UX Website Design in Christiansburg, Virginia for Sinkland Farms Award-winning Wedding & Event Venue
A Custom Squarespace Redesign & Update for a Beloved Virginia Wedding & Event Venue
Sinkland Farms is an award-winning wedding and event venue in Christiansburg, Virginia, known for its rustic charm, seasonal festivals, and community events. I partnered with their team to redesign their Squarespace website with a focus on improving usability, visual storytelling, and navigation — while preserving the heart of a venue deeply loved by the Southwest Virginia community.
My role: UX-focused website designer
Deliverables: UX strategy, website redesign, content structure, visual design, photography direction
Platform: Squarespace
Audience: Wedding couples, families, event planners, and festival visitors
PROject overview
Sinkland Farms Wedding & Event Venue — UX Case Study
The challenge was to:
- Support multiple user goals on one site
- Make navigation intuitive for first-time visitors
- Highlight the venue’s beauty without overwhelming users
- Create a mobile-friendly experience for on-the-go planning
The site needed to feel as warm and welcoming as the farm itself — while functioning as a clear, modern digital experience.
Designing for Beauty, Simplicity, and the User Experience
The Challenge
- Couples planning destination weddings in Southwest Virginia
- Families attending seasonal festivals
- Event planners coordinating large gatherings
- Out-of-town visitors unfamiliar with the area
- What does Sinkland Farms offer?
- How do I plan or book?
- What events are coming up?
Understanding the Users
- Improve site navigation for weddings, festivals, and events
- Make key information easier to find across devices
- Strengthen the venue’s brand presence online
- Build trust through visuals, awards, and social proof
- Create a flexible design system that could grow with the business
Goals & Success Criteria
- Clear top-level navigation for Weddings, Events, and Festivals
- Dropdown menus that reveal information without overwhelming
- Footer sitemap for quick access from any page
- Sticky navigation for long-scroll pages
- Back-to-top links to improve usability
UX Strategy & Information Architecture
The redesign centered on simplifying how users move through the site.
Key structural decisions
The homepage was restructured to act as a guided entry point, using visual tiles and short descriptions to lead visitors naturally into deeper content.
Elevating the Brand with Custom Design and Photography
We combined professional photography from both local photographers and Creative Designs by Renee to highlight the breathtaking setting of the farm. Full-width banner images break up the content and emphasize the farm’s natural beauty — a key selling point for outdoor weddings and events in Southwest Virginia.
To build trust and authority, we included sections that highlight awards, recognitions, and press coverage, customized for each page — weddings, events, and festivals. These visuals were thoughtfully designed to enhance credibility while keeping the design aligned with Sinkland Farms’ branding.
Visual storytelling
Key Design Decisions
- Establish trust
- Create emotional connection
- Help visitors imagine their own experience at the venue
A strong visual identity includes not just images and colors — but also typography.
For Sinkland Farms’ redesign, we selected a versatile cursive font that balances elegance with the rustic charm of the venue. This font was used to highlight key messages without compromising readability, and it works beautifully across mobile and desktop screens.
By keeping the visual branding consistent throughout the website, we strengthened the professional identity of this Southwest Virginia wedding venue, ensuring visitors feel the same warmth and sophistication online as they do when visiting the farm in person.
Blending Rustic Elegance with Thoughtful Typography Choices
Typography & branding
Content pacing
Full-width banners were placed between sections to break up long content, reduce fatigue, and maintain engagement — creating a rhythm that feels immersive rather than overwhelming.
A carefully selected cursive accent font balanced rustic charm with elegance, reinforcing the venue’s identity while maintaining readability across devices.
Results & Impact
- Easier discovery of weddings, events, and festivals
- Stronger brand presence for a top Virginia wedding venue
- A scalable structure for future promotions and seasonal updates
Each section includes:
- A brief description
- A supporting photo
- A call-to-action leading to detailed pages
This approach keeps the page uncluttered while guiding users through the full range of services offered by this award-winning outdoor wedding venue in Christiansburg, VA.
Homepage Strategy – Guiding Visitors to Discover More
Visual Storytelling with Strategic Use of Banners and Sections
Each service page (weddings, events, festivals) includes its own custom layout featuring:
- Photo galleries
- Award badges
- Service highlights
- Embedded videos where applicable
These content blocks help elevate Sinkland Farms as a top-rated Virginia wedding venue with a rich story and trusted reputation.
Built for Visitors Near and Far
One key consideration in the redesign was that many of Sinkland Farms’ visitors come from outside of Christiansburg and even out-of-state. Whether planning a destination wedding in the Blue Ridge Mountains or visiting for one of their signature festivals, users need to find what they’re looking for quickly.
That’s why every design decision — from layout to photography to navigation — was made with clarity, accessibility, and beauty in mind.
Reflection & Next Steps
- User testing with couples and event planners
- Streamlining booking and inquiry flows
- Expanding accessibility features
- Adding content for SEO around destination weddings in Southwest Virginia
This project reinforced the value of designing not just for aesthetics, but for clarity, trust, and real-world usability.
