The Homestead 1854 — Attraction in Little Rock Township

The Homestead is absolutely great. Mary Kay and her husband Chet, who own and run the venue are absolutely some of the most wonderful people, and they are fantastic at what they do. We found the venue while looking through Google Maps. Since they are in Plano, IL and we currently live in Boston, MA, we would not be able to see it for ourselves before deciding on the venue. We looked at the pictures and liked it and decided to reach out about pricing and dates. All the packages that they offer are very reasonable in price and include a lot of services that we would have had to contact another vendor for. We went with the Gold package. The price was good and, as I mentioned, so much was included that it made it one of the more affordable and closest to what we wanted. We had my brother walk through with Mary Kay to do a video tour to show us the place. We liked it a lot and decided a day or two later to go with them and make a deposit. From there Mary Kay could not have made the process easier. We opted to go with a few of their ‘Preferred Vendors’, one of which was the caterer, Lakeview Grill in Yorkville, IL. The food and presentation were fantastic from them, but since they were a preferred vendor Mark Kay, she dealt completely with them. We just had to let Mary Kay know and she would work it out with Lakeview Grill, it was so nice not to have to think about the caterer, and since they worked with the venue before so we knew everything would go well, and it did. The Homestead also did our flowers. We were doing simple wildflowers in bud vases. We found the bud vases we wanted and sent them to the venue and The Homestead did a fantastic job and they looked great. They also did the bridal bouquet; the bride had a very old veil that she wanted worked into the bouquet which they were able to do, since it was so brittle and old, and it was a stunning bouquet, as were the bridesmaids bouquets and all of the boutonnieres for the whole bridal party. The Homestead did a fantastic job with the details. I wanted to have some local craft beer at the reception and wedding and the Homestead was able to get some for me. They had ‘conversation pits’ all over their property with vintage furniture and people loved it. The setup of the reception hall in their timber tent was beautiful and into the night they had a firepit with all the makings for s’mores. So much to mention, the Bubbly bar was such a great idea, and looked beautiful, the bar package and all the people who were serving were great, the whole reception was amazing. One other thing that made our wedding and reception at The Homestead 1854 so great was that the entire bridal party, their spouses, and our parents were able to stay overnight at the venue, since the venue is also a bed and breakfast. The overnight stay, as well as brunch for everyone the next morning was also included in our package. The rooms were extremely comfortable and the brunch was very delicious, Mary Kay and Chet did such a great job. Everything went perfectly and most of that credit goes to The Homestead. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day, and everything went off without a hitch. We cannot recommend them enough. If you are considering somewhere for wedding/receptions, or any other celebration give The Homestead 1854 a serious look. A fantastic place that we highly recommend! 10/10, 5 stars, and all of that, fantastic place! Thank you Mary Kay and Chet! You made our...

There aren't enough words to describe my wedding at The Homestead 1854 last Friday. We booked with TH 1854 without ever setting foot at the venue since my husband and I are located on the east coast and we were planning this all remotely in light of the pandemic. My husband and I were looking for a venue that could do it 'ALL' to streamline the process. Honestly, I spent 3 months of countless emails to various venues along the East Coast looking for this perfect venue and often times found that most venues could and only do some things and not all. And we'd have to outsource the remaining aspects. Not something I want to add onto my pile. We ended up selecting TH 1854 because of their reasonable price and all inclusive package. Not only did we have an all inclusive package, but we had the opportunity to also upgrade and customize to our taste. Other previous places that I also reached out too lacked this ability (kinda here's the package and it is what it is). But with TH 1854, it was a completely different experience! Everything was included from the wedding site, reception site, officiant, meals with alcohol beverage package, flowers, cake, and photography. We even booked the add on package for TH 1854 overnight for our guests (for 12 ppl max) after the wedding and the brunch morning after. This is a MUST DO!!! Our wedding was only 14 people including bridge and groom and it was so intimate and cozy. We had the ceremony followed by the reception. The ceremony was perfect and exactly what we visioned and Amy did such a great job officiating and lining to our desires. The reception was also so beautiful and intimate. Our guests had cocktail hour at the house and the dinner was under the Timber Tent. The cocktail hour allowed guests to explore the beautiful historic house. The timber tent had more space for guests to move around a bit, and it was so warm and toasty! The food was delicious with healthy portion sizes! We did filet mignon and salmon with grilled shrimp and mash potatoes + green beans. Our cake was a customized vanilla with fruit filling with added 2nd tier. We had sent a vision and image of our ideal cake and when I saw it in person--I was so overjoyed! It looked exactly what I envisioned, but better in person!! It was delicious too! After dinner was over, our guests were able to retreat back into the house and change into cozy and comfy clothes. We then hung out in the back by the firepitt and toasted smores. Shared stories. It was so beautiful for our families meeting for the first time to be with each other and feel like they've know each other for years! It was such a fitting and intimate way to cap the night off. The next morning, we had brunch scheduled at 9.30am so guests had the chance to sleep in if they wanted to or soak in the quietness and relax for an early morning. Brunch was perfect and the food, again, was so delicious! We had roasted potatoes, bacon, egg type souffle, yogurt parfait, and this caramel french toast with mimosas! My guests LOVED our wedding and they felt so relaxed. They were raving and telling us how much they enjoyed the intimacy, but how it also felt like a retreat and get away too! We can't thank Mary Kay, Amy, and the rest of TH 1854 staff. They really made this process so EASY and took care of ALL the details and more! I personally tell my husband that I wish I could get married again so we can repeat the whole weekend w/ TH 1854! Thank...

One year ago today, my now husband and I set foot on the property of The Homestead 1854. At the time we had never heard of the venue, but were impressed with what we had read about it online… little did we know at the time, it would be THE most perfect place for our wedding. After meeting with the owner, Mary Kay, we were very impressed by how much of the event could be personalized to literally create the wedding of our dreams. I remember Mary Kay saying that night, “Your day, your way,” and she meant it. Once we secured our date, Mary Kay, her assistant Annah, worked with us attentively over the following 9 months to arrange every detail, offer advice, and make sure everything was just right. They put up graciously with my need for everything to be extremely organized and well planned. They were amazingly helpful with our need for safety precautions and extra care for my father who is immunocompromised and has health and mobility issues.

The venue itself honestly checked every box for us. To have everything onsite but feel like there was variety in where everything was located was impressive, and made for incredible photos. We were able to have wedding eve yoga in the chapel, utilize the lawn space and the fire pit for an amazing rehearsal dinner with s’mores for dessert, and then stay in the beautiful, historic home so we were already on the property and ready to go bright and early on the big day. The local salon was able to do hair and makeup in the room right off the bridal suite, we all enjoyed a grab and go breakfast, and staff at the Homestead worked tirelessly all morning to make the property absolute perfection for the day. They were able to incorporate my depression glass into their cocktail hour display, accommodate food allergies as well as go above and beyond to provide a special safe cutting cake, and ensure all of the decorations we had created were expertly placed so everyone could enjoy them. Mary Kay’s husband Chet was able to help get our canoe to Steward Park to allow us to take some unbelievable photos and the service we received from all of the staff throughout dinner was top notch. Another employee, John, knew I was absolutely over the moon with my love for hummingbirds and actually wore a special hummingbird pin that night during dinner that he gave me at the end of the night to make sure I’d see one on the very busy day! I am a total sucker for details, and each and every one was taken care of seamlessly. Every corner just bursts with charm. Adding to our delight was a fantastic surprise we only found out about a few weeks before our day… a new dance floor was installed amongst the trees that was absolutely magical. We capped our unbelievable day of love in the glow of the fire pit. After another great night’s stay, we enjoyed a fantastic breakfast.

We clearly can’t say enough about The Homestead. Mary Kay, Chet, Annah and the whole crew clearly love what they do and have created a venue that is beyond compare. We are so thankful for all they did to make our wedding weekend absolutely magical. Our wedding guests all raved about everything, and were blown away by the space. Run, don’t walk, to book or attend an event at The Homestead. You...