As a Southeast Michigan wedding photographer who’s photographed close to 100 weddings, I travel all over Michigan for work. I’ve captured wedding days as close as Port Huron (my home area), as far as Marquette, and all the areas in between.
Hi, friend! I’m Catie Eovaldi and I’ve been photographing weddings for the past few years. Heading into another year of wedding photography, I believe your wedding photos should truly showcase the emotions, the details, and you in your wedding day. It’s hard to believe choosing a venue is the first step, but it really is. Choosing a venue is the first step in wedding planning and bringing your vision to life, so it’s important to pick one that truly aligns with you. You’ll want to choose one that feels most like you, and I know how overwhelming that can be.
This venue highlight covers what it’s like to get married at Liberty Farm of Lambertville- a small wedding venue in South Michigan.
About This Liberty Farm Wedding
Liberty Farm of Lambertville Venue
Liberty Farm of Lambertville is a small backyard and barn style venue that accommodates up to 125 guests. This 2 acre venue is beautifully lush in trees and florals. With a pergola covered in hanging wisteria, an old barn, tented reception area, and lots of trees this venue is perfect if you’re looking for something cozy, intimate, and outdoors. Inside the old barn are two restrooms, one getting ready suite, and a separate staging area for dinner. This staging area is not a kitchen, but a room set up for a simple buffet line.
Because this wedding venue is a large backyard in a residential area, it’s important to note that events here are all finished by 10:00pm. There was some lingering by guests after this cut off time, but due to noise regulations all music must be finished by that time. In all honesty, this wasn’t an issue for the guests at this wedding and many of them ended up sticking around until the end. You know your people best- if you’re the type that loves to party late into the night I would suggest that this isn’t the venue for you. On the flip side, if you want an earlier night and are comfortable being back at your Airbnb or home before 11:00pm then you’ll love this!
With this also being a venue mainly outdoors, it’s important that couples make plans for rain, heat, and cold weather for their wedding day. Living in Michigan, we all know how fickle the weather can be. While there is coverage for rain in the barn and tent, the pergola may have some spots where rain may fall through. For heat, I recommend purchasing fans to assist guests in staying cool. There is plenty of shade around for guests to hang out in, but there is no AC on the property at all. Just like there’s no AC, there’s also no heat in the event of chilly weather. Liberty Farm is a seasonal venue, meaning they only operate May through October! We’ve been known to have chilly days in October so plan accordingly.
There are not many overnight accommodations in the area, the closest city is Toledo. If you are in need of hotel blocks, I recommend checking hotels in Toledo as it’s only 20 minutes south. There are limited Airbnbs in the area as well!
The Couple
Zach and Baylee chose Liberty Farm for its relaxed outdoor feel. With a wedding smaller in scale (under 100 guests), their day was more intimate and relaxed. Throughout the planning process, they really valued time with their families and friends and a calm day. As I structured their photography, I kept these priorities in mind and drafted timelines that kept in line with these values. This is something I do for all of my couples and no two timelines are the same. If you’re on the search for a wedding photographer, I’d love to connect and see if I have your date available. You can check my availability here!
Prior to guest arrival we had finished all couple, wedding party, and family portraits so that Zach and Baylee could make the most of their reception with their guests.
Getting Ready for the Day
Nearby Airbnb
This wedding day started at a nearby Airbnb to take photos of Zach and his groomsmen getting ready. I always get questions about how this part of the day works for photography and it works a few different ways.
For groomsmen, I want you dressed in your dress pants and shirts. From there I (or my second photographer) take photos of you putting on ties, cufflinks, jackets, etc. Sometimes we’ll move you to be in better lighting, but for the most part I try to keep this part of the day as candid as possible. The jokes with friends, the nerves and emotions showing as you tie your tie, and details in what you’re wearing are the goals of this part of the day.
Sometimes at this point in the day we’ll start pinning boutonnieres. I’m going to be completely honest here: this part of the day is usually staged. We’ve all seen the beautiful photos of mom pinning her son’s boutonniere on, but what’s often happening behind the scenes is that mom doesn’t know how to actually pin one. Don’t worry- this is a common thing I see and usually myself or the planning team step in to assist when needed. I loved the photos from this wedding though of Baylee pinning Zach’s boutonniere on. It was such a sweet gesture!
The Bridal Suite at Liberty Farm
Baylee and her bridesmaids used the onsite bridal suite at Liberty Farm. As a reminder, this space does not have AC and utilized electric fans to create a breeze. If you are going to have hair and makeup services onsite, plan for heat and humidity in the space.
This getting ready suite is on the smaller side. Baylee shared this space with six others prior to the ceremony and it was a tight squeeze in the room. There is plenty of seating right outside the room, and the barn style doors can open to make the space feel bigger. The suite has vintage touches throughout bringing a more rustic, vintage feel to the space. Older handheld mirrors, mismatched furniture, and chandeliers adorn the suite.
Liberty Farm Wedding Ceremony
The ceremony space at Liberty Farms is beautiful. You’ll say your vows under the canopy of large and lush green trees with a chandelier hanging down from the branches. This space is naturally beautiful on its own, but could also be further dressed up if desired.
Your guests will be sitting under the shade of the trees, which is perfect for those warm summer days. Zach and Baylee also provided handheld fans and handkerchiefs for all of their guests to stay cool.
The aisleway for this ceremony space is longer. The wedding party will line up outside the front of the house and walk through the back gate towards the trees. Ceremonies here typically are quick and under 30 minutes. As mentioned previously, the venue owner here is also an officiant.
Outdoor Reception
The entirety of the backyard venue space is used for wedding receptions. Starting with cocktail hour, guests will roam the yard and play games with one another. Games like cornhole, yard chess/checkers, and Jenga are all outdoors. Now despite the term “cocktail hour”, hard liquor is not allowed at this venue. This space is for beer and wine only, and the bar is actually self serve. There were no bartenders present for this wedding day.
As cocktail hour ended, guests were ushered to find their seats both inside the barn and under the tent. Zach and Baylee did not have speeches or toasts at their reception, so as soon as guests were seated dinner was started. City BBQ had a buffet line inside the bar. A unique element to this venue is that they will rent china to you for your dinner service. This is an add on service, but the venue owner has collected all sorts of china and silverware that couples can rent. Zach and Baylee opted to do this, and it really brought cohesiveness to the other design elements Baylee had throughout the space.
After dinner, the first dance took place under the pergola. This pergola was the main hub for the remainder of the evening as it is the main dancing area, but games were still available throughout the yard. There is also a fire pit in the yard, however Zach and Baylee did not utilize this- especially since it was so hot for their end of June wedding!
My Favorite Details from this Day
My favorite details from this wedding day are quite literally the details Baylee put into the decor. From table numbers that doubled as a way to show photos of them throughout the years together, to the thrifted colorful handkerchiefs, to the custom wedding gown from Etsy, Baylee was intention when finding the elements to her day. Almost everything was thrifted for this day and she did a beautiful job making sure it was all cohesive.
If I only had to pick one detail though, the wedding favors would have to be my favorite. Baylee and Zach had thrifted drinking goblets that guests used throughout the reception but also could take home as their favor. Varying in color and design, this was a unique favor and I still have mine!
Liberty Farm Wedding Cost
Liberty Farm is a venue used for all sorts of events. Because of this, they charge a little differently than other venues. Their rental starts at 3 hours for $395 with each additional hour being $100. Included in this rental rate is the following:
- Set-up and tear-down of your event
- 48″ round tables and 6′ rectangular tables
- wood cross-back chairs
- floor length white, light gray or light pink linens
- seasonal decorations, all kinds of lanterns, battery operated candles, greenery, and flowers
- display items like cake stands, wooden crates, galvanized containers, etc.
- 3 – 2.5 gallon mason jar beverage decanters
- 2 coffee makers
- Full size refrigerator
- 2 handicap accessible restrooms
- parking signs to inform your guests where to go
- parking at the church lot across the street and along the cemetery
- beautifully landscaped yard
- swing set and basketball hoop for the kiddos
- garbage removal
- use of outdoor patio, weather permitting
China and additional decor not listed can be added for a separate cost.
Liberty Farm Wedding Venue Details
- Location: 20 minutes north of Toledo, Ohio
- Address: 8243 Monroe Rd, Lambertville, MI 48144
- Phone: 734.807.0999
- Website: libertyfarmoflambertville.com
- Capacity: Under 100 guests
- Cost: starting at $395 for 3 hour rental
Liberty Farm Wedding Photos
Photos in this post were provided by myself, Catie Eovaldi Photography and include digital & 35mm film photography. Looking for more venues? Check out this blog post: Michigan Wedding Venues!
