First, we meet with your brilliant brain and plan what items of ours you want to use as they are all included in our pricing. We lay out table decor you love, take an inventory of those items, and take pictures of it as well.
Second, before you arrive, we bring all the décor you love into the great room and place them on the food tables. They are then ready for your team of hands to place out on the tables when you arrive. The good news is that the room will already be set with the reception tables and chairs and ceremony seating, so the table decorating is the fun part and is very simple!

Lastly, if you’d like to be able to walk in and have your vision completely in place for your approval or amendment, that is absolutely possible. We have an option for you to hire one of our caring and detailed event planners and she will spend lots of extra time with you planning, scheming, and really learning your vision and will set up all the décor for you before you arrive and as you bring in the items you may want to add for your day! The choice is yours…hands on or hands free!

Rehearsal is typically a simple process here because we run it! For Saturday weddings, this is done in the am before everyone is dressed for the day. We line up your wedding party, show them where to pause for pictures and tell them when to go. They are guided in this process the entire time.
If you do not want to see each other before the ceremony on that day, we simply run it without one of you! The last one down the aisle has the simplest role!! You will just want to have a meeting with your officiant to go over what to expect prior to that day.

For Friday weddings, we can rehearse on Thursday evening briefly within the 5 hours you have in the Barn for decorating, rehearsal and/or rehearsal dinner.

We base that on how much time is needed for hair and make-up. So it could be 8am, 7am or even 6am if needed! We will work with you. Hair can take some time and zero stress is the goal!

The van holds 14 guests and the driver. Because of its size limitations, it cannot take care of the entire guest list, but it is great at some key pieces. We use it to pick up and drop off the wedding party to and from their accommodations in the surrounding areas so they don’t have to be concerned with leaving their vehicles here or retrieving them ion the morning.

We can pick up select guests ahead of time before the ceremony. That just requires a specific list at strict times.
At the end of the night, we typically make 3 shuttle runs (for example 9pm, 10pm and 11pm). We reserve the 11pm shuttle for your wedding party. If the last shuttle needs to hold more than the wedding party, we have several great outside resources you could hire to get your last bit of party people back safely. Our simple shuttle is not one to promote on your invitation as it cannot accommodate all guests.

We also have a great resource if you want to provide every guest the option to shuttle here.
If you have a lot of designated drivers in attendance, you may not need extra shuttle assistance. You will know what you need since you know your people best!
If you know you need extra shuttle support, our team can help you problem solve this if you’d like. One of our brilliant event planners will clear these muddy waters if you’d like to hire the additional support. Who needs it? How much help do you need? Your planner will create pick up times and lists, etc. She will take the time and care to ensure you are not worried about your guests on your big day!

We love the idea for saving space for you wedding party and immediate family. We have cute signage options to set those spaces aside for those people in your life. However, open seating for the rest of your guests seems to be the best for the following reasons:

1. They can choose who they want to sit with during the dinner.
2. It avoids the inevitable, “I don’t want to sit near _______” or “I know I was supposed to sit with _______.” We have heard those statements many times and it leads to uncomfortable conversations or unhappy guest experience.
3. You aren’t spending hours figuring out who sits where.
4. We put out extra seats if space allows so there is room to possibly spread out a bit if they prefer.
5. Our team notifies each guest as they enter that they may sit any where that doesn’t have a reserved sign. The only people that you strategically seat are your wedding party and immediate family!
6. IF there are guests that must be seated away from each other for peace on your day and your mental health, please let us know. We can assist in seating them in a subtle way that doesn’t point to the issue we are trying to avoid. Having said that, do remember that this is to be a peace, joy, love and laughter filled day. Consider who YOU want there. It isn’t always necessary to invite toxic attitudes. No matter what, we will have your back and do our best for you in that regard.
7. If you choose to do assigned table seating, we will greet every guest, ask their name and tell them their table number. We simply need an alphabetized list of your guests with their table number listed behind each name. Our team will need that as soon as you arrive on site so that we can make copies and give them our to our Hosts and Directors. This also means that you do not necessarily need to create a seating stand or display.

We can seat 265 at most with 6 feet between each table. At that number, we would need to seat 22 at each set of 2 tables pushed together. But your guests can move freely without feeling like they are sitting on the lap of the person behind them.

It is! The Bin is always included for hangout space during the day.

If you book a Friday wedding, you get the bin for an overnight space from Thursday into Friday. If you book a Saturday wedding, you get the bin overnight into Sunday! It sleeps 10 with 7 beds. It currently has one private sleeping area with a queen bed. The rest are Murphy beds and pull-out sleepers.

We can run guests to Monmouth, IL and Burlington, IA. Both are 15 minutes form the Barn!

Our farm tables are 9 feet long and 4 feet wide.

Oh my gosh. So much greenery. When you tour, you will see the many options available to you!!

So many great questions!! The majority of our weddings come in from hours away. The beautiful thing about our area is that although we have a remote feel, we are closely connected to cities to our east and west. They are a 15 minute drive away and having lived in a bigger city previously, it typically took me 15 min to cross town because of traffic.

The options for the commute are varied in look, feel and expense. We have our courtesy van (aka shuttle) that can take care of 14 guests at a time. It clearly cannot handle an entire event, but we are really great at taking care of your wedding party and immediate family. Please read the “shuttle” FAQ question for more detail.

What we love is how varied the options are for your guest accommodations! We have outstanding possibilities in Monmouth whole home rental that are stunning and unique. There is also a traditional hotel in Monmouth that could serve your guests well. Monmouth is 15 minutes from us to the East.

In Burlington, Iowa, also 15 minutes from The Barn, but to the west. This city has hotels, Fun City, and home rental options as well. It also has a small airport (BRL) that connects to Chicago (ORD) and St. Louis (STL). If you have some guests that need a pick up, let your Barn team know and we will do all we can to assist.

1. Our Barn has 20 tons of airflow and filtration continuously running during and after an event to flush anything out that shouldn’t be there. In combination with our 32-foot ceiling height, you are in an open environment. 

2. All universally touched surfaces are disinfected every hour. 

3. Hand sanitizer can be found all over our venue. All kinds of lovely scents too because, well, why not?

4. Our bartenders handle drinks by the base of the cup, can or bottle when serving our guests. We do not touch what your mouth touches with our bare hands. 

5. We have extra masks on hand in case someone begins to feel unwell while on our grounds and would like to wear one or for any person who prefers to wear one.

6. We put approximately 6 feet between tables inside our central Illinois wedding venue to create comfort for each guest so that you do not feel like you are sitting on the lap of the person behind you. 

7. We add more seating than necessary to provide the option of distancing or spreading out for those who choose or prefer to do so. 

8. Our central Illinois wedding venue was designed with so much room to breathe outside!!! Our west porch can seat 30 at 3 tables where fresh air abounds! Not to mention, when the weather is on our side, we can have tables all over the grass courtyard to the concrete courtyard. Tents are welcome if you want to expand seating with a covered option. We can suggest a “Tentist” in the area if you need assistance! (I don’t think “Tentist” is a word, but you get what I am saying.)

9. Those with an underlying illness that visit our little piece of Heaven may be seated outside, if preferred, and will absolutely be cared for by our team. We will get your meal, drinks from the bar, and shelter you from any uncomfortable temperatures. We will do all we possibly can to make sure those that risk being there for you feel valued, protected, and spoiled!

10. All healthy guests are welcome. We all know when we are not 100%. If you are feeling off or this gathering makes you nervous, simply sit this one out. Send your love filled “Regrets” knowing you are doing what you feel is best in your circumstance.  The people that love you and invited you will appreciate your thoughtfulness and completely understand your concern. 

11. Our bottom line is that we customize your event as much as possible to make your time here amazing for both you and your guests.