Meet the Team
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At Poplar Hill, we foster a strong sense of camaraderie within our team. Our goal is to create a welcoming and comfortable
workplace that feels like home so that your special day can be filled with the same warmth and familiarity.
Phil Colarusso
Since Phil and Beth Colarusso opened their home as a wedding venue, Phil has lent his architectural eye and expertise to make Poplar Hill a unique, pastoral, and visually breathtaking place to spend your special day. Phil was raised at Poplar Hill and has devoted himself to continually improving the space and its amenities to make your experience spectacular. When he’s not working around Poplar Hill or on his landscape lighting business, Phil enjoys cooking and smoking cigars on the patio. He’s also an amateur beekeeper and professional punster.
Beth Colarusso
Beth is a full-time nurse practitioner who loves engaging personally with the couples who come through our doors. She makes sure that couples feel heard and that their needs are met so they can relax and enjoy their wedding day. She is truly passionate about helping couples celebrate the start of their new life with friends and family. The lush gardens that surround Poplar Hill are all the work of Beth’s hands.
History
Poplar Hill got its name from the hundreds of poplar trees that once lined the western edge of the property. Built in the early 1900s, Poplar Hill was acquired in 1962 by Dr. Dominic "Bucky" and Geraldine “Gerry” Colarusso. Bucky always wanted to raise horses, and soon converted Poplar Hill into a state-of-the-art horse farm. The couple were renowned for their hospitality to family members, friends and neighbors alike. In 2001, their son Phil and his wife Beth bought the farm to raise their own family. In 2017 they transformed the property into a wedding venue to share the sense of love and community they’ve felt at Poplar Hill. They decided to stay true to the history of the place by preserving the original woodwork of the barn, the facade of the mansion, the openness of the grounds, and everything else that makes Poplar Hill special.
Our couples tell us they can feel that love and community on the biggest day of their lives. We hope you will too, and invite you to visit us and see for yourself.