Ensemble Arts Philly

ng up to and especially on our big day! We could not have asked for a more beautiful venue and the food was absolutely incredible! All of the banquet staff were helpful, thoughtful and professional. Cannot thank them or recommend them enough for making our wedding day dream come true!!

we needed and everything was executed timely & smooth. The food from Garces was phenomenal. I had my own planner along with Cara as day of coordinator so I did have the extra help. There are a lot of details that I didn’t know anything about when working with a union working building so it was super helpful to have an outside source clear up any questions so just look out for that. Other than that everything was amazing, the venue is beautiful & the staff at Kimmel were all so kind and professional. It was an amazing day I definitely recommend.

ues with the Production Manager on the Kimmel Center side and if I can give a 0 for that, I would. Elizabeth DeVore is a lying nightmare to deal with. She was unresponsive, rude, shady, and would lie about our conversations constantly. We had to document everything in writing and even still, our wedding coordinator and DJ had to call her out on her lies. My brother is a stagehand so it's not my first rodeo. Beware or Elizabeth DeVore. She ought to be fired because she is an awful representation of the Kimmel Center.

or, and I have all the details below as to why they’re the BEST. The team: from day one, when we first toured the place, they gave us the best experience possible, and we knew these were the kind of people who would make our dream wedding happen. Cara was an absolute PLEASURE to work with. She is so genuinely friendly, very thorough and on top of things, and always willing to answer questions and have meetings. I didn’t even use a wedding planner since they were so on top of everything. We had walk-throughs with our production/florist team, and the Garces/Kimmel staff was very open about their costs and expectations and gave great suggestions. The venue: our wedding was on NYE, so we wanted it to feel extravagant, and boy, does The Kimmel Center make that happen. The architecture with the glass ceilings and the venue itself is STUNNING. Minimal pictures could be taken outside due to the weather, but The Kimmel Center is so large and grand that the indoor photos were just as beautiful. The balcony extending off of cocktail hour overlooks broad street/city hall and gives off the perfect Philadelphia charm we were looking for. All of our guests said they felt like they were at a red carpet event! Food/drinks: INCREDIBLE. Garces hosts food tastings where we get to try everything they offer, and it was all delicious. We went with the steak and crab that also comes with a vegan option, which was to die for! You really felt like you were eating at a 5-star restaurant. For cocktail hour, we had the slider station and raw station that even comes with high-quality oysters plus eight butlered Hors d’Oeuvres. There was so many staff walking around with the food; everyone was definitely able to take advantage of all the fantastic food. There were also many bartenders, so there was never a line where people needed to wait for drinks. After attending many weddings, you realize how important it is to have a well-staffed event so no one is waiting for food/drinks. Plus they have butlered wines & champagne as well! Since our wedding went later, we also got the late night breakfast sandwiches which were a HUGE hit. All of our guests were raving about the excellent food and drinks. Garces truly exceeded our expectations. The day of: They truly went above and beyond. Cara was always around, ensuring everything was going according to plan and overseeing everything so the night ran as smoothly as possible. One of the staff workers, Tyrell, was our bridal attendant for the day of the wedding and he was AMAZING. He understood that it’s almost impossible for the bride and groom to get our own food/drinks throughout the night since we were constantly being bombarded by guests, so he was nonstop bringing us food and drinks, taking pictures, essentially helping us with absolutely anything we needed so we can just enjoy our big day, and just overall being such a friendly and positive face throughout the night. There are definitely more amazing things I could say about Garces/The Kimmel Center, but I don't have anymore space lol. We truly could not have asked for a better wedding experience, and I can’t thank Garces enough for making our dream wedding happen.

ir professionalism was outstanding. Everyone who worked there was incredible at their jobs, and the location is absolutely gorgeous. Wedding catering is also top notch.

edding vision to life, and multiple people have told us it was the best wedding they've ever been to. It was really special to have just about everyone that we know and love in one place, and Kimmel and Garces helped us make it that much more special. Highly recommend!! Thank you!!

e patient and supportive with everything. My family has moved out of the area and they were always accommodating to make sure we could get everything we needed done when I came to visit. They made my dream came true they listen and truly understand what we were trying to create. They were creative and truly created a WOW moments for my husband, me and guests! Could not have asked for a better team!

ur dream wedding! I still have friends and family raving about the food. Speaking of food, our bridal attendant made sure we didn't go hungry. I heard so many of my friends mention they didn't have a chance to eat on their big day.... welp, that was NOT a problem here. Every time I turned around they were there with another drink or bite to eat. They were also really accommodating to my grandmother who is wheelchair bound.

have a menu tasting until 3 weeks before the wedding. The wedding planner from Garces did not seem very organized. Everything was so last minute. I would consider asking someone to be the point person for the reception. I was the MOB and it ended up being me. The ceremony was 15 min late and it was not communicated to the guests or the parents. This was decided by the garces planner. We selected the buffet option and it was a bit of mess. I was assured that someone would manage the traffic, but no one did. There was a taco station (delicious) and a prime rib station. The line for the pr was enormous . The carver did not distinguish between a fatty piece of meat and a normal one. We had guests who did not eat because the meat was fatty and they did not know the taco station existed. I did not know this until the end of the evening. Two guests who ordered vegan meals were not served their food and I had to go to the kitchen to solve the problem. The cocktail hour appetizers were superb. Do not waste your money on the end of evening snacks because the french fries were cold and the milk shake was a bust. For the amount of money that we paid, I expected top notch service. Our mistake was not hiring a wedding planner. Despite the issues, we did have a great time.

inated all planned details with our daughter, supported us at the Garces tasting, accommodated our need to drop off items a few days prior to the wedding, and coordinated the details of the wedding so that the event ran smoothly. She made it so much easier for us and we felt fully supported by her. The staff was professional, respectful, and attentive and food was so good! Garces food was a big reason we chose the Kimmel, in addition to the incredible event space, and everything we had was top notch and delicious. One recommendation we have for the center is to have the ability to pick up personal items the next day and not have that interrupt the flow and excitement of the event. We learned at the end of the wedding evening that leaving our items there was not an option because they don’t have a secure place to keep personal items and they didn’t have anyone to meet up with us the next day to retrieve our things. Last minute we had to scramble to remove our personal items. We understand why they didn’t want to be responsible for our things, however, this should have been verbalized to us before hand so we could have planned appropriately. This could be something the Kimmel might want to looking into changing🙂

for up to 200 people, it includes great lighting in the ceiling, and it has a beautiful view of downtown Philadelphia. The food, drinks and planning services provided by Garces Events were all amazingly top-notch. The Garces staff was so good to us leading up to the wedding and on the wedding day itself - we felt so special and we couldn't be happier with how our wedding day went. 10/10 would recommend!!!

g to be aware of because the planning staff lacks in specific communication on this topic. The week of we spent about $1,500 we didn't plan on because of this so it is a bit frustrating. I've waited a month to write this review to collect my thoughts. Ultimately I feel that this is the best review I can give. Our day was absolutely gorgeous but so many balls were dropped and things were missed / left undone because of our Garces contact. I want to first make a MAJOR distinction between staffs. The catering staff and the wedding manager / event staff. The catering Maître d' , head waiter , waiters , and bartenders were all absolutely phenomenal. The food was delicious and they were so helpful and professional. The reception and cocktail space were gorgeous and in this COVID world we really appreciated the extra space. The wedding sales manager, Samantha, who we worked with during the planning of our wedding was, a huge disappointment. During the planning process she was impossible to get a hold of. Once we hit the 6 month mark I asked her to be more responsive as I had gone weeks in the past without receiving a response to phone calls or emails. But that didn't work, so I called Garces and left a voicemail stating I would like to be reassigned and be in contact with a manager to help turn things around, instead Samantha just called me back and promised to do better. I decided to go with it. Planning was pulling teeth but the wedding day it all came to a head. On the day of our wedding, Samantha was nowhere to be found. We nor the staff could not seem to find her. We rehearsed the day before but it seemed like she forgot everything we planned. She tried to send the groomsmen down the isle without the bridesmaids, when asked to help with organizing a few older family members she refused and just remained over all unhelpful. After the ceremony no one was there to help usher guests to the cocktail hour and they all floated in the space until I , my family and some of the waitress got them in the right direction. At the cocktail hour, we ran 45 mins over because no one came to direct us up to the reception until again the head waitress and our band came down to see where we were. Again , Sam is no where to be found. When we got up to the reception space I ask to see her and it took 45 mins for anyone to find her and when I finally got to speak with her she was extremely unprofessional. She stated me to that notifying us or arranging us to go back upstairs was "not her job". Even though at the rehearsal when asked, she stated it was. We had a neon sign for our wedding that wasn't plugged in and when I asked Sam about that she said that my husband and I must have lost it, we 100% did not and it was there at the rehearsal. At pick up on Sunday they had broken both our welcome signs and lost our bathroom baskets full of stuff. After the wedding it felt like the cherry on top when we were charged for a clerical error on their part. And then a few weeks later we got an additional site fee that we knew about but felt the lack of communication on when we would be charged it and that it was so long after was frustrating. There truly is a communication break down going on there between The Kimmel Center staff and Garces, and it definitely makes things difficult.

t the food we chose, which would have been helpful to us when we were planning: Cocktail Hour: Slider station (amazing, don't hesitate), Mozzerella Station (very good pairing with the burgers)... Loved the short rib nachos and the shrimp toast that were passed around. Dinner Station: Taco Station (amazing). Also, did a custom prime rib carving station. The prime rib was met with mixed reviews - those that received meat with no fat raved about it, but others received only fatty pieces. My advice to management would be to make sure the carver isn't giving out fatty pieces. Within that carving station we also included the fig salad and trofie pasta with pesto - both delicious. Late Night Snacks: We did the fries and milkshakes, which ended up being duds. Some said the fries were still partially frozen, and the milkshakes were extremely small and melted down to milk. I don't recommend these.

and the entire wedding planning process was smooth. They were transparent and made us feel comfortable with the COVID situation throughout our entire planning process and always found a way to fulfill our requests for our wedding night. Thank you so much, Claire and Garces!

to make sure our day went smoothly. The Kimmel Center was the perfect backdrop to our Philadelphia centric wedding and we are so glad that we chose this venue to host our guests who almost all traveled from out of town. The food was a hit and our guests are still talking about the A-class service they received from the staff. Thank you again!!

eat. We received spot-on vendor recommendations early on in the planning which helped every detail of our vision fall perfectly into place. We highly recommend this venue!

tion, and the cocktail hour food was plentiful and delicious. Everyone went out of their way to tell me how wonderful the dinner tasted. Hard to believe they could do such a great job for 180 people! Not your average wedding food of salmon and steak. Very tasty and beautifully served with edible flowers on the entree plate! Gina, with Garces was always available when we needed her and was very flexible. The waiters and staff paid attention to every detail. Nothing went wrong the entire evening! The Hamilton Garden was a great place to have the ceremony and reception. The staff were very efficient when the room had to be turned over from the ceremony to the reception. The cocktail hour worked out great since it was a beautiful day so we could be out on their beautiful balcony overlooking Broad Street. and City Hall. And it was very convenient to have the after party at Volver, right off the lobby in the Kimmel Center. They made the most amazing cheese steaks for the late night snack at the after party. All in all, I can't think of anything negative other than the location of the bathrooms is a little inconvenient, but no one seemed to complain. Gina did a fantastic job managing the menu, managing the staff the night of, coordinating with all of the other vendors, and just being a delightful person to work with. I would highly recommend this venue and their caterer.

Vows with a View wedding package...I couldn’t believe how perfect it was for us. We worked with Gina to coordinate our event day and she made everything SO easy. The planning was a breeze, we never felt stressed and I felt comfortable knowing Gina had all of the details taken care of. Gina also provided so many nice touches on our big day to make sure we felt special! I also really appreciated how she was there to walk us through every step of the process on the day of. It was a day our family will never forget! Thank you to Gina and team for everything! We very highly recommend events at the Kimmel Center!!

e in very good hands with our coordinator Gina - planning could not have been easier. We would definitely recommend this venue!

d up a more beautiful place to have a wedding. Gina Rio and her Garces team were tremendous to work with. She could not have been more accommodating, efficient, or responsive. Our guests are still raving about the space as well as the food. If you are getting married in Philly, look no further!!!!

ing to help meet all of our goals for the wedding since it had many Indian components. We couldn't be happier with how the day went and would definitely recommend this venue to future couples!!!

conscientious. She was also flexible, my husband and I are long distance and could only meet with her on the weekend and she made it happen! The decor, servers, bartenders, food, drinks, everything was top notch! We felt very well taken care of and never felt stressed. Thank you to Gina and her team! We very highly recommend hosting events at this venue!!

arketing Manager, Gina Rio and her staff are excellent in every way. It was the event of a lifetime. I highly recommend this venue for any wedding or special event, you just won't find anything better. It is spectacular!

ality/overall service. The Hamilton Garden Room is a truly unique choice; you can even get the "classic Philly" Broad Street photo from the balcony without needing to dodge traffic to capture that shot. Gina and her team at Garces were responsive/accommodating through the planning process. Kimmel worked seamlessly with our band, photographer, and florist. We would highly recommend using Kimmel as a wedding venue for anyone getting married in Philadelphia!

ented the food (taco station was a hit!) and the view of City Hall during cocktail hour. The venue truly is an iconic Philadelphia location for anyone that’s looking to have a “wow” factor. We really appreciated our coordinator Gina, who worked with us every step of the way and made us feel very comfortable with the company changes. Working with a group of solid vendors made our planning a lot easier, especially being from out of town. We can’t thank everyone enough!

e day together! Gina was overly accommodating with us whether it was setting up meetings for walk through or even perfecting the perfect cake to have in our freezer! A less than perfect experience is not optional for these guys and would definitely recommend Garces/Kimmel Center not only for the beautiful city view but for outstanding customer service they attribute as a group! Thanks again!

e, sliders were mouthwatering...our guests can't stop raving about it! But what stood out to us even more was the quality of service. Obviously you would expect top notch, attentive service at this venue, but every server was also warm and welcoming. They are all so incredibly nice, recommending food, helping my now mother in law navigate cocktail hour...you name it, they were there to help! Gina from Garces was beyond helpful throughout the year of planning. All around phenomenal experience! Pro-tip: when they say something is plenty of food, trust them! Their cocktail hour stations are way more substantial than you may think. No one will leave hungry! We added a station (because we are Italian) and ended up having a LOT of extra food that went to waste.

xperience was nothing short of amazing!! The entire planning experience was seamless + extremely enjoyable. I worked closely with Gina from Garces throughout the planning process, who is hands down one of the best venue managers ( I work with a lot around the city and she is shining star). Despite working with many couples throughout this past year, she always made my couple feel like her top priority, going above and beyond for them. On the day of the wedding the entire Garces team was professional, extremely kind and ran the wedding without a hitch. Not to mention the food is always delicious and executed flawlessly. The Kimmel Center space is so gorgeous, providing the prime city location and a gorgeous open air reception space in the roof top garden area. Garces and the Kimmel Center is hands down one of the best/top venues and staff to work with. I will continue to recommend my clients!!!

te selection. Staff had changed over while we were planning our wedding and Gina Rio stepped into the role as our point of contact. We were a little hesitant about this change until we actually met her. She was an absolute pleasure to work with and was so accommodating to all of our suggestions and requests. All through the process, including the wedding day, Gina was so on top of everything. It was important for us to add a few more stations to the cocktail hour and we felt like that was the right decision. Overall, the space was magnificent, the food was incredible, and we were so happy with the service we received. THANK YOU!

ure, amazing natural light!

ur wedding, we couldn’t have been happier! We knew the venue and food were going to be perfect, but our guests were blown away and couldn’t believe how magical and delicious everything was. We had a lot of details incorporated into our day and the staff never missed one. They really went above and beyond to make sure our day was everything we dreamed of! We can not recommend this venue enough!!

staff at the Garces beyond exceeded our expectations. Our guests raved about how amazing everything was from the hors d'oeuvres to the delicious macaroons provided with our delicious cake. What impressed us most, however, was being able to work with Gina. From day one, she was kind, friendly and warm. She coordinated all of the small details of our wedding with such confidence and grace. She spent hours on the phone with us, answered emails promptly about every last detail of our ceremony and wedding, and orchestrated the perfect event for us. She was there to answer all of questions, calm our nerves on the day of our wedding and even help me figure out the bustle on my dress! She went above and beyond and we cannot rave enough about how wonderful she was to work with. We will admit that we were nervous when we learned that we would be working with someone new after Darcy left. But we could not have asked for someone more perfect, with all of the years of experience she had, she made us feel at complete ease during a stressful time. We are beyond thankful for the amazing job that Gina did for us to make our wedding day the happiest day of our lives.

her manager mid-way through our planning process and she did so admirably. Garces Catering was fantastic, one guest told us that it was the best food she'd ever had at a wedding. Wait staff was incredibly friendly and accommodating, and as the bride and groom, we had our own personal attendant to get us food and drinks throughout the evening. Many thanks to Gina and the team for a lovely day!

ut the wedding planning process. Would highly recommend!

ove and beyond at every step. Their professionalism allowed us to not stress for a second that everything wouldn’t go smoothly on their end. Our sincerest thank you to them for providing the best night of our lives.

nter. We felt that the catering menu was confusing- it was difficult to determine the cost for additions to the menu. We found Darcy difficult to work with. She was reluctant to customize beyond the usual bundles that Garces offers. We asked for photos/ details/ examples of stations and rarely received straight forward answers. Another frustrating part of the planning process is that the Kimmel center is a "union building". We installed a flower arrangement on the ceiling. The Kimmel center said that would be extra but did not give us a definite price until a month before the wedding when they quoted us seven thousand dollars. Naturally we were very upset about this quote- they ended up decreasing the cost to 3500. Even though the charge was decreased we still to this day aren't sure what we got for that money since our florist and her people were the ones who installed the arrangement. They also charge you for having a videographer. We were very happy with the final product but were surprised and frustrated with the difficulty of planning the event at one of the "premiere" venues in Philadelphia.

ithin easy walking distance. The food, the planning, the staff, and event execution were unsurpassed. We worked with Darcy in planning the wedding and reception, and what a great person with whom to deal. She was always accessible and readily answered our persistent and probably frivolous questions. She was very knowledgeable and extremely competent. The wedding was in the Hamilton Garden, the glass enclosed top floor of the Kimmel Center that is both distinctive and beautiful. The Terrance Lounge overlooking the Center’s main lobby on one side and Broad St. on the other side was a great setting for the cocktail hour. There is an outdoor balcony and with our perfect weather, an additional bar was set up on the balcony. There were more than sufficient bar tenders and servers, and no one had to wait for food or drink. The Hamilton Garden was transformed for the reception dinner and dancing. Again, there was plenty of staff to ensure food and drinks were served expeditiously. The ever-present Darcy was there to see that all went smoothly. The Jose Garces food was abundant and exceptional, everything from the hors d’oeuvres, to the charcuterie station, to the main meal, and, finally, to the cake. All the servers were pleasant and efficient. Our guests universally praised the virtues of the Kimmel Center: its aesthetics, its food, and its employees. In the final analysis, at any wedding, there is only one person who really needs to be satisfied, the bride. Our bride was ecstatic over how the wedding turned out and how Darcy and the Kimmel Center performed.

lton Garden provided the most breathtaking setting for our ceremony, complete with a stunning sunset and glorious colors! The room was transformed beautifully while we enjoyed our cocktail hour (which was delicious and plentiful!) and we returned to the Hamilton Garden for a flawless dinner and celebration. Guests from around the country could not stop raving about the venue, the food and the party! We could not have been happier with everything and want to thank Darcy and her staff for making it a wedding that was more special than we could have ever imagined.

on for the morning of the wedding. Our dream was to have a unique kind of wedding - a small gathering at Christmastime and we wanted it to feel more like an intimate Christmas party than a traditional wedding. The whole staff was incredible - they helped our florist, Robertson's, bring in Christmas trees and lounge furniture. Garces catering was so delicious - all of our guests said the food was the best food they ever had at a wedding, and they are still raving about it! We also loved the added touch of the bridal attendant who brought food to my husband and I while we were chatting with guests. We totally recommend Kimmel and Garces to everyone!

dn’t consider it a top contender because we expected to have a more rustic wedding outside of the city. As soon as we walked in to the Bridal Showcase, however, we fell in love – and put a hold on our date before we left! The space has so much beauty and architectural interest, yet is a blank canvas that you can decorate and transform into whatever vision you have for your special day. We used farm tables, antique pieces of furniture and mixed florals to infuse the rustic elegance we originally envisioned. Hamilton Rooftop Garden is breathtaking, but working with Darcy and the Garces team is really what made our decision to host our reception at the Kimmel Center a homerun. Darcy worked with us for over a year, always responding to questions quickly, providing wonderful suggestions and helping us think through all of the details that made our day perfect. The food is unbelievable, also – guests are still raving about it, and I think the tasting was our highlight of the entire wedding planning process! We did have to pay for union labor because we had a videographer, which is a protected work form at the Kimmel Center, which ultimately became a pretty sizeable expense. It also limited some of the lighting elements we did because the expense became too great. I sincerely feel we got our money’s worth here – between Darcy’s expertise and attention to detail, the wonderful food and world class service, including a dedicated server for my husband and me, I never once regretted our decision to have the wedding here.

e and food and the Kimmel Center and Garces Catering delivered on all aspects. I'm still receiving feedback from guests about how wonderful the venue, food and service was, event comments like best wedding ever! Garces Catering and Darcy were fantastic to work with. Guided us through the process and made it and easy and pleasurable experience. We highly recommend the Kimmel Center and Garces for any wedding celebration.

hiladelphia for many years so I was THRILLED to be able to have Garces food at my wedding! The weather was nice, so we were able to have our cocktail hour bar outside on the Broad street balcony, and the staff was terrific. I absolutely recommend this venue!