MODERÉ PHILOSOPHY

AKA OUR MICRO WEDDINGS

Liberty View Farm the Venue - The Wedding Foundry the Host - Moderé the Ethos

The Moderé Wedding:

A New Standard of Celebration

Beyond the "Micro" and the "Massive" into the Moderé

For nearly two decades, Liberty View Farm has pioneered the farm-to-table movement in the Hudson Valley. Today, we are introducing a concept that fills a long-overdue gap in the wedding world: The Moderé Wedding.

Historically, couples were forced to choose between the ultra-intimate "Micro" wedding (under 30) or the massive "Traditional" production (100+). But what about the magic that happens in between? Rooted in the French idea of le juste milieu—the perfect middle—the Moderé Wedding honors romance, connection, and the artistry of gathering.

The Goldilocks of Weddings: "Just Right"

There has been a growing debate in the wedding industry regarding scale. When a "Micro" Wedding reaches 60 guests, it often loses its definition. Moderé Weddings are not defined by absolute numbers; they are defined by a feeling.

A Moderé Wedding (25–65 guests) lives in the sweet spot. It is large enough to feel like a vibrant, high-energy party, but small enough that you can look every guest in the eye. It is the "beautifully measured" middle ground where romance meets Hudson Valley magic.

At Liberty View Farm, we respect the tradition of the grand celebration. BUT after 19 years, we have seen that the most profound joy—the kind that stays with you for a lifetime—happens at a human scale.

We created Moderé for the couple who realized that a 'watered-down' wedding is a compromise they are no longer willing to make. We aren't just cutting the guest list; we are upgrading the intention. We are choosing presence over production, and quality over quantity."

Big weddings can be beautiful, BUT you will spend 70% of your time saying "thank you for coming" to people you haven't seen in five years, rather than actually being with your inner circle. Very often at weddings, couples will invite people that after the wedding they will never see again- ask around, it happens more than you think. I have a whole theory about why that happens, ask me if you would like to know.

1. Big weddings can be exciting, BUT they require a "watered-down" approach to food and service to accommodate the sheer volume. Excellence doesn't scale; it’s personal.

2. Big weddings are a celebration, BUT they often leave guests feeling like spectators. In a Modéré setting (35–65 guests), every guest is an active participant in the memory.

3. Big weddings are a grand gesture, BUT they often come with a "hangover" of buyer’s remorse because the couple was too busy managing the circus to actually experience the joy.

A Heritage of Elegance: From French Salons to the Hudson Valley

The concept of Moderé is a return to a more sophisticated way of gathering. In 18th-century France, thinkers like Voltaire hosted legendary "Salons". These were curated gatherings of 40 to 60 people designed for high-level conversation, exquisite food, and meaningful connection. By choosing Moderé, you are stepping into a tradition where the quality of the experience outweighs the quantity of the guest list.

The Architect’s Touch: Design with Intent

With a European upbringing, a background as an artist, and years spent studying architecture, Billiam van Roestenberg brings a distinctive, pragmatic, and intuitive approach to every celebration. At The Wedding Foundry, we design Moderé Weddings with:

• Immersive Florals: Hand-harvested directly from our "Beyond Organic" gardens.

• Orchard-Side Dining: Firelight, candlelight, and nature’s own architecture.

• Elevated Culinary Experiences: Estate-grown produce and artisanal wood-fired menus.

• Synchronized Production: A cohesive team of "Producers" who have worked together the care-takers of the farm for over 25 years, guiding every detail with an unsurpassed standard of care.

Why Moderé is the Smarter Alternative

• Reduced Stress, Increased Presence: Because we offer a fully curated, all-inclusive operation, you spend your day being hosted, not managing.

• Parent-Approved Clarity: Moderé provides a defined, formal category that signifies a high-end, intentional event, making it easier for families to embrace the vision.

• Luxury per Guest: Instead of stretching a budget thin for a crowd of 150, a Moderé budget allows for "Luxury per Guest"—top-shelf spirits, 5-course farm dinners, and bespoke design.

"A wedding should be a reflection of your life's best circle—not a performance for a crowd of strangers." — Billiam van Roestenberg.

Refining the Industry

As an innovator for 27 years—from shaping Ag-tourism to the renowned "Lease a Tree" program—Billiam and Liberty View Farm are proud to lead this new niche. By refining the definition of the intimate wedding, we bring coherence and understanding to couples, families, and industry professionals alike. We are creating space for celebrations that deserve their own realm.

The Moderé Advantage: Luxury per Guest

When you choose a Moderé Wedding, you are shifting your investment from "quantity" to "quality". Here is how the experience compares to a traditional massive production:

The Traditional Wedding (150+ Guests):

• Atmosphere A performance for a crowd; often feels like a "wedding mill".

• Culinary Focus Mass-produced catering; "chicken or beef" options.

• Floral Design Budget stretched thin across many tables; often imported flowers.

• Human Connection Brief greetings; the couple spent the day "hosting" a crowd.

• Logistics High-stress coordination of dozens of outside vendors.

• The "Space" Diluted by scale and noise.

The Moderé Wedding (25–65 Guests):

• An intimate salon; a reflection of your life’s best circle.

• Estate-to-Table: Hand-harvested, 5-course organic farm dinners.

• Immersive & Lush: 100% farm-grown, bespoke floral "scapes."

• True Presence: Time to look every guest in the eye and share a moment.

• Seamless Symbiosis: A wedding team that has worked together for 19+ years.

• Concentrated: Firelight, candlelight, and nature’s architecture.

Why MODeRé IS the "Smarter Alternative"

The Luxury per Guest Principle: > Imagine a $30,000 budget. For 150 people, that is $200 per guest—covering the basics. Or a budget of $25,000 for 100 guests is $250 per guest very often that is just for venue fee, catering food, staff, china, tables, chairs and kitchen equipment. It does not include florals, photography or wedding planning and more.

For 50 Moderé guests, that same investment becomes $600 per guest. Suddenly, you aren't just serving a meal; you are hosting a legendary event with top-shelf spirits, artisanal details, and a level of care that your guests will talk about for the rest of their lives.

Parent-Approved Clarity

Many families worry that a smaller wedding won't feel "significant." The Moderé definition provides a high-end category that signifies a formal, intentional, and bespoke statement wedding. It isn't "small"—it is beautifully measured.

A Note on Our collaborative "Producer" Model

One of the most innovative aspects of the Moderé Wedding is our Vendor Symbiosis. Unlike traditional venues that juggle dozens of disconnected outside vendors, we have curated a cohesive team that for many years has operated as one. These collaborations ensure:

• Zero Friction: No logistical clashes on your wedding day.

• Coherent Design: The flowers, food, and photography are designed in conversation with one another.

• Total Presence: Because our "Producers" handle the machine, you are free to be the Star of the show.

LeadING the Way

As a pioneer of the Farm Wedding- wedding weekend destination and micro-wedding, Billiam van Roestenberg and Liberty View Farm are proud to lead this new niche. Don't just have a wedding; host a Moderé event that your guests will talk about for the rest of their lives.

The Moderé Standard

Curated by Design. Cultivated by Hand.

At Liberty View Farm, we don't just host weddings; we moderate the experience to ensure every detail carries weight. Founded on the principles of architectural precision and artistic intentionality, our "Moderé" approach is the blueprint for every celebration we create. Pragmatic and artistic.

Why 35 to 65 Guests? We have found that this specific range creates the ultimate "rich" experience. It is large enough to feel like a momentous celebration, yet intimate enough that every guest experiences the high-degree of detail that a massive ballroom wedding simply cannot sustain. Moderé is more human in scale.

• Architectural Intimacy: We design the flow of your day— private photos of couple before guests arrive, line-up in a shaded secluded area and go over details like practicing putting rings on, ceremony under a canopy of trees in the orchard for perfect photography, welcome reception, 1st, 2nd 3rd dances under the same canopy of trees and then Enchanted Orchard dinner, flowers surround - everyone captivated by the beauty and natural architecture of the space.

• Beyond Organic Detail: Because we limit our guest count, we can elevate everything. From the hand-picked dahlias on your table to the wood-fired menus featuring produce grown just steps away, nothing is mass-produced, the china, silverware, glassware all mixed matched very elegant. You actually choose the sets of china, napkins and runners. The service is also very elevated as it should be- no mediocrity it is a wedding after all.

• A Stress-Free Legacy: Simply put- you bring the love; we apply twenty-five years of farm-stewardship and design expertise to create the magic.

The Moderé Music & Dance Options are many and reign supreme

Music & Atmosphere: Frequently Asked Questions

Why don’t you allow traditional DJs or amplified bands?

As an architect and artist, I designed Liberty View Farm to be a high-fidelity experience. Large speaker stacks and "walls of sound" create acoustic clutter that competes with the natural beauty of the orchards and gardens. Our Moderé philosophy focuses on the "Missing Middle"—weddings that are momentous but intimate. By curating the soundscape, we ensure that the most important sound of the night—the laughter and conversation of your 35 to 65 guests—is never drowned out.

Can we still have live music?

Absolutely. We highly encourage live music that fits the "acoustic" scale of the farm. String quartets, jazz trios, acoustic guitarists, and pianists are all welcome. These ensembles provide a rich, grounded texture to your ceremony and cocktail hour you can also have the best of both worlds and have acoustic and digital - live music for ceremony and welcome reception then digital with our state of the art speaker system or do all digital we will discuss with you what works best for your vision.

How does dancing work if there isn't a loud DJ?

We celebrate the tradition of the First Dance and Parent Dances using our professional, farm-wide audio system. These moments are played at a volume that feels celebratory and focused.

For the "party" portion of the evening, we can transition to our Premium Silent Disco. We’ve found that this is actually more engaging for guests than a traditional DJ because it offers choice: three channels of music playing simultaneously, allowing your guests to curate their own dance floor experience while others enjoy a cocktail and conversation nearby in total peace.

What is the "High-End Silent Disco" experience?

It’s a modern garden party thats starts in the Enchanted Orchard where we serve the pre-lit headsets to guests from our large antique silver trays. We explain what genre of music is playing from each particular color on headset and how to change channel and adjust volume. It’ all very personalized and with our dedicated team it takes mere minutes to distribute the high-end professional-grade, comfortable headsets You might have:

• Channel 1: GREEN Classic Soul and Wedding Favorites.

• Channel 2: RED Modern Hits and Upbeat Dance EDM Techno.

• Channel 3: BLUE Chill Lounge or personal favorites.

• Guests can switch between channels at will. It’s a fascinating social experience to see half the crowd dancing to one beat while the other half is "grooving" to another, all under the stars. For many reasons- specifically in regard to music- I think people love the attention to detail at our Moderé weddings because guests get to even choose there favorite type of music! People always say “best experience ever best wedding ever!”

Can we play our own curated playlists?

Yes. Our high-fidelity digital system allows plug in or Bluetooth with your own curated playlists for background music during dinner and strolls through the orchard. We can help you ensure the levels are set perfectly to follow your guests as they move through the different "rooms" of the farm. Our state of the art system works all around the farm the transmitters are very powerful.

At Liberty View Farm, we have hosted weddings for nearly two decades.

Across hundreds of celebrations, one truth became clear: weddings feel most meaningful when they are beautifully measured.

Weddings have evolved. Micro weddings gave us intimacy. Traditional weddings gave us scale. We have found the beautiful middle ground — the Moderé Wedding, a celebration designed in perfect measure.

Moderé Weddings. Where romance meets Hudson Valley magic. Where celebrations are neither too small nor too large — but just right, beautifully measured, thoughtfully intimate.

A Moderé Wedding lives between the micro wedding and the traditional wedding. It is intimate, yet full of energy. Elegant, yet unfussy and not complicated. Curated, yet deeply personal.

The other concept of collaborating with all the vendors further ensures for a smoother running operation for planning and day of. It’s great for all the staff as well because unlike other venues the team knows the farm intimately and all of our team members know our very high standards.

Rooted in the French idea of le juste milieu — the perfect middle — these weddings honor romance, connection, and the artistry of gathering.

At The Wedding Foundry, we design Moderé Weddings with:

• Immersive florals from the farm.

• Orchard-side dining.

• Firelight, candlelight, and nature’s architecture.

• Elevated culinary experiences.

• A cohesive wedding team that has worked together for 19 years guiding every detail.

Recently there has been a debate in the wedding world where micro weddings of 50 or 60 people were not considered micro. Moderé Weddings are not defined by absolute numbers. They are defined by feeling — by a celebration that feels just right.

MORE CLARITY WAS NEEDED

Because the term Micro Wedding was being used inconsistently. Couples, their families and friends, industry professionals like wedding planners and caterers, and venues all benefit from a definition, that brings coherence, consistency, and understanding to this style of celebration. Planning becomes smoother and expectations become clearer. As an industry leader we felt that intimate weddings deserved a definition that honored their intention and the quiet elegance they offer. By refining this understanding we create space for celebrations that deserve it’s own realm.

A new category of celebration has emerged—more intimate, elegant, and beautifully measured. Liberty View Farm and The Wedding Foundry embrace this definition of romantic, bespoke statement weddings, helping couples, their guests, and the wedding industry gain clearer understanding and a more intentional direction.

For 27 years, Liberty View Farm has been an innovator: pioneering beyond-organic growing practices, shaping Ag-tourism, introducing creative marketing programs like the renowned “Lease a Tree,” and reimagining what a farm experience can be. We were among the first in the Hudson Valley to host weekend weddings, welcoming couples into a setting where nature, design, and hospitality come together.

Over the decades, Billiam van Roestenberg, owner of Liberty View Farm, has earned national acclaim and has been featured in newspapers, magazines, books, and television—recognized for his vision, the beauty he creates, and his deep devotion to both his work and his team. After years of collaborating closely with him, his team now embodies the same thoughtful approach, working tirelessly all carrying forward high standards of care, attention to detail, and commitment to meaningful, artful celebrations.

With his European upbringing, background as an artist, and studies in architecture, Billiam brings a distinctive aesthetic and a pragmatic, intuitive approach to design and sustainability, farming, and business. This unique blend shapes every wedding, garden, and project he undertakes, resulting in celebrations that feel deeply intentional, elegant, and beautifully grounded in nature.

 Every single decision we make here on Liberty View Farm

is to prioritize the guest experience;

meaning that every guest’s single need is attended to and anticipated.

Liberty View Farm 19th Year Hosting Weddings

2 Wedding Planners Included

We have hosted over 500 Weddings!

Just 80 minutes to NYC

14 minutes to Amtrak, Metro North

7 minutes to New Paltz thruway exit

Many hotels and motels 5-11 minutes away

B&B's and Airbnb's next to the farm

 Vast amount of experience

We focus deeply on each of the events we host

We go above and beyond helping you to have the perfect wedding

Many beautiful gardens, large old growth trees, stone walls, several barns, greenhouse and farmhouse.

Liberty View Farm is located on top of hill, provides nice breeze

Other venues in open paddocks or fields with hot glaring sun

Featured in Airbnb's magazine, 1 of 4 international properties chosen and featured out of 4 million!

We have many large old growth trees that provide shade

If you are interested in our fee

please text to set up a phone appointment

BILLIAM DIRECT LINE 845-399-9545