If you’re looking for a modern take on a barn wedding in the Fargo area look no further than the Lone Oak Farm Venue and Events in Ayr, ND.  Lone Oak is the beautiful vision of business partners Melissa and Theresa. 

The Farmhouse

The farmhouse has been completely remodeled since Melissa’s grandmother moved into the nursing home. The farmhouse features a loft with three full-size beds, two full bathrooms on the main floor, and three bedrooms.  Every room in the house lends itself to beautiful photos. Natural light pours into almost every room of the house — a photographer’s dream on a wedding day! 

Bridal Suite

One of the highlights of the house is a room that was once a screened-in porch and is now a beautiful bridal suite with windows on three sides, and a skylight this room is the spot in the house for the bridal party to get all dolled up for the wedding. This room has plenty of outlets, and a mirror for each member of the bride’s entourage to get photo-ready. 

The kitchen is fully stocked with pots, pans, cups, and plates to keep everyone fed.  Brand new appliances including fridge, freezer, oven, dishwasher, and microwave ensure you can host a rehearsal meal or a wedding brunch.  

Work Retreats 

For the Wedding Workshop, we used the living room for our classroom and took advantage of the TV to present my slides for teaching, while attendees got comfy on the couches and overstuffed chairs. One of my favorite things about Lone Oak is you are able to rent the Farmhouse separately from the barn.  This is great for smaller work retreats, or workshops like mine, where you might not need the entire barn. 

The Wedding Venue

The barn itself is absolutely beautiful as is, though I can’t wait until the wooden barn doors are added to the outside to finish off the look. While I was at the workshop I visited with Melissa quite a bit about the building of Lone Oak Farm Venue and Events. She talked about the process of working with an architect.  Originally their architect didn’t want them to add windows to the back wall, but I’m so happy Melissa and Theresa pushed to add windows to the north side. 

This barn is also built to host with a beautiful bar fully stocked, and a commercial kitchen ready to serve up delicious food from your favorite restaurant or chef. 

With a seating capacity of over 300 this space is ready for large weddings, or events. Wood farmhouse-style tables can be arranged to seat 6 guests each or put into long rows for more of a family-style look. Tables are complete with wood chairs to match. As you look up you find the most beautiful wooden beams, which are adorned with chic glass chandeliers. I love that these chandeliers are not too over the top, just enough to accent the beams without overpowering them. 

While the entire barn is beautiful from the rock background on the north side, and the windows along both sides that let light pour in, it’s the loft area that steals the show in my book! This loft area has so much potential use for a wedding day.  

Grooms Area

A big-screen TV is surrounded by beautiful, and comfy leather couches making this loft area a perfect spot for the groom and his groomsmen to get ready for the wedding day. The oversized windows look out across the farm but keep the bride’s suite out of sight with threes and landscaping. This is great for couples who want to do a first look, or who choose to wait to see each other as the bride walks down the aisle. 

The loft area also is a great spot for overflow seating, and a perfect spot for speeches during dinner so everyone can see and hear the toasts. The balcony is definitely a spot I would photograph from during the dance! 

A Patio Made for Cocktail hour

The patio is right behind the bar, with window garage doors that open to the inside.  This is a perfect spot to host either the rehearsal dinner and or cocktail hour after the wedding.  Guest can take in the beautiful landscape, warm up around the fireplace, and enjoy hors d’overs and a glass of wine while they wait for the party to get started. 

Ceremony space 

Built into a semi-circle hill limestone rocks were dug into the hill to create a beautiful ceremony space that reminds me of an outdoor amphitheater. Lush green grass grows between the rows creating a very natural look where a trash pit once sat. — Yep originally this was the site of the farm’s trash pit.  Tons of junk was dug up, and removed to create this unique ceremony space.  I love that the limestone seating also removes the need for chairs helping to keep rental costs down, and eliminating additional people moving things around the morning of the wedding and the evening after the ceremony—which can be distracting! 

Photo Backdrops for Days!

As a photographer, I was absolutely giddy when I pulled up to Lone Oak Farms and saw just how many trees surround the venue!  This is definitely not the norm for a brand new venue!  Giant cottonwood trees grace the western side of the property, creating streams of beautiful light for evening weddings! 

A rope swing hangs from a cottonwood tree to the south of the ceremony space, and that’s all before you even enter the back section of the venue.  One of the things that can be a drawback of wedding venues is all the photos can look the same from wedding to wedding. One of the beautiful things about Lone Oak is the size of the venue! There is so much space to shoot outside for both bride and groom portraits and for large wedding parties! And since the view is going to change so much from season to season photos taken in the same spot in the spring will look vastly different than photos taken in the fall when the colors change. 

This venue is truly a photographer’s dream to shoot at, and with Melissa and Theresa helping out couples as they plan their weddings, it surely is a wedding venue you should definitely consider for your wedding! Want to book a walk-through of the venue? Click here to schedule with Melissa and Theresa, tell them Chelsy sent ya, then come back here and let’s get your engagement session booked–  Did you know you get to use the entire Lone Oak Farm for your engagement session when you book your wedding!? How amazing is that! 

Click here to see more photos from my Wedding Photography Workshop I held at Lone Oak in September 2021!