Historic Powel House & Garden

nt. This quiet, peaceful setting could not have been nicer for such a loving and intimate event. My guests are still saying it was the nicest memorial service they ever attended.

ng. The combination of the house's main rooms and the garden spaced the reception well, with guests able to mingle and chat in the yard, or wander inside to observe the amazing history throughout the house. Anyone with an American history fascination may find themselves glued to the old tools of Ben Franklin and various portraits and sketches of our founding fathers. We cannot say enough about the garden. The entryway is perfect for a bar that doesn't butt up against dinner tables, and beautifully leads into the main garden space. We were blessed with clear skies so we cancelled the tent but kept string lighting (thanks to Ocean Tents for their great setup). We set up some cornhole and beer pong in the back corner which allowed a nice split between guests looking to sit and mingle and those who wanted to get a bit more lit. We've seen it set up with the tent, and it looks good, but if you have a chance to go tent-less with the string lights it creates a truly magical setting. Just google "Powel House wedding" and you'll see what we mean. Working with Meagan and the rest of the Powel House team was a breeze. She completely understood the wedding vibe we wanted, gave great suggestions and support, and was always flexible with schedule our visits leading up to the wedding and our drop-offs and pick-ups before and after. Some FYIs: - The venue can fit up to 100 but considering the size we had, that 100 would be pretty tight. - There are some limitations for music since it's a Philadelphia row home and neighbors' houses are fairly exposed to the garden. We brought a nice Bluetooth speaker and while it worked well for the back (party) half of the garden, it was hard to hear up front. Best to have a 2 speaker setup if you can. - Since the garden is mostly grass, we recommend picking up some heel protectors and having them available so people aren't limited in their footwear. - We booked the extra hour so it was a 5 hour reception from 5pm-10pm. It was an additional $500.

e administrators were beyond helpful, efficient and SUPER nice people. They were professional and knowledgable through every step of the planning. The one thing you should be aware of is that there is a volume limit, but that didn't stop all my guests from getting up and dancing to the music, it was a wonderful ceremony and reception. The historic area is full of gorgeous settings for pictures and the gardens all around are very lush and fresh. I definitely recommend this venue!!

pful. You can tell they are truly passionate about this house, and for good reason--it is just dripping with history and the private garden is lush, private, and perfect. Jennifer cheerfully accommodated us for many walk-throughs in the months leading up to our event and had a great understanding of what works best in the space. I will say that this planning process was more involved than you might encounter at a standard event space. As this is a historic home, there is a set list of caterers to choose from, one tent company, and limitations on the bar location (no red wine can be served inside the house). Due to the fire code, no more than 75 people (I believe) were permitted to be inside, and the maximum guest count is (I believe) 100. To compensate, we needed to "rain hold" a tent to cover the garden so that guests could still be outside in case of bad weather. We ended up having a beautiful night and cancelled the tent, but still rented garden lights. The Powel House also doesn't have a liquor license, so we were able to bring in our own beverages--a big plus for us and a cost savings, but another layer on the to-do list! In my opinion, these additional logistics were well worth the work. And compared to other historic venues, the Powel House is quite flexible! It was such a unique and intimate experience to basically have the run of the house, once "the" place to be in high-society colonial Philadelphia, for our party. Instead of a seated dinner, we provided heavy appetizers. While most guests congregated in the beautiful garden, there was a flow inside and out as guests explored, and Jennifer was there to provide mini-tours of the home, which our history-buff guests loved. I would absolutely recommend this venue for an intimate event. This is not an “all-inclusive” event space, but a historic gem your guests won’t soon forget!