Absolute Music has provided wedding DJ, photo booth, ceremony sound and uplighting for weddings at Oak Hill Farm in Apple River, Illinois – a family-owned estate in Jo Daviess County, restored from a 19th-century farm and in the same family for more than 50 years.
The property
The estate gives couples four outdoor ceremony locations, plus the historic 1800s chapel that was moved to the farm from St. John’s country church. Receptions happen in the 1891 restored barn, a cozy fit for intimate gatherings up to 25, or the pavilion – new in 2020 – which hosts up to 250 guests. Cocktail hour can spill into the 1800s one-room schoolhouse, the recreated country store, or the Woodshed Bar and patio.
Two ponds and a stream run through the property, with a rowboat for photos and a fire pit with bistro lights for after dark. Wedding parties get ready in the Barnhouse Suite, a restored 1891 hay barn with two bathrooms, two changing rooms, a fireplace, a wet bar and a deck overlooking the pond, or the Garden Suite, with its prep station, wet bar and covered patio. Earl and JoJo, the resident free-range donkeys, roam the grounds.
How the day runs
Oak Hill schedules one event per day, so the property is yours. The venue’s staff handle complete setup and teardown of ready-to-place decor at no additional fee, and vendors get full access to the catering prep area and service building. Oak Hill is a BYOB facility – you bring the beverages, and the venue provides licensed bartenders, ice and supplies. Music and bar wrap by 11 pm. Golf carts move guests around the grounds, and the lighted parking area holds about 90 cars.
Couples can book ceremony-only, reception-only, ceremony-plus-reception, micro-weddings of 40 or fewer, or elopements. Tables, reception chairs, dance floor, lighting and bar are included in the package fee, with linen and china rental coordinated at no additional fee. If weather turns, the pavilion heats and cools, and ceremonies can move into the chapel at no additional cost. Available extras include a horse-drawn carriage, a 1931 Model A convertible, a 1931 Ford truck for cocktail-hour beverages, horses for photos, an on-site officiant and a ceremony rehearsal reservation. Peak season runs late April through early November.
Bring the music
Planning an Oak Hill Farm wedding? We’d love to bring the music. Our crew has provided DJ, photo booth, ceremony sound and uplighting at Oak Hill Farm weddings, and we plan your timeline around the venue’s one-event-per-day schedule and 11 pm wrap. Call or text 563-581-1030 or email info@absolutemusicdjs.com.
Venue contact: 8044 Gabel Lane, Apple River, Illinois – 815-541-2348 – oakhillweddings.com – facebook.com/OakHillFarmGalena
