Historic elements meet modern style on Burns Bluff at High Falls.
Story by David Kirk
Karen Tillery and her husband, Glenn, had a vision for Burns Bluff at High Falls for many years. In December of 2017, their prayers were answered when the land they would need to build this dream became available.
Karen, owner of Restoration Log Cabins, combines her passion for history and construction with illustration and design skills by renovating and restoring 1800s-era log cabins and barns. Being a licensed home builder gives her the knowledge of construction needed to help marry together historic elements with modern construction. Tapping into all these skills, Karen and Glenn set out to create a destination where couples could start their lives together surrounded by family, history and sweeping views of this beautiful area.
“Burns Bluff was not created to be your average wedding venue that you rent for just a few hours on the day of your wedding,” says Tillery. “We have built Burns Bluff to be a destination location for a wedding, a place to make your wedding weekend an experience for everyone to enjoy. From the moment our couples arrive, we want them to feel like our lodge and cabins are their home for the weekend.”
From the graciously appointed lodge, where the entire wedding party can stay comfortably, to the Charn, styled as a half-church and half-barn, Burns Bluff has all the space you will need to host your wedding weekend.
“Celebrate the big day with a beautiful ceremony in one of our three ceremony sites, including the outdoor lodge lawn with bluff-edge arbor and antique church pews,” says Tillery. “We’ve also recently opened our Bluff’s Edge Pavilion where you can walk through a pair of antique church doors, set in a wall made of 1800s hand-hewn logs, into the pavilion with a soaring reclaimed-wood ceiling against massive steel trusses sitting atop antique factory beams. All of this reclaimed awesomeness is perched over the edge of the bluff with breathtaking views down the gorge.”
Tillery and her husband have poured their hearts into this venture together, and it shows at every turn.
“Building Burns Bluff has been such a huge part of my life for the last three years,” says Tillery. “I feel like so much of myself is here. I am very passionate about what I do in regards to preserving and rebuilding history. I love that I have been able to combine that passion for history and create an amazing place for couples to get married. They may not all have the infatuation with the historic side of things that I do, but the fact that so many people see the beauty in these reclaimed pieces of history brings me so much joy!”
