Weddings blossom at Salt Air Farm

When Teresa DeFalco and Edward Lupo began searching for a wedding venue, they knew they wanted something different -- and something outside.

"We love the North Fork of Long Island," says the bride, a 33-year-old training manager for Organic Avenue, a chain of New York City food shops. "It was one of our favorite places to go when we were dating, so we started looking there."

The couple found, though, that many of the area's outdoor wedding locations, particularly wineries, were out of their price range. Then one day they stumbled upon an online listing that featured a place they hadn't heard of: Salt Air Farm. "Their website wasn't that sparkly compared to other wedding venue websites," Teresa Lupo says, "but there was something about it, and we were, like, 'Oh, that's interesting.' "

"We are the quietest farm market you're ever gonna see," says Prudence Heston, who runs Salt Air Farm with her husband, Dan, and their 9-year-old daughter, Sadie. "I do not try to be the first website that comes up. I want people who are finding us to really be looking for this kind of thing. And so, when they do, they're like, 'I found it!' "

Intrigued by the farm's no-frills website, which features an event pricing work sheet that lays out all expenses -- including a site fee based on guest count -- the Lupos took a trip out to Salt Air Farm in February 2012, the dead of winter, to check out the farm for themselves. "It wasn't the best time to go, because the farm was like, nothing. Just an empty field," says Teresa Lupo. "But Prudence walked us through the property and showed us what it could be."

"We just try to be a blank canvas and let them take a farm setting and make that into whatever they want it to be," Heston says. "That can vary tremendously, from a pig roast and barbecue with hay rides and fruit picking to people who want horse-drawn wagons and want to hang chandeliers from the trees. I keep waiting for the person who tells me, 'I want to do a hot-air balloon.' I think that would be so much fun."

Turns out, Salt Air Farm was just what the Lupos were looking for. "We wanted it to be almost like a backyard party feel, where people could participate in whatever activity they wanted to do leisurely," says Teresa Lupo, who got married there in July. "So we had boccie ball set up. We had croquet. Prudence was taking people for tours through the farm. And then we had a typical DJ and dance floor. The best part was that everyone really mingled, because they were drawn to the activities that they were interested in. I mean, my old Italian uncles were playing boccie ball with my husband's college roommates. And Prudence even threw in extra flowers -- she actually surprised me on the day of my wedding by making additional decor, which was really nice."

Couples have the option of buying cut flowers wholesale directly from Salt Air Farm (there is a 100-stem minimum) and doing their own flower arranging, having Heston do the arranging or taking the stems to a traditional florist of their choice. (In October, Salt Air Farm suffered damage from the tidal surge caused by superstorm Sandy -- one of the farm's dikes broke, resulting in the flooding of more than 100 acres with salt water. However, Heston says, "While it did affect some of the other areas of the farm pretty severely, fortunately for brides, it did not affect where we grow the flowers.")

Right now, because the family is farming full-time, Heston limits the number of weddings held on the property to six a year. Although the farm is booked for weddings this year, Heston has openings in 2014 -- at least for couples who are astute enough to find them.

"We're in no big rush," Heston says. "When the right person comes along, it's the right person."