Cold Springs

A hundred acres west of Little Rock, a flare for creativity and a prayerful heart. That was the recipe Heike Talbert used almost twenty years ago when developing the idea for what would become Cold Springs in Paron.

“We bought the land in 2006,” she said. “When we did, I really felt a pull that the Lord was telling me I would somehow use it for His glory. But I didn’t really know what that meant at the time.”

The land sat unused for several years until Talbert, a wife and mother of three, got the answer she’d been patiently working toward. 

“We went to a wedding in Texas that was being held outdoors on a piece of land,” she said. “All of a sudden, I knew what I was supposed to do with the land we had back in Arkansas.

“When we got home, I got on my tractor and began cleaning it up because it was a mess and hadn’t been tended to for years,” she said. “From there, I started building.”

Located 18 minutes west of Little Rock, Talbert had cleared the land and developed a beautiful and easily accessible property for outdoor weddings. Now, she needed a reception hall for her future guests.

“I met with my son’s Sunday School teacher, and he really liked the idea,” she said. “He drew up the plans for what would be the event center. After taking those plans to the contractors, about a year later it was all built and we were ready to go.”

A well-known artist with credits across Central Arkansas and Northern Florida, Talbert drew extensively from her own creativity when completing the land and space that would become Cold Springs in 2015. Her husband, Gary, however, had another idea in mind.

“When she started, I thought she was a little crazy,” he said. “I told her that if it didn’t work out as a wedding venue, I was going to have the nicest deer camp in the country.”

Truth be told, Gary Talbert knew his wife wasn’t crazy at all. In fact, the market research they conducted while preparing for Cold Springs opening showed the gamble of a new wedding venue was in high demand in Central Arkansas.

“Everyone told Heike the common weakness in the wedding market for Central Arkansas was that no one could seat 300 or more guests,” he said. “Those that could were typically barns or country clubs, and clients were getting tired of both.”

“At first, it was hard to get the word out,” Heike Talbert said. “I was really excited about my first bookings, and they were a lot of fun.”

Another key feature at Cold Springs didn’t come from Talbert’s creative impulses. Instead, it came from her desire for the brides using her venue to rely on their own creativity when decorating for their perfect day.

“The idea of going with a totally white theme is to play off the blank canvas idea,” she said. “As an artist, I wanted to give our customers a chance to use the same sort of blank canvas idea to shape and develop what they would have in mind for their perfect wedding day.

“A bride can imagine what she wants, and it can go anywhere her heart and imagination can take her,” she added. “Also, the way I looked at it, no one had ever done this before. So there really wasn’t a way you could tell whether it was going to work.”

In short order, Talbert’s concept worked, and Cold Springs was a hit. As word-of-mouth spread and bookings mounted, she and her husband decided to expand on their wedding day offerings.

“We needed a chapel on the grounds,” she said. “At first, it was just the reception hall and the land. Then I had the vision of a chapel. 

“I found these old chapel doors and pews to help get started. From there, I was able to really get creative and get things right.”

In 2019, Cold Springs opened its chapel to customers and immediately got great reviews of the large picture windows, classic design, and 33-foot vaulted ceiling. “The draped ceilings are beautiful and one of my favorite parts of the building.”

Asked if any of the hundreds of weddings she’d previously hosted stood out as especially memorable, Talbert couldn’t name one. Then, after a moment’s pause (and a little help from Gary), one came to mind. “I would say my most special wedding was when my son and daughter-in-law got married out there.”

Today, Cold Springs books more than three dozen weddings each year, a number Talbert never would have imagined. And even though she admits things at the venue are more demanding now than in years past, her reason for doing this remains steadfast.

“This is still God’s calling to me, and I understand the responsibilities that come with that,” she said. “I am so grateful for what He has given me and will continue doing all I can to His glory.”

To learn more about Cold Springs, go to www.coldspringsevents.com or call 501.690.0669.