$2,500 starting price
201-250 guest capacity
This venue can host up to 250 guests
About this vendor
Begin your history with us!
Historic Rock Ford is a wedding and event venue located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This property is surrounded by gardens and overlooks the Conestoga River. The 33-acre farm estate contains a restored barn in which couples can host their celebrations. It also has a large tent pad that can host outdoor events for up to 250 guests.
Facilities and Capacity
The barn at Historic Rock Ford features details such as hand-hewn beams, lanterns, and exposed stone walls while boasting modern amenities. The venue can accommodate up to 110 guests inside for a seated reception or 250 for a ceremony, with additional tented space available for larger gatherings. To make the most of the balmy weather, a large white tent is included for all weddings taking place from April to November. A number of contemporary amenities are available for couples and their guests to help the big day run smoothly. The venue has free WiFi. The venue contains a designated catering area equipped with a microwave, a refrigerator, and running water for the chosen catering team to utilize. Furthermore, the space is climate-controlled to help maintain guests’ comfort. Adjustable lighting allows couples to create their desired atmosphere throughout the festivities. An additional feature of the barn is its custom-made old-style bar, suitable for use by licensed outside bar staff.
There are also 3 different indoor spaces for wedding day preparations. The Katherine Suite on the 3rd floor of the Hand Mansion is available from 9am-3pm on the day of the wedding for the bridal party to get hair and makeup done. It features a room with 4 lighted makeup vanities, 2 salon chairs and a separate bathroom and changing area. There is also a small bridal cottage close to the ceremony site for final preparations before walking down the aisle. The Welcome Center to the gallery is also available from 2pm-5pm for bridal party preparations. It includes bathrooms, mirrors and great lighting!
Services Offered
Historic Rock Ford offers full weekend packages throughout the year for weddings. Couples are granted the use of their event site from 10 am on Friday to set up the space according to their vision. Additionally, they have until noon on Sunday to clean up, allowing plenty of time to wind down after the reception. A range of tent sizes for celebrations are offered depending on couples’ requirements. They can also supply seating for 130 guests and a number of round and rectangular tables. Outside vendors are allowed, encouraging couples to select the cuisine, cake, flowers, entertainment, and more that best fits their theme. In addition to hosting the ceremony and reception, the venue is also available for the rehearsal dinner, showers, and engagement parties.
Pricing details
Starting prices
Reception:
$4,500
Ceremony:
$500
Bar services:
Contact for price
Catering:
Contact for price
Starting prices don't include service fees, taxes, gratuity, and rental fees. Guest count and seasonality may also affect prices. Peak season for this venue is Apr-Oct.
Amenities + details
Ceremony Area
Covered Outdoors Space
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
Liability Insurance
Outdoor Event Space
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
On-Site Accommodations
Guest Capacity
- Up to 250
Settings
- Barn
- Historic Venue
- Museum
- Park
- Tented
Venue Service Offerings
- Planning
- Rentals & Equipment
- Tents
Reviews
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5
out of 5.024 reviews
Review photos
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We cannot say enough great things about Historic Rock Ford! This was the first and only venue we toured for our wedding. The second we arrived we knew it was for us. Located in Lancaster County Central Park, it is the perfect location for a beautiful and serene wedding with all the amenities that Lancaster City has to offer. Besides the gorgeous views it has to offer, we also loved the rental period Historic Rock Ford gives you which is from Friday at 10am until Sunday at noon. This really allows you time to soak in your wedding and not feel rushed to set-up/clean up. Their rental coordinator Amanda is absolutely amazing to work with, and is worth every single penny to hire as your event coordinator. No one knows how to run a wedding here better than her.
The property offers so many different locations for photos that are all stunning and they also allow you to have the ceremony, reception, and cocktail hour in any location of your choosing. They have a new bridal suite upstairs that worked so well for all of my family since it had a full kitchen and bathroom along with a space for hair and makeup artists to work. There is also a second bridal cottage on the property that comes in handy for the ceremony.
Despite Historic Rock Ford being mainly a DIY location, they do include tables, chairs, and a tent in your venue rental fee. This place is really a hidden gem that I hope more people consider. We had the best day of our lives here and I don't think it would have been as half as good anywhere else.
This place was so accommodating and flexible. Having the property to ourselves to set up for the entire weekend was such a blessing and a tent included sealed the deal for us. Since it’s a historical place the money all goes back into the property and to have educational opportunities for inter city schools. The venue can hold your wedding in various locations on the property and it is sprawling and beautiful! It made our wedding weekend amazing!
From first email to day-of-event every step was easy, professional, and fantastic to plan! Super appreciative of this venue and their staff when it came to flexibility and accomodations. We could not be more thankful for choosing this beautiful location!
Any questions?
Historic Rock Ford was the perfect wedding venue and I cannot recommend it enough. The grounds, mansion, and barn are meticulously maintained, creating a beautiful setting for a wedding ceremony and reception. Working with the Rock Ford staff in planning, setting up, and cleaning up was a breeze. All staff were extremely kind and helpful (shout out to Amanda and Paula). We didn't even need too many decorations as the character of the property spoke for itself. If you want a picture perfect wedding, book Historic Rock Ford for your special day, you won't be disappointed.
Amanda was fantastic to work with. Prompt with responding to me and flexible with my concerns especially with covid. Worked well with my day of coordinator too and it turned out to be a perfect day.
I can't say enough about Rock Ford. We are a gay couple, living in a very conservative Lancaster County. From the moment we met Meagen, we felt comfortable being us. We didn't have to change who we were. Being two guys, not knowing anything about weddings or how to do the wedding, Meagen helped us from step 1 till the final step. The site was gorgeous, lots of wild deer, cool history and house. This site was way more affordable then the other competitors out there and definitely worth every penny.
Response from the Vendor on 09/29/2019
Dave,
Thank you so much for your kind review! It was an honor to be a part of your special day. I am so happy you chose Rock Ford for your wedding! It was wonderful to get to know you, Kenn and your lovely families. Your love for each other is...
truly inspiring and I wish you both an abundance of happiness in your very bright future together.
All my best,
Meagen Lebo
Rental Coordinator
Rock Ford Plantation
The Rock Ford is a beautiful place to have a wedding! There are so many places for great photos and the barn is very nice inside. The Rental Coordinator, Meagen, is wonderful to work with. She went out of her way before and during the wedding to make sure everything went great! I would definitely recommend Rock Ford!
I'm a little biased being a descendant of General Hand, but honestly the Rock Ford Plantation is the most Beautiful hidden gem in the entire U.S. The site has all the accommodations you need to keep your guests happy, entertained, and warm. Our guests LOVED the tour of the house, it was a nice transition between the ceremony and the reception while they waited for the bridal party photos. Meaghan and Nancy were super helpful and I am so grateful for their help to make this day special!!! I love you guys!!!
Response from the Vendor on 10/30/2018
Biased or not, we agree! What a treat to have descendants come and share your special day with us. I loved getting to know you and your family. Getting to talk to you about General Hand and to see how much his family has grown is something that...
I personally will not soon forget. It was a pleasure working with you and I am looking forward to seeing you all again in the future. -Meagen
We loved our daughters wedding at the beautiful Rock Ford Plantation. It’s like having three venues in one. The front of General Hand’s Home for the ceremony, which is just beautiful, the barn that we decorated with vintage furniture for the cocktails and desserts , and the tent for our reception. Plus you have the whole place from Friday through Sunday, so no rushing to get your items removed. We also paid a modest amount to have the museum open so guests could take a quick tour if they wanted. Nancy and Megan were great to work with and help direct vendors to set up. It was a beautiful and memorable day.
Response from the Vendor on 10/30/2018
Thank you for your kind words! It WAS absolutely a beautiful day ,thank you for letting us be a part of it. I very much enjoyed getting to know you and your lovely families and wish you all the best in the future.
Meagen
Absolutely the best experience we could have had with a venue!! Nancy was incredibly helpful and friendly. Loved the fact that we weren’t rushed out of the venue at the end of the night and were able to come back the next morning and clean things up. Beautiful location and we had an amazing day!!! ❤️
Response from the Vendor on 10/30/2018
Thank you for your kind review! We are so pleased that you chose to share your special day with us.
Rock Ford Plantation was the perfect venue for our casual, garden party style wedding. We held our ceremony on the porch of the house and the reception in a tent by the barn. We were even able to set up the barn as a "lounge" for those that wanted a quieter place to talk, away from the music and dancing. Located in Lancaster, Co. Park, Rock Ford gives you much privacy away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The team is incredibly professional and just a dream to work with. I was particularly impressed with the fact that our rental agreement included the whole weekend, making set up and clean up stress free! I can't rave enough about how happy I was with Rock Ford as our venue and how it provided the perfect setting for what was truly the happiest day of our lives.
Where can you find a venue that's available to you from Friday morning through Sunday! We got to customize all the things we wanted. We really wanted to have our own caterer and purchase our own alcohol which most places didn't allow. We got to buy our linens and set everything up just the way we wanted on Friday. No wedding coordinator needed. We got to leave a bunch of cars over night too. Thanks to the support of our friends and family everything went perfectly.
They do force you to work with Rental World if you want a tent on site. It worked out fine but their tent fees were pricey and greatly increased the overall cost of the wedding.
The staff member on site for our wedding was a miracle worker. We knew severe weather was coming and we had left two sides of the ten open. She provided updates on the incoming storm every 15 minutes and gave us a step ladder to throw the sides on quickly. Our ceremony was off-site and she was there to give basic information to all our vendors. She was so kind to us and really tried to make everything perfect.
Everyone complimented us on this venue. It was beautiful, spacious, and a perfect casual wedding. Our photos at the home on the porch were amazing and the seclusion of the park is great. This is really a great all-in-one location that you can have for a whole weekend! The best part was that we were supporting a historic site with our rental fee. We hope this site is well cared for and open for many years to come.
What a beautiful venue! You have the place for the whole weekend, no rushing in or out, so private and serene!
What a great place to have our wedding! We were allowed an entire day just to set up our wedding and an entire day to tear down. We had the wedding of our dreams and still stayed within our budget. The atmosphere was fantastic and added bonus we had deer walking in the field next to us the day of our wedding!
Rock Ford was a beautiful setting with great support for our daughter's wedding. Could not have asked for more!
We loved having Rock Ford Plantation as our venue for our ceremony and reception! The staff was responsive and easy to work with, and we were able to put our own touch on things. The day was gorgeous and the place was gorgeous!
We LOVED having Rockford Plantation as the venue for our wedding! It was such a beautiful setting and we enjoyed having the flexibility to make our day exactly how we wanted it. The ability to set up the day before and tear down the day after, was a huge stress-reliever. Nancy was so kind and such a pleasure to work with leading up to the wedding. My husband and I were extremely happy with Rockford Plantation and are so glad we got married there!
This location was perfect for our wedding day. Our ceremony was in front of the historic house which provided a beautiful backdrop to our wedding. The barn was perfect for our 100 guests. We loved being able to set up the barn on Friday and that we had the choice to come back Sunday to clean up. Definitely a wonderful location for any wedding.
This venue was absolutely everything we wanted and dreamed of for both our ceremony and reception. Nancy is also amazing to work with! Beautiful place and great staff....great place for your special day and affordable too.
The Historic Rockford Plantation was a beautiful setting for my wedding. The barn is perfect for smaller wedding while those with a larger guest list can be accommodated with outside services.
Great location, very flexible with set up and take down which is greatly appreciated by the DIY bride! If tour weather permits skip the tent and let the barn be your backdrop. Tables and chairs provided just and over all no frills great venue.
Rockford Plantation is a great venue for do-it-yourselfers! It is beautiful, especially if you are going a bit "rustic" in your theme. We saved a lot of money having our wedding during the "off season" and when renting we got access to the venue the whole weekend (Friday-Sunday)! So we were able to set up most everything the day before and finish clean up the day after to really just enjoy our wedding day! This is a venue where you either want to do a lot yourself or hire a wedding coordinator as the venue itself does not have someone there to assist the day of your wedding. It was perfect for us!
Rock Ford Plantation is a very historic, secluded venue that you will not be disappointed with! It is outside of Lancaster city, but found in the local community park. The plantation is a lot of "do it yourself" but there is much flexibility to make your wedding day exactly how you envisioned it! Would recommend Rock Ford to anyone who wants to be totally in charge of all the plans and activities that are associated with the wedding!
There is a historic plantation home and barn that is absolutely gorgeous for a wedding ceremony and reception! Everyone attending will be completely impressed!
We booked the place for all weekend, we have everything we needed, was perfect!!!
Contact
881 Rockford Road, Lancaster, PA | PA, DE, MD & NJ
Interested?
Meet the team
Amanda Elslager
Coordinator
My name is Amanda and I have followed my heart back to Historic Rock Ford, but this time instead of being the caterer or the bride, I am now the Rental Coordinator! Let me show you why I first fell in love with this historic and scenic venue on the outskirts of Lancaster,PA!
Message vendor
$2,500 starting price
Amanda Elslager
COORDINATOR
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Historic Rock Ford
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