Freedom Run Winery is a venue like no other in our area. We were able to have the winery all to ourselves on our wedding day, no other events or tasting room patrons. The views a...nd various buildings (tasting room and patio, vineyard house, and barn) provided the perfect backdrops for our events and photos.
However, you will need to put in some more work and possibly rent items to make your special day perfect. I would also recommend hiring a day of coordinator if you are having your ceremony and reception at the winery. We rented farm tables, ceremony arch, barrel tables, linens, etc., and had a day of coordinator. The coordinator was a must for us because we utilized three areas at the winery. Our ceremony was outside by the vines, cocktail hour in the tasting room, and reception at the barn. Having the coordinator to run items between these locations was a must. It allowed us to enjoy our day. Renting the vineyard house helped as well, it gave us a place to store décor for the ceremony and cocktail hour, to organize for the walk down the aisle, and for our family and friends in the wedding to gather, eat, relax, and get ready. I think renting the house is a must!
There were multiple staff and management changes at the winery while planning our wedding, but luckily Michelle stepped in when she saw we needed a consistent person to make sure all of our details were followed and promises from the winery kept. This action ended our worry and any confusion. Michelle made planning so much easier and stress free, and she was a true champion for us. Mark later joined Michelle as our wedding approached, he handled all of the bar items and assisted Michelle with coordinating other details at the venue. They worked well as a team. My advice to new brides would be to communicate with Michelle and Mark, your planning will go more smoothly. Michelle also helped us decide on table placement in the barn, and even gave us décor ideas. Our reception was more beautiful because of her input.
Michelle's catering company (Ava's Table at the Vineyard) provided the food for our rehearsal and wedding day. She also was our contact for renting the vineyard house. People are still talking about the food weeks later. The quality, unique menu (Michelle let us customize), and service timing were all top notch. Our wedding was attended by people in the restaurant business, and those guests purposely found Michelle and her chef (Sarah) to compliment them on their food and service. It was a meal you expect for two at a five star restaurant and they pulled it off for an entire wedding. Michelle was also a great and flexible house rental host.
Lupe who lead the house and barn cleaning efforts was great to work with and made sure both looked beautiful.
In the end our wedding day was perfect, it is a day we and our families and friends will always remember. In comparison to other types of venues, it was more work to set up everything the days before and more costly because of the rentals and day of coordinator services. However, we think it was worth every minute and dollar.