David and Emily McMahon, who first met and fell in love on the McMahon family apple orchard during the 2023 season of Farmer Wants A Wife, have completed a four-year project to open a French-inspired wedding venue on their fourth-generation farm in Stanthorpe, Queensland — a move the couple says could be a financial lifeline during the unpredictable seasons that define farming life.
The venue, named Lagnicourt, is now open for bookings roughly two and a half hours southwest of Brisbane, with its first wedding scheduled for September and seven further events already locked in for the year. The family is forecasting a profit of between $200,000 and $300,000 in the venue's debut year.
A family farm diversifies to weather tough times
For the McMahon family, agriculture has been a way of life across four generations. But like so many farming operations, the business is subject to the whims of weather, seasonal variability and market forces beyond anyone's control. David McMahon said the wedding venue was conceived, in part, as a buffer against those unavoidable risks.
"We're very much at the mercy of Mother Nature in farming and you see it on the news all the time," David said. "So the wedding venue will hopefully help us ride out the tougher times a little bit."
He was quick to emphasise, however, that the farm's core identity remains intact. "Farming is still very much at the heart of what we do," he said. "Looking long term, diversification has always been a big part of our business and we all love the idea of bringing people to the farm."
The project also carries a deeply personal dimension. David and Emily met on the farm during filming of Farmer Wants A Wife, were later married there, and have since welcomed their first daughter, who is now growing up on the same property. David's brother Paul also married his wife Megan on the orchard — a family history that helped seed the idea for a dedicated wedding destination.
"The farm is so special to us, so that definitely triggered some ideas," David said. "But the big basis behind it is having a diversification project that will hopefully strengthen our future in farming as well."
What is Lagnicourt, and what does it offer?
The venue was designed entirely by the McMahon family — no external architect or interior designer was brought in. The result is a purpose-built destination capable of hosting up to 150 guests, set against a landscape of orchards, farmland, pine forests, native gums and a 600-metre dam.
Two outdoor ceremony spaces make use of the natural surrounds, providing a picturesque backdrop for both weddings and photography. The French-inspired aesthetic is deliberate, and the venue's name carries significant meaning for the family.
David's great-grandfather, Clyde McMahon, served on the Western Front during the First World War and fought at Lagnicourt in France — a piece of family history now permanently woven into the farm's next chapter.
Broader benefits for the Stanthorpe region
Beyond the financial benefits to the McMahon operation, David hopes Lagnicourt will draw visitors to the wider Stanthorpe area and generate flow-on demand for local vendors, accommodation providers and other businesses in the region.
"The venue will bring in a new crowd and it's going to be an exciting future as well to see how that all unfolds," he said. "But it's really a long-term project with farming still at the heart of it."
For a couple whose own love story began among the apple trees of a Queensland farm, transforming that same land into a place where others can celebrate their own milestones appears to be a fitting — and financially savvy — next step.
