here when I can afford it, I can build a home. But for now, it had two guest houses and Christie and I; we decorated these little guest houses. They were built in 1937. So we made them look like 1937. You know, they weren’t Beverly Hills.
Paul Ward (07:18):
So what made you then go “Ah!”. And say, I”‘m gonna convert the barn to our house.” But what was that moment?
Gail Claridge (07:27):
A real simple answer. I didn’t have enough money to build the house.
Christie Claridge (07:30):
<Laugh>,
Christie Claridge (07:32):
Actually we started redoing the barn. And she has six grandkids and she thought, Oh, it’ll be a great bonus room. I’ll put a pool table. They can have parties in here. So as she’s starting to redo the barn and it is turning out so beautifully that she’s looking around and she thought, my, well maybe I could live here. It’s almost too good for a bonus room. And my brother’s the contractor and she says, “How big is it?” And he said, “It’s 3000 square feet.” She says, “Huh, you know what, I think that’s enough.”
Gail Claridge (08:08):
That’s just the two of us.
Christie Claridge (08:09):
That’s why she really thought to live in the barn because it was turning out really beautifully. Like just gorgeous.
Paul Ward (08:15):
And for folks that are listening, hopefully you have a chance to, you know, go to the YouTube and see pictures of your home cuz It is exquisite.
Christie Claridge (08:25):
I mean, they’re on Pinterest and they’ve been in magazines and it’s, you know, so,
Paul Ward (08:29):
You know, you’ve got brick center aisle, brick floors and big beams.
Gail Claridge (08:34):
I wanted it to look like a old American barn. And one of the reasons I I decided to restore it is that it was all wood. It was all pine. . It wasn’t a metal barn. It was an all wood, knotty pine barn.
Paul Ward (08:48):
So now you’re doing weddings and events and commercials and movies.
Gail Claridge (08:55):
This barn, as you see the property now, it did not look anything like this.
Paul Ward (08:59):
You’ve got acres of lawns, you’ve got string lights, you built a chapel, you’ve got a polo lounge. I mean, I don’t know anybody else that has a polo lounge. So what was the little light bulb that went on in your head that said, I’m gonna do events, I’m gonna do weddings, I’m gonna open it up for commercials.
Gail Claridge (09:18):
Actually, I wasn’t gonna do that. My husband and I had just made it beautiful. And we decided that it was for us, for our family to do charitable events here. And I helped a lot of people do different things here. You know, I did recently I did a beautiful big picnic for the district attorney’s office in Ventura. We had all the district attorneys and their families out here. And that was lovely. And I’ve done it for the Civic Arts Plaza and I did it for political people and, you know, so we did our own parties as well. I loved having parties. So we did a lot of things out here. And it was for us and our family and our friends. But people would always say to me, “Oh my God, this is so beautiful. You should be having weddings here.” And my husband would say, “No, we’re not doing weddings here. We’re not gonna have people we don’t know here. It’s too hard to do that.” And my husband had a different take on things cuz he was a policeman, so he just didn’t wanna have just people you don’t know here.
Paul Ward (10:25):
Sure. He’s private person.
Gail Claridge (10:27):
And he was he was quite a man. He was chief pilot for the helicopter unit for LAPD.
Paul Ward (10:34):
And he started that program, didn;t he?
Gail Claridge (10:36):
He actually started the program when he was a policeman on motors, but he had a pilot’s license and they asked him if he could help them start an air support division. And he’s the one that started the whole thing. And they still go by all the rules that he made, the books that he made, the syllabuses he wrote; to this day. They eally are proud of him. And so am I.
Paul Ward (11:01):
Yeah, of course. How was your first wedding? How did that go off?
Gail Claridge (11:07):
Well, it was a trial wedding. There was a young couple and they didn’t have any money. They wanted to get married. And I said, “I tell you what, I’ll give you a free wedding,” if you will, so that I could have the pictures and I could see how it’s gonna work. I needed a trial wedding. And the only reason I decided to start doing weddings, if I may regress for a moment, is that my dear husband died of Covid during the Covid..
Paul Ward (11:40):
Right when Covid came out.
Paul Ward (11:40):
The pandemic .
Gail Claridge (11:41):
Yeah. when it came out, prior to any kinds of vaccines or anything like that. He got Covid and in two weeks he passed away.
Paul Ward (11:50):
Oh, I am so sorry.
Gail Claridge (11:50):
We were married since, my God! We went to the prom together.
Paul Ward (11:55):
High school prom?
Gail Claridge (11:56):
High school prom.
Christie Claridge (11:57):
And at the same time, she retired from interior design. So, she didn’t have that anymore.
Paul Ward (12:04):
Needed a new project.
Christie Claridge (12:05):
My dad was gone and, you know, she looked around, she thought, Well, my gosh, I’ve gotta, how do I maintain this ranch? I wanna keep this for my family. And it takes a lot to maintain this ranch.
Paul Ward (12:17):
Oh yeah. As grounds keepers. And..
Christie Claridge (12:20):
So a little bit, it was, you know, out of necessity, out of income, How do you keep going here? So that’s really how the weddings started. Because she’s got this property, she’s gotta use it to her benefit and it’s perfect. It’s beautiful. So that’s kind of how that happened.
Gail Claridge (12:38):
Christie and I, as my daughter, have been together– working together since she was about 18 years old because she was constantly helping me. She was my assistant in the interior design world. She’s always been with me. So whatever project I was doing, she was my right arm.
Christie Claridge (12:58):
So it was always fun projects.
Paul Ward (13:00):
<Laugh>, I mean, you have had some unique projects. I’ve heard, somebody said they wanted their house turned into a native American
Gail Claridge (13:09):
Lodge.
Paul Ward (13:09):
Indian Lodge. So you found an antique canoe that you hung over the bar. And..
Gail Claridge (13:13):
They had a beautiful, beautiful home. And it was nestled in these big rocks in Westlake where the Indians used to be. And there’s a lake there and he says, “I love to fish and I would love to have this place look like an American Indian fishing lodge.”
Paul Ward (13:32):
How was that?
Gail Claridge (13:32):
I said, “Hmm. One of those I haven’t done, but I’m sure I can come up with something.” And we did. We made a beautiful place for them and they were just thrilled. And it was fun shopping for all of that. We went to Denver and found nice Indian antiquities and things, paintings and beautiful things. But they were loving it. And then I had it ready for Christmas and then we did great big open house, Christmas party for them. He was a doctor and he just loved everything. It was beautiful. It was pretty.
Paul Ward (14:05):
And now you’re getting into the whole new realm of Airbnb, countryside Airbnb, I mean, that’s the whole new world.
Gail Claridge (14:14):
Well, I had no intention of starting an Airbnb again, fate steps in all the time.
Paul Ward (14:23):
So you bought a nearby house.
Gail Claridge (14:25):
Well, my neighbor tells me, “Hey, did you know so and so’s selling their house?” I said, “Really?!” It’s just outside my entrance gates here. And it’s a small property, a one acre property. I’m on 40 acres here.
Paul Ward (14:38):
Oh, you’re on 40 acres?
Gail Claridge (14:39):
45 actually.
Paul Ward (14:40):
Oh, Wow. I did not realize that.
Gail Claridge (14:40):
It’s a 40 acre zoning.
Paul Ward (14:43):
Okay.
Gail Claridge (14:44):
So there’s not too many one acre parcels. And I thought, gee, one acre parcel. I should look at that just, just for the heck of it because these little houses never come up for sale. So when I went over there, I talked to the lady and I made her an offer on it and I bought it. And my kid said, “Mother, you’re getting older and you shouldn’t be starting two new businesses at your age.”
Paul Ward (15:08):
I mean, not…
Gail Claridge (15:09):
Weddings, Airbnb
Paul Ward (15:10):
You know, most people are, sitting on the couch watching Oprah. I mean, you’re very active.
Gail Claridge (15:15):
I says, “Well, I think it’s gonna be a real addition to the weddings.” Because outside the gate it sleeps 10 people. It’s like a five star hotel.
Paul Ward (15:26):
Well it is now. It was kind of a dump.
Gail Claridge (15:29):
It was an old house. We’d call it a what farmhouse?
Christie Claridge (15:35):
Kind of a farmhouse., not craftsman style, but farmhouse. Pretty.
Paul Ward (15:39):
And you went in and you redid the bathrooms and
Gail Claridge (15:41):
Remodeled everything.
Paul Ward (15:42):
You’re an Interior designer, you brought all the…
Gail Claridge (15:46):
All new mattresses, all new towels, dishes, furnished
Christie Claridge (15:47):
Everything down to, you know, every last detail.
Gail Claridge (15:49):
Every last of the mattresses, TVs, everything new. Then the yard was the worst of that property. I put in a putting green, I put in a …
Christie Claridge (16:01):
Bocce ball court.
Gail Claridge (16:02):
Oh yeah. The Bocce ball court. We have a fire pit. We have what else? We have a
Paul Ward (16:08):
Cornhole. I saw cornhole.
Gail Claridge (16:10):
Cornhole. They love that. A barbecue.
Paul Ward (16:12):
It had a pool.
Gail Claridge (16:13):
A lovely pool. And then I did all this beautiful lighting, the outdoor lighting, the market lights and the whole backyard lights up at night. It’s so pretty. And in the front yard, I take no credit for it. It was there. But it was a beautiful labyrinth. All stone labyrinth.
Christie Claridge (16:28):
Stone circles, it’s beautiful.
Gail Claridge (16:30):
Gorgeous. And beautiful fruit trees out in front. Big apple tree, lemon tree, orange tree, pomegranates. I mean, my god.
Paul Ward (16:38):
And you’re getting incredible amount of money. Top dollar I would say for that market.
Gail Claridge (16:43):
Well it is well worth it. It’s beautiful.
Paul Ward (16:46):
But you also, I mean you iron the pillow cases; you’ve got top of the line.
Gail Claridge (16:50):
Very special sheets, very soft, non wrinkle sheets. Beautiful. And I do iron all the pillow cases and when people arrive, I’ve got flowers on the table.
Christie Claridge (17:03):
She makes a big arrangement from her rose garden.
Gail Claridge (17:04):
And homemade cookies. So it’s very lovely.
Paul Ward (17:06):
Yeah. And then that feeds into the wedding and events. Cause people can stay across the street.
Christie Claridge (17:10):
People wanna know what are the hotels around here. And there’s not a lot. So we always mention that, “You know, we do have the Airbnb that sleeps 10.” So they use it for the wedding party. The bridesmaids or their in-laws are coming, you know?
Gail Claridge (17:24):
People from out town; everybody’s got people from outta town.
Paul Ward (17:27):
And I would imagine there’s the LA crowd who wanna just get out of the city for a couple days and they want to unwind. And you have to go back to.
Christie Claridge (17:36):
I always ask, I say, “Oh, what brings you to our Somis?” And you know, they’ll say, “We just wanna get out of the, the drugs of LA for now and come to the beautiful part of the world.” You know, and, “Oh great!”
Gail Claridge (17:47):
And it’s so quiet here. It’s just lovely. Yeah. Sometimes I have to pinch myself that I really live here. . I’ll come out and say, “Boy, do I really live here? So nice!” .
Paul Ward (17:56):
And you also, occasionally you get the, you do movies and commercials
Gail Claridge (18:01):
Well, we were fortunate to have someone call us and ask us if they could do their movie here. And it was Ben Affleck and they did all the very beginning of “Pearl Harbor.” Where the airplanes were flying. It’s before the credits even roll. I showed all the airplanes flying over these true little boys that got into this airplane and it started and how they flew around.
Paul Ward (18:26):
I’m gonna have to go watch that movie again.
Gail Claridge (18:28):
And it’s all filmed on the back side of my property.
Christie Claridge (18:30):
You won’t see the barn cause it’s all down at the bottom part.
Gail Claridge (18:33):
It’s down at the bottom. But it was just wonderful having everybody here. And watching it. And at the time, I didn’t even know who Ben Affleck was. <Laugh> I do now.
Christie Claridge (18:49):
And Jane Seymour did a commercial here.
Gail Claridge (18:50):
Last week, two weeks ago. Yeah. That was lovely. What was that for again?
Christie Claridge (18:54):
Called “Solitary.” You play online I guess, or it’s an app on your phone.
Gail Claridge (18:59):
It was for an app. Yeah. And we’ve done you know, several other commercials and
Paul Ward (19:05):
And then if folks wanna, not to switch subjects, but if, if folks are interested in living in a barn house, you’ve had folks kind of come look at your creation.
Gail Claridge (19:17):
Well, I did a beautiful home for these clients out in I guess it’s Tarzana. And they, after I finished their house, which was the old John Houston estate, which we did a beautiful television show on it when I was done with it. But they came and talked to me one day and they said, “You know what Gail? We have so many wonderful things. We’re blessed. We have the money to do whatever we’d like to do. We’ve worked hard all our lives. . . But the one thing we would like more than anything else is we wanna barn like yours.” <Laugh>.
Christie Claridge (19:49):
I go, “Really!”? “Could you design us a barn like yours?” And I says, “I’m sure I could.” So I went out there and I had to fit it between the tennis court, this, that, you know, so I fit it in and it’s just like my, you can’t tell the difference. It’s, mine is a little bit longer and theirs is a little more square.
Paul Ward (20:12):
So that’s a lot more than interior design though. That’s you’re getting into construction and contractors.
Christie Claridge (20:17):
Well, she’s a contractor.
Gail Claridge (20:17):
I am a general contractor.
Paul Ward (20:21):
Oh, you are? Not too many lady contractors out there. That’s exciting.
Gail Claridge (20:23):
I went and took my test with 2000 men. I was the only woman. And I got my contractor’s license. And I went out and bought myself a bracelet. This is my contractor’s bracelet.
Paul Ward (20:35):
There you go. You got the diamond bracelet.
Christie Claridge (20:38):
Her jobs, her interior design jobs got to be so big really. That she had to know, you know, if these people want a bigger kitchen, “Can I take out that wall? I have to know what I’m looking at.” So she didn’t really wanna be the contractor on the job. She just wanted to understand what she was looking at. How, you know, how can she add on a roof from this roof? How can she do this? How can she, So that’s what she learned.
Paul Ward (21:00):
Interesting. And if you don’t mind me asking, what year was it that you got your general contractor’s license?
Gail Claridge (21:03):
1983.
Paul Ward (21:05):
1983. So I mean there are probably a few more lady contractors now, but still not that many. So 1983 you were the only one.
Gail Claridge (21:13):
Then I applied to the American Institute of Architects because I was doing so much. People would ask me to just design a home for them from scratch.
Paul Ward (21:22):
So you would design it and then you would decorate it?
Gail Claridge (21:24):
Well, I would design it and then we’d have to give it to an architect.
Christie Claridge (21:28):
And an engineer.
Gail Claridge (21:28):
And an engineer to draw up what I had designed. And when the house was done, they’d say, “Oh my God, this home, it’s fabulous. Who designed this <laugh>?” And they’d look on the bottom of the blueprints and it was the architect’s name and I never got the credit. But that’s alright..
Paul Ward (21:44):
But then you still got to put your finishing touches on it.
Gail Claridge (21:47):
Yes. And then I got to do he interior design as well so I can build it and I can decorate it, you know, I can design it, build it, and decorate it.
Christie Claridge (21:56):
Well the difference is that an architect builds a house just kind of as a….
Gail Claridge (22:02):
From the outside
Christie Claridge (22:03):
On the outside, you know? She builds it with the interior design in mind. So how big does this room really need to be, you know, before, before she puts the walls?
Paul Ward (22:13):
Because you’ve already got thoughts on the hutches and the cabinetry and…
Gail Claridge (22:17):
If I put this sofa here and I’m gonna be able to walk past here. So I need this room to be just another two feet larger because that’s what it takes.
Christie Claridge (22:24):
So she builds it from the inside going out and then wherever it ends up, that’s where it ends up.
Gail Claridge (22:28):
And then I backwards go backwards from the outside in.
Paul Ward (22:31):
Well, I have to commend you even on your, you know, when you started the wedding thing and you showed me this polo lounge, which I really didn’t know what a polo lounge was. And then I walked in, I was like, Oh my God, this is, now I know what a polo lounge is.
Christie Claridge (22:44):
It’s for the groom and the groomsman. We’ve got the bridal cottage. It’s a three bedroom darling house for the bride and her bridesmaids. And where we put the chapel, we call that the polo field out there. So that’s how we came to call this the polo lounge.
Paul Ward (22:58):
And then all the decor is polo.
Gail Claridge (23:01):
But we looked at a lot of venues before we started here. And I realized that they don’t have any place for the grooms. Like they have to either stand around or sit down someplace and wait and you know how long it takes for women to get ready. That’s a long time <laugh>. So I took this room, which used to be called, “The Teen Canteen.” It was for my grandchildren. Who are all now in their twenties and thirties. So no more little kids in my family. Until one of ’em gets married. <Laugh>. So for now we turned it into the Polo lounge and I did a very Ralph Lauren big leather chairs, pool table ,tv.
Paul Ward (23:39):
And I asked you about the wood cuz it looks old, but then no, it’s not really old. There’s a whole process.
Gail Claridge (23:45):
Yeah. That’s one of my favorite things. A lot of people, I look at some of these shows on TV and I have to cry almost. Look how new they made it. I work hard to make it look old. I want it to look loved and worn and,
Paul Ward (23:59):
And rustic.
Gail Claridge (23:59):
And rustic. Yeah.
Paul Ward (24:01):
But, here’s a whole process to make that.
Gail Claridge (24:02):
So forgiving. Yeah. I know. I had one of my housekeepers say to me, “Mrs. Claridge, I think you have mold.” <Laugh>. And I said, “What? Show me, where do you think I have mold?” Turns out it’s a crackling effect that I do on the painted surface that looks so beautiful. I says, “I think that costs a lot of money to give it a look like that.”
Paul Ward (24:21):
Your moldy walls.
Christie Claridge (24:23):
It’s a team of men that come in and it’s a process of step by step by it takes a long time.
Gail Claridge (24:27):
Like five steps to get it to crackled and wonderful. Yeah.
Paul Ward (24:32):
It’s, it’s incredible.
Gail Claridge (24:33):
So, so by being I’m not an architect. What they call me is a “Professional Affiliate.” So I can design, but I’m not an architect.
Paul Ward (24:44):
So what makes your wedding venue stand out from other properties that are doing something similar?
Gail Claridge (24:50):
Well, I have to say it’s really not for everyone. It’s for someone really special who wants to make this day very, very special. I just spoke to a bride who’s gonna be having her wedding here. And I said, you know, I think this is like one of the most important days of your life. It shouldn’t be, ” In by eight, out by 10. Next wedding.” You know, one’s leaving, one’s coming. It’s just, I didn’t want it to be like that. If you need two days, I’ll give you two days. It’s just, I wanna help you have the most wonderful wedding you could ever have. I’m not interested in volume as much as I am quality.
Paul Ward (25:31):
Interesting. And you’ve got the Airbnb across the street? ?
Gail Claridge (25:34):
So I got the Airbnb and I don’t know anyone else that has a chapel. I built this beautiful chapel. So after my husband passed away, I built the chapel as a remembrance to him as well. And a wonderful place for the weddings. And it’s just adorable. When I became a general contractor back in 1983, my son looked at me and said, “If mom can do that, I can do that.” Because when we were building our own house, and he was about 14 years old, he was helping the framer and he was helping everybody do something, you know, and he was working on the job. He couldn’t believe that I could get a contractor’s license. He said, “if she can do that, I can do that.” And he went ahead and got his contractor’s license. And lucky as it is, he wants to work with me.
Paul Ward (26:23):
A family affair.
Gail Claridge (26:25):
All these years he’s worked with me. His name is Joe as well as my husband’s, but we call him Joey. And Joey has built everything you see on this property.
Paul Ward (26:36):
He built the Chapel?
Gail Claridge (26:36):
He built the chapel, he restored the barn, he restored the guest houses and he built my husband’s beautiful car garage. My husband was always building a car. When he wasn’t flying, he was knee deep in either a motorcycle or a car. He was restoring. There was always parts everywhere.
Paul Ward (26:55):
It’s got quite the collection.
Gail Claridge (26:57):
But he was always home. And I like that. You know. We had a wonderful life. We really did. We had a great life together.
Christie Claridge (27:06):
I think he would be really proud of what my mom’s done, probably. She has, She’s maintained it so beautifully. She’s added, you know, expanded it, such nice things. . Se’s worked really hard to keep it for, for me, for my brother, for our kids. .
Paul Ward (27:21):
And now how can folks find the property? Enjoy the property? Where would they go to to learn more?
Gail Claridge (27:29):
Well, they can look up my name Gail Claridge. They can look up Country Meadow Ranch.
Paul Ward (27:35):
Country Meadow Ranch.
Christie Claridge (27:36):
You have a beautiful website.
Gail Claridge (27:37):
I have a website and we also have we’re listed with Wedding Pro. It’s called “The Knot.”
Christie Claridge (27:44):
And the “Wedding Wire.”
Paul Ward (27:46):
The Wedding Wire and The Knot
Gail Claridge (27:46):
And when they call, they will talk to my beautiful Christie
Christie Claridge (27:50):
And I schedule the tours. If they wanna come out and see it.
Gail Claridge (27:54):
They wanna come and see it. I show them everything, you know, all around. I show them everything. I take them to the Airbnb, I take them to the bridal cottage that I have here, which is lovely.
Paul Ward (28:05):
And t’s not just weddings, it’s also events and commercials and all that good stuff.
Gail Claridge (28:11):
I need to keep it going for my children, you know, because I’m, I’m there. I don’t need another thing, you know. But you know, Christie
Christie Claridge (28:21):
And my two kids live here at the ranch.
Paul Ward (28:22):
Oh they do?
Christie Claridge (28:22):
They do. So my son lives in one guest house and my daughter lives above the garage actually in an apartment.
Paul Ward (28:28):
Putting ’em to work.
Gail Claridge (28:30):
Well they didn’t want me to be alone here after my husband passed away, so. At least they’re adults. And I’m not lonely and if I need something, they’re here. And I always have guests here, so, And I thought that the weddings would make me happy cuz it was such a sad time for me. And the weddings, you know, I meet so many wonderful people and I’m a part of this for them. I’ll help them in any way I can. That’s my nature to help them. And the ladies are just thrilled. So I, I love doing it. I didn’t know it’d be so much fun, but it is. And Christie is the biggest part of it because she answers all the phone calls, she takes care of all the scheduling and she’s been just wonderful.
Christie Claridge (29:14):
So look us up,
Paul Ward (29:16):
<Laugh>. Absolutely. Well, Gail Claridge and Christie Claridge, thank you so much for being our guest on this edition of Farm Talk.
Christie Claridge (29:22):
Thank you.
Gail Claridge (29:23):
Thank you.
Paul Ward (29:24):
Absolutely. And of course we wanna thank our sponsors, the Escrow Hub and the Money Store. And be sure to tune in next time for another edition of Farm Talk.