center city philly wedding venues

[climbman]

Oops: I erased my post from earlier! In any case, we have been looking at lots of venues in center city Philadelphia, but not much in the suburbs. We are looking for a weekend evening wedding with ceremony, cocktail hour, then sit-down dinner and dancing (typical 5-hour affair). Our wedding is not huge, which significantly cuts down on the locations we might choose. We might have 90-110 guests. Some places we have looked at: Rittenhouse, Four Seasons, Doubletree. There are a number more, but this is a reasonable sampling. Any thoughts anyone has on those given our size, or any alternate suggestions, I would very much like to hear!

 

[Octavia]

Do you want to stick with hotels/banquet spaces? There are a million of them, as you probably know, but there are also a ton of cool places if you want to go with something more unique. A great place to check is www.partyspace.com -- I found that it was the best site to search for wedding venues in the Philly area, though it doesn''t have absolutely everything. Even though I live in Center City, most of the weddings I''ve been to were in the ''burbs (as mine will be) but I did attend one at the Independence Ballroom in the visitor''s center at 6th and Market. It was nice, although it could be a little bit large given the size of your guest list (I think there were about 130-140 people at the wedding I was at). But with the info you gave, pretty much anything could fit your needs -- is there anything more specific that you and your FI want? I''d love to help but it''s hard to narrow it down!

 

[havernell]

Are you interested in suburban venues or do you definately want to be in Philadelphia proper?

In the city, there are some really cool venues that could be good for smaller parties like Physick House, PAFA, and some of the smaller art museums around town. You can also have receptions at the Franklin Institute or the UPenn Archaeology Museum! My personal favorite is Glen Foerd Mansion, which would be perfect for the size of your reception. Definately check it out!

In the suburbs, there''s Appleford in Villanova, Merion Tribute House in Merion, Pearl S. Buck House in Perkasie, and lots of others. Here''s a site that has a pretty good listing of area venues: http://www.brides.com/local/philadelphia/site_location/reception_sites/results

Good luck finding your venue!!

 

[climbman]

Thanks to both you! I''ve called Glenn Foerd and started to search through www.partyspace.com website. It seems like most of these suggestions are outside center city, which is fine and much appreciated, but I am curious what you would pick if forced into center city. For example, we saw the Rittenhouse and think it is probably the most attractive at our size, but we also heard a poor review on the food from the only people we know who went to a wedding there. Any thoughts or help anyone can offer??

 

[Octavia]

climbman, did you select the "Philadelphia County" option for venue location? There should be quite a few there. I would definitely check out the Morris House Hotel (S. 8th Street), it fits up to 120 so I don't think it would be too large, and it's supposed to be beautiful. I've also heard excellent things about the Valley Green Inn -- it's a teeny bit outside of Center City because it borders Fairmount Park, but it's still technically in the city and it's supposed to be great. The Colonial Dames (16th and Latimer) have a gorgeous garden behind the building and a pretty ballroom upstairs, and I think it holds about the same as Morris House. The Philopterian Institute/Stotesbury Mansion is just off Rittenhouse Square and is also supposed to be gorgeous, but no garden. If you haven't checked out these places, or others like them (College of Physicians, Physick House, Powel House, etc.), I think you should -- they have so much more character than most hotel ballrooms!

 

[Clairitek]

For a truly unique option you could consider the Moshulu. Its an old ship that is on the waterfront right near the Ben Franklin Bridge and Penn''s Landing. We considered it for our wedding back when we were going to do a Philly wedding. Apparently the restaurant is pretty amazing though I never tasted the food myself. The view at night is pretty neat with the bridge lit up and the space is nice. They give you use of a few of the decks on the boat. I think it would be great for your size guest list and definitely memorable! We also looked at Top of the Tower (on the 60-something floor of the Bell Atlantic building, next to Comcast Center). While the view is amazing, we were less than impressed with our experience while trying to book a wedding there. They told us the pricing would be one thing and then sent us a contract with totally different pricing! The food was good though. I did manage to do a tasting before we crossed it off the list.

 

[climbman]

Octavia,

Thanks so much for your help. Based on mostly only an online perusal, we had some issues with a lot of these places. I really appreciate you pointing us toward them, and if you have any specific comments, I'd love to hear them. I hate to seem ungrateful, but are there any others you could suggest, or again, really make a strong case for one of these from personal experience? Again, I would really like to hear feedback on the Rittenhouse! Thanks so much!

Powel House: too small for us (more like up to 80 guests)

Philantropian: the pictures online make it seem to have a strong gothic style and perhaps a bit gloomy (not many windows can be seen); we are limited by online pictures, though

Morris House Hotel: seems like the only space to accomodate 100 ppl is the outside space in a tent, covered ceiling to floor

Valley Green Inn: looking at the outside online makes it seem a bit "farmish", i.e. looks like they have should cows and ducks

Colonian Dames: outside seems nice, but the inside feels a bit simple and perhaps not exactly elegant (again, just online pictures)

Glen Foerd mansion: pictures seem great; the only thing we don't like is that the dinner is in a separate room from dessert and dancing; seems strange, and lots of decorating to do!

College of Physicians: seems decent from online, but cannot conclude more at this juncture

Physick House: inside parties up to 75 is too small

 

[climbman]

I did eat at Moshulu years ago, I think for brunch. I do not recall the food. My feeling on a boat is, if I am going for that, why not pick a boat that actually moves.

 

[Clairitek]

Date: 9/29/2009 4:25:14 PM
Author: climbman
I did eat at Moshulu years ago, I think for brunch. I do not recall the food. My feeling on a boat is, if I am going for that, why not pick a boat that actually moves.

Good point. I just thought it was a neat suggestion...

Go check out Artesano Gallery. This was actually THE place for us (after Moshulu and Top of the Tower didn't work out)... until we decided to move the date up a year and downsize to a Newport, RI wedding for 35 people. We found out about it because there is actually another bride here (Lioness) who is having a wedding there in 2010. You will have to find your own caterer and other vendors though. They just rent out the space. Its not in Center City but up in the river in Manayunk (which happens to be one of my favorite little pockets in Philly).

 

[climbman]

I appreciate the suggestions! I do not mean to seem so difficult, but I feel that one has to be picky here (in the end, we have to pick just one spot). I would really like to hear more thoughts and suggestions! Sorry if I seem brusque.

 

[Octavia]

Are you in Philly, or at least close enough to look at the venues in person? I know that we''d never have booked our venue just on internet photos, but once we actually saw it, we fell in love with it.

From the breakdown you gave of things you don''t like, I guess the historical venues might not be for you...it seems like a hotel or banquet space ballroom is probably more your style. I have been to work events at the Rittenhouse, but never a wedding. At our cocktail events, the food was all right but not spectacular, and I didn''t like that the cocktail space was right next to the entrance -- maybe these things would be different for a wedding? It''s a very highly-regarded hotel, so I can''t imagine it would be bad! One of my friends was looking at the Rittenhouse, the Ritz, and the Four Seasons for her wedding and chose the Four Seasons. I''m not sure whether her decision was based on the proximity to the Basilica, or if there was something more to it, but I think I remember her saying that she liked the setup at the Four Seasons more than at the Rittenhouse. And I know she hands-down hated the carpet at the Ritz. Her wedding isn''t for several months, though, so I don''t know yet how the Four Seasons will be...but I have eaten at the Fountain Restaurant and it was delicious, and she said the restaurant also oversees the food for weddings.

I''ve also been to a work conference at the Down Town Club, and it''s very pretty, with some stunning views. We didn''t eat anything other than bagels and pastries there, though, so I can''t speak to the food. Maybe you could also try the Racquet Club? I think Jeffrey Miller is the exclusive caterer, and when I attended a wedding at a different Jeffrey Miller venue, I wasn''t wholly impressed with the food, but it''s a huge operation so it could be better at some venues than others, or with a different mix of chefs/staff.

 

[squee]

SO and I are attending a wedding in Philly in December. The ceremony will be at the Basilica and the reception at The Sofitel Hotel. From the website it looks gorgeous, although being that the wedding hasn''t happened yet, I can''t speak from experience regarding the food, etc. Just a suggestion!

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Have you considered the Westin Hotel on 17th Street between Market and Chestnut? They have a lot of different size rooms.

 

[oct2009]

Davio''s! 17th and Sansom. I think someone else on this board was considering them awihle back, may want to run a search.

 

[sba771]

Crystal Tea Room- it has smaller rooms as well and the caterer who does them has some other venues in Center City
The constitution Center
Hyatt at Penn''s landing
Franklin Institute