Wedding Dreams Turn To Nightmares For Clients Of Libertarian LG Nominee
(Source: MIRS.news, Published 09/15/2026) Engaged couples fell in love with the Country Barn Estates' (CBE) rustic wedding venue and paid thousands of dollars to reserve the dream spot for their big day.
But the dream became a nightmare in 2025 when they learned – only two months before their wedding – that a Shiawassee County judge had barred the company from hosting events at its Fairfield Township property. Their requests for refunds to venue owner Beau Parmenter, the Libertarian Party’s nominee for lieutenant governor, went unanswered.
“I don’t know anything about that,” Parmenter, 45, told MIRS today when asked about the former clients' allegations. One of those complaints has resulted in a felony charge carrying up to five years in prison.
“I’ve never worked at the company, but I have to look into that and talk to the attorneys,” he added before the call disconnected.
Although Parmenter told MIRS he had never worked for CBE, state corporate records repeatedly connect him to the company. Its October 2020 articles of organization list a “Beau Parmenter” as its resident agent and organizer, and his name appears on subsequent annual filings.
Parmenter’s name is also listed on a December 2022 certificate changing CBE’s location from Henderson to Chesaning, as well as on annual statements for the company.
MIRS spoke to eight former CBE clients, whose experiences mirrored one another’s.
Each couple, fresh off the excitement of their engagement and upcoming weddings, visited Parmenter’s wedding venue in 2024 or 2025, and each booked the venue.
The company’s website boasts a white barn on Allan Road in Fairfield Township and a 100-year-old historical rustic red barn on Ridge Road in Elsie, as well as a three-bedroom lakeside “cottage” in Traverse City for “a romantic getaway” after the big day.
Packages run from $2,500 to the “full farm package” for $25,000, according to the CBE website.
Brian Salenik, the father of a bride, paid a $7,000 deposit to reserve the venue for the weekend of his daughter’s wedding. A couple of months later, his daughter called and, through tears, explained her venue was no longer available and why.
“We’re out that money,” he said, noting he called Parmenter, who told him he could get a refund if he found someone else to take the scheduled weekend.
“He’s a flat-out crook,” Salenik said. “He’s heartless.”
Salenik questioned how it was his responsibility to find another client for CBE and whether another client could have a wedding considering the company was closed, but Parmenter didn’t have an answer, he said.
Alexis Yerian, who booked CBE for her wedding, also was instructed to “find another couple to take my date” before her $2,500 deposit would be refunded. In a text message exchange with Parmenter, she was also told to call “them” about a refund, but “them” was never defined, she said.
Yerian and another CBE client, Michael Lynch, said they were instructed to sign a document that essentially stated both sides acknowledged their previous contract was void and that it “fully and forever released each other … from all claims (known, unknown, past, present and future, including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees and costs) arising out of the agreement.”
Both signed in the hopes they would recover their respective deposits. They did not.
The loss of the venue meant Yerian had to change her long-anticipated September wedding to an October date.
Lynch and his bride borrowed $7,500 from his mother to make CBE’s requested down payment to reserve the venue for their Oct. 10 wedding.
“It was beautiful,” he said about the venue. “She (his fiancée) fell in love with it instantly. It was her dream wedding venue.”
After learning the court closed the venue and the deposit was not coming, Lynch and his bride scaled down their wedding from 125 guests to about 60, “if we’re lucky.”
Lynch said his fiancée read online that there was a zoning issue with the venue, something Parmenter’s staff member, Bonnie Ott, did not tell them about, even though they learned she was on the township zoning board.
“We’re struggling to make ends meet, so to come up with more money to try to do a wedding like we hoped to is impossible,” he said. “… We’re in our 40s and just wanted one more good thing in our life since both of us have dealt with a lot of adversity, and essentially Beau stole that from us …"
“Our wedding is supposed to be our happiest thing and it’s been nothing but a nightmare. We can’t even enjoy it now,” Lynch added.
Ott was their main contact, according to the couples, and she handled the tour of the venues as well as booking weddings.
When CBE clients tried to get a refund, Ott told them she had “stepped away from my responsibilities and trusted that (Parmenter) or his team will be in contact.”
Salenik said it was Ott who endorsed his check for his daughter’s wedding.
Haley Brown, who was supposed to marry at CBE in August 2025, said she chose CBE in part because Ott, her trusted high school business teacher, worked at CBE. She and her fiancé put down a $2,500 deposit only to later learn from a friend that the venue closed.
“I freaked out,” Brown said, noting she called Ott only to learn Ott had left CBE. “I was furious. I was furious that I was not told the truth. I was furious that someone so close to our families and friend group did that to me and my husband.”
Brown also received the document seeking a waiver releasing CBE from liability. She took him to small claims court where a judge entered a default judgment for $4,000 because Parmenter failed to show up for the hearing.
“Beau Parmenter is a snake,” Brown said, “… Bonnie Ott is just as guilty.”
Other CBE clients echoed Brown’s comments about Ott, who some said Parmenter also tried to blame.
Ott, who has since started her own wedding venue service, told MIRS that she did not want to talk, and when told that Parmenter was possibly blaming her, the call ended.
“I don’t really have anything to say. I simply showed the venue for him as the owner,” she said.
Former CBE client Treasure Cowger and her fiancé were out $5,000. She said her family later learned that Parmenter continued to try to sell his wedding venue, so her mother posed as a client needing a venue for her son.
Cowger said her mother toured the venue, and then she shared the family’s messages with CBE showing how she felt her family was fleeced.
Parmenter’s new employee began to cry, Cowger said, because she “had no idea” there were issues with former clients. One week later, she noted, Parmenter was arrested.
“I was going through postpartum,” Cowger said when she initially dealt with CBE. “Planning a wedding is hard to do, and on top of it, for this to happen. (I) literally felt like a chicken with my head cut off. It was the biggest day of my life and I didn’t even care about the wedding. . . It literally ruined the entire experience.”
Shiawassee County Sues
Shiawassee County sued CBE in May 2024, alleging the venue at 6055 Allan Road had violated county zoning regulations and 2015 building codes, according to court records.
Retired Fairfield Township clerk Carolyn Long said township officials repeatedly received complaints against CBE and Parmenter, with other business owners questioning how Parmenter could operate his business without proper permits, and how he could sell liquor at his venue without a liquor license.
Long said township officials repeatedly questioned county leaders, but were met by a brick wall.
“We got on the county and tried to tell them you can’t allow this to go and they said, ‘Unless we can catch him in the act,’” she said. “So we caught him in the act.”
Long said township officials decided to gather evidence, including taking photographs showing the alleged violations.
It was then, Long noted, that the county took action and sued CBE.
In March 2025, Judge Matthew J. Stewart issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting CBE from hosting events at the Fairfield Township facility until CBE obtained the required permits.
In May that year, Stewart held CBE in civil contempt and imposed a $5,000 fine when CBE violated the court order by holding a wedding the month before.
During the May hearing, Parmenter admitted that he held a wedding for a friend, but claimed that he didn’t charge the friend.
Long, who knows the friend’s parents, received a call from the parents who claimed their son “paid dearly” for the venue and “got nothing for free.”
The CBE property was formerly a horse-riding area that was issued a special use permit in 1991, according to court records.
In 2021, Parmenter sought to have the property rezoned to agritourism and entertainment, but the county Zoning Board of Appeals rejected that request.
In October 2021 and April 2024, Parmenter was given “stop work” orders after county officials confirmed the property was being used as an event venue.
In February, CBE and Shiawassee County settled the pending lawsuit, with CBE required to comply with county zoning requirements. Under the agreement, CBE is prohibited from hosting events until the county issues a certificate of occupancy.
Parmenter told The Argus-Press in February that CBE “acted responsibly and in good faith.” He noted that CBE has had “100% positive reviews practically since conception.”
At one point, more than 70 people belonged to a private Facebook group named “Country Barn Estates Wedding” in which brides, grooms and their family members expressed their dissatisfaction with CBE.
Former CBE clients have said Parmenter has blocked anyone who criticizes him and/or CBE on social media.
Criminal Charges
A warrant was issued for Parmenter in March 2026 after Shiawassee County Prosecutor Scott Koerner charged him with allegedly converting to his own use $2,500 that a customer paid to reserve the venue.
Parmenter was arrested Wednesday and arraigned the next day, with a district court judge setting a $10,000 cash or surety bond.
Koerner told MIRS that after Parmenter’s arraignment, his office and/or the sheriff’s department have received complaints from an additional six complainants.
Koerner did not elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation.
Parmenter returns to court Sept. 23 for a probable cause conference and Sept. 29 for a preliminary examination.
Bride Alyssa McInerney, who is still waiting for the refund of her $3,500 deposit, said she believes the public should be warned about Parmenter’s behavior because he’s still advertising his services on bridal websites.
McInerney said the company's name has been changed from CBE to just “Estates.”
“Beau’s a professional scam artist,” McInerney said.
