Brookmill Farm Lambertville

I find it interesting that the review immediately before this one that I wrote was left by the wife of the man who runs the “venue.” Of course she’d think anyone would be lucky to stay there. What neither she, nor her husband, mention is that this “venue” is right in the middle of a residential neighborhood. That every weekend that they hold weddings so disruptive to the neighborhood that the police are inevitably, repeatably called to the site. That the wedding parties are repeatedly asked to turn down their music. That their perfect night isn’t perfect. We live adjacent to this “farm” (hint: it isn’t actually a farm). Every weekend that has an event at Brookmill results in all of the surrounding neighbors (dozens of homes) getting shuttered in their homes because it makes their own properties unusable, indoors and out. I’d highly recommend you look REALLY REALLY hard for other venues and to understand what you are getting involved with by booking Brookmill. It’s unlikely to deliver the magical experience I’m sure new brides are looking for. And, if you want to know the real story. The story that Zack and team won’t tell you, look me up. I’ll give you the straight reality.

We had a great weekend with the family. The grounds are gorgeous, the houses are stunning, and everything was easy. There seems to be a lot of people leaving negative reviews, but things have obviously changed. I would recommend to anyone, and you would be lucky if you got the chance to spend time at Brookmill.

I operate a small entertainment company, we do many weddings and private events. We had client that booked Brook Mill farms for their wedding. None of my employees had ever performed there. We executed a standard contract with our client. In time, Zak presented our client with the most outrageous "vendor agreement" in the history of the modern wedding business. Of all items, there was a crazy fee that would be assessed if it were deemed that any of my staff were smoking on the grounds and a fine per cigarette butt found on the property. Wait. It gets better. There is a gorgeous tent on the property that has an installed sound system that you are REQUIRED to use. Upon inspection, it wasn't too far from what our team uses on a daily basis. The vendor agreement also insisted that the entertainment (ME) would become liable for any sound ordinance violations incurred up to some CRAZY amount of money... I can recall it being in the THOUSANDS of dollars. I met with Zak. I can't deny, the grounds are GORGEOUS and from my view - very well maintained landscaping. He loosened up a bit on the vendor agreement. I returned on the day of the wedding. It was quite possibly the most hot and humid day that you could imagine. The tent was supposed to be air-conditioned for the reception but the ceremony would take place outside. There were nearly 200 guests, if not more. While I set up my gear in the tent, we were literally DRIPPING with sweat. The catering staff were stripped down to their tee shirts. Zak refused to allow the AC to run and cool off the place while it was being staged. He sited "there's not enough fuel in the generator to last". Ok, I get it, but man alive... We then went through a sound-check. I was very uncomfortable with the lack of volume that he was providing through his house system. We reached a very lop-sided compromise that favored Zak. After the sound check, Zak literally "Peaced Out" and left us to our own for the event on HIS property. As the tent filled with the nearly 200 sweaty guests, the AC could barely provide a drop of relief. I picked up the microphone to get things started and discovered that his house system was literally a PEEP in the room. I double checked all settings... Only to discover that Zak has an app on his phone to monitor the sound system and make adjustments. We desperately struggled to get through the Bride & Groom's first dance. The best man's toast was best served at the top of his lungs without a microphone. I had enough, so I ordered my assistant to bring in a speaker from our van. I didn't want to cause any chaos or let alone get dinged with a noise ordinance fine, so we went "light". The crowd loved it, the Bride and Groom couldn't thank me enough. Within 30 minutes look who's here!!! The Cops! I won't drag this out too far, but I can tell you that the Police stopped by at least 5 times and then remained at the property line until the end of the night. The reception ended. The guests had a blast. The on-site vendors crushed it and were dripping with sweat at the end. We had quite a bit to break down and remove from the tent. Outside, it was dark - you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. The only light came from inside the tent. Until... the timer went off and we were left to break everything down in complete darkness. In Summary. The place is beautiful to look at or maybe spend a weekend with family. I would NOT recommend this place to anyone for a wedding venue. I'm sure it's not cheap. But it is painfully apparent that there is a terrible relationship between Zak and the neighbors. I have met several industry peers that simply refuse to take a booking at this place, because of the insane ground rules that apply to the vendors. It's a shame, because it really could be a great spot and you want it to be.. But there's a lot more to this business than owning a gorgeous property and trying to make it a money maker.

I have chosen to leave my review on Google primarily because I noticed the reviews here are somewhat negative as compared to a couple other platforms where the property has been rated. The reviews at Google caused a lot of concern for me prior to renting. My recommendation is that if you are interested in the property but are nervous about the Google reviews you should call Zak directly and talk to him about your event and expectations. After I communicated with him I had a much better feeling about staying. We stayed at the property at the end of April (2018). Our event was a reunion of 12 men that all used to work together. We are generally all in our 50s and are responsible individuals. We needed a place with enough beds for all vs listings that sleep 12 but could really be as few as 6 beds. The property was very nice and the pictures don't do it justice. If you are looking for your own quiet compound and enjoy an outdoor setting the place is great. The main house is older and has character that is represented in old block walls and fireplaces that are from another era. The second house is more modern and mainly just provided sleeping quarters for our group. The creek, covered bridge, and barn just added to the overall effect in a nice way. We were too early in the season to enjoy the pool but I am sure that would be nice in the summer. The grounds are well maintained and will be incredible soon as all of the plantings come out for the season. There are a couple very friendly cats that hang out around the property as well. If I had to provide any negative I would agree with some other posters that the kitchen pots and pans could use a little updating but this was not something that caused us any issues. We did prepare a full meal one night and everything worked out fine. We did use the grill to cook steaks and had no issues. Long and short, call if the reviews are scaring you away. We had a great trip and had no problems with the property or our deposit. This is not a hotel so your responsibilities are a little more than just leaving it totally dirty. Follow the requests of the owners on how to treat the place and you will be fine.

Beautiful property. Unfortunately, we had multiple issues in working with the owner after our stay. We paid a $300 fee for clean up and put a security deposit of $2,000 down. We had over 15 people stay at the property. At the end of the weekend not a single thing was broken but the owner thought it necessary to basically steal our $2,000 deposit. If you're willing to lose an extra $2,000 while staying here then this is the place for you!