Penn Museum

the start. Both have worked there for a long time and they were attentive to our needs/requests and extremely detail oriented. With their experience from other weddings, they were able to help with tips and tricks that made the day flawless, especially when we didn't have a wedding planner or day of coordinator. They were polite, professional, enthusiastic, and made us feel truly special on our day. The spaces within the museum were ASTOUNDING and all of our guests enjoyed their time seeing the exhibits and experiencing dinner in the Rotunda. We did half outdoor (ceremony and cocktail hour) and half indoor (dinner and dancing). It's so special to be able to have both options and both spaces were so beautiful. This is the best venue in the entire city. CXRA catering makes one of the best wedding meals ever! We danced the night away in the Egypt Hall and could not have asked for a more perfect day. Thank you to the Penn Museum staff, Jenn, and Atiya for the best day of our lives!

itself is stunning! Was such a creative and special place for us to tie the knot. When Attiya showed us around we knew immediately this was the place. The Museum staff gave us two classrooms to prep once we arrived - super clutch for sprucing up and a safe space to keep our stuff. We did photos beforehand with hair and makeup fresh in the back Stoner Courtyard which was perfect. We were greeted with a plate of cheese and wine and an Attiya there to help settle our nerves with reassurance that all prepped and that the ceremony would go off without a hitch. We got married in the Warden Garden with our parents walking us down the gorgeous steps from the main entrance with the beautiful Coy pond adjacent to us. After that, while everyone made moves to the reception on the main floor in the Sphinx Gallery, my new wife and I snuck away to the rooftop for a moment to ourselves with some bubbly. From there we joined our guests for cocktails and passers in the Sphinx Gallery with speeches there from our Maid of Honor and Best Man on the side steps. Then we headed up to the most magical dinner of our lives. You’ve probably seen the Chinese Rotunda online. It was simply breathtaking. We did our first dance upon our entrance (gotta be a slow dance because of the delicate statues) and then our parent dances after the first course. Cut the cake, and then danced the night away in the Egypt Gallery next door. We closed up the night with hot Philly pretzels and made our exit under sparklers in the Warden Garden - facilitated by the amazing Penn Museum Staff. Attiya is one of the most organized, get shit done no matter what, intelligent, people I’ve ever met. Eager to problem-solve with her astute knowledge having organized weddings for couples many times before - we leaned on her wisdom through the duration of our planning. Also she is an awesome human being who we really enjoyed being around. A good thing for us because we had so many questions with COVID. Attiya was responsive, honest, straight forward yet kind - and very obviously knew what she was doing. It felt like she truly wanted our wedding day to be as fabulous as we did, almost like a friend or family member would. Attiya is a great leader and we are so grateful she was there to guide us. Sometimes we’d be like … let’s do this! And she’d be like, I like that but here are some things to think about based on what I’ve seen. (SO HELPFUL!) She’d listen to our ideas and always try to make it work. Attiya made our day so special. We simply couldn’t have done it without her. We did our catering with CxRA and were blessed to have Jenn guide us! She helped us create a delicious signature cocktail for the reception and piece together everything from the bar menu, to the apps, to the cake, to the full dinner. Jenn organized a menu that blew us away and presented options that utilize fresh, local ingredients by chefs who care about getting it right. The food was one of the best parts of the wedding thanks to Jenn and her team. If you’re looking for good people and the most magical spot to make the promise of a lifetime before your family and friends? This place is next to none. 10/10 stars. You won’t be disappointed. We’re 6 months out and already eager to plan a vow renewal so we can do it all again!

ering company blew us away- our guests are still talking about how great the food was! Atiya, Jamie, and the museum staff are an absolute dream to work with, and if you are looking for the perfect wedding venue- it's the Penn Museum!

ccommodate any weird little request. Not to mention - she managed COVID and rain changes seamlessly and was on her feet with us the whole day ensuring everything went smoothly. We had our cocktail our in the Sphinx Room, dinner in the Chinese Rotunda, and dancing in the Egyptian Gallery - all equally stunning. Our ceremony was supposed to be outside in the garden but we were able to make a day of decision to move inside to Pepper Hall because of rain. The museum has an exclusive caterer but their food was delicious - especially the pass around appetizers! I can't recommend the Penn Museum or Atiya enough!

working to accommodate the little things you don't even recognize! We appreciated how timely, thoughtful, and kind they were to our guests throughout the night. Seriously, we can't highly recommend them enough, they are truly the best.

the first time and came back again for a final walkthrough, she was with us the whole time helping to determine the timeline and layouts of the spaces. The catering team, lead by Jamie, was also perfect. The food was SO GOOD, we had many guests comment that this was the best wedding food that they have ever had. Jamie was so accommodating in getting us everything that we wanted, including some special spirits for our signature drinks. I also want to mention how amazing Jamie's team is about handling allergies and dietary restrictions. We had a few guests with nut allergies, and there were no issues, even though our appetizer had nuts in it (they got different apps). Also, the pumpkin cheesecake mini dessert might be one of the best things I've ever had! Not only did guests comment on the food, but they also were really impressed with the setting. Getting married in front of a sphinx is probably the coolest thing that we will ever do. This was definitely a memorable experience for everyone.

ur guests had ever been to. The staff, both Atiya from the Museum and Jamie from the caterer CxRA, were supportive, helpful, and totally on point, while the night-of staff (servers, bartenders, security) were extremely professional and flawlessly executed the evening. We couldn't have been happier with our choice. We held our ceremony in Pepper Hall, which provided a gorgeous white marble backdrop with soft, intimate lighting and beautiful Egyptian artifacts studded throughout the guest chairs. Then we had cocktails in the Upper Egypt gallery, which guests accessed by walking through the galleries, which highlighted how truly unique the venue is. After cocktails guests were invited into the Chinese Rotunda for dinner, which was a simply stunning and spectacular surprise as it was unveiled (recommend to ask for the pipe-and-drape to hide the Rotunda from view during cocktails). Then we went back to Upper Egypt for dancing and dessert. Unfortunately the Sphinx was not yet open (it opened about a week after our wedding) but I'm sure that will provide another beautiful addition to the variety of rooms at the Museum to use in your own unique combination. Beyond the venue, the food was unexpectedly amazing!! By far some of the best wedding food and service I've ever had, and far beyond the standard catering fare. CxRA had so many amazing options to choose from for all parts of the evening. We had truly unique and memorable pass-arounds during cocktail hour, and were able to delight our guests for dinner with a special, restaurant quality meal of burrata with fall vegetables followed by short ribs (perfect for a cold fall evening), sea bass, or a delicious gnocchi dish. Everything was served in perfect unison, hot, and well-prepared. We were honestly so impressed. We got so many compliments and rave reviews from all of our guests -- what a way to highlight Philadelphia to our friends and family that came in from all over the world. The Penn Museum is highly, highly recommended!!

nstant contact throughout the pre-wedding process with reminders and advice. Penn Museum was an absolutely stunning and elegant venue that had options in terms of locations on the museum grounds (it was nice to have an indoor backup option in case of weather). Restaurant Associates provided a variety of choices in terms of food and beverages, and they were all outstanding. It will certainly be a wedding experience we wont forget and would not do any differently, in part because of Atiya and Jamie.

spaces. Our guests loved being able to view the exhibits and be surrounded by the artifacts, especially in Lower Egypt with the sphinx. Several commented that they felt like they were celebrities at a gala or 'James Bond'! We love our photos and the fact that many of our guests continue to comment on the venue and how unique it was. - Outdoor + indoor spaces for large wedding size. Other museums in the Philly area weren't able to accommodate our number of guests and still have the outdoor ceremony I had always dreamed of with an indoor reception. - Coordinators and staff. Atiya is professional, responsive, and accommodating. She was very helpful in coordinating with the different vendors on day of. We were even able to store many of our wedding decor items, including the chuppah, in her office's storage until a few days later for pickup. The security guards were also very helpful and friendly. Cons: - Layout of event spaces. You do need to navigate a bit through the museum if utilizing the most popular spaces (Warden Garden to Lower Egypt to Chinese Rotunda). While this enables guests to see exhibits, it was tough on our guests with limited mobility. There are also only a few elevators available to get from Lower Egypt to Chinese Rotunda, which is tough when there are a large number of wedding guests. - No A/C - currently the museum is getting renovated gallery by gallery and this is one of the improvements being made, but for our wedding the first week of May on a cool (60-65 degrees) day, it still got warm inside with all the lighting. Mostly felt by me, the bride, in my heavy-ish dress and by the men in tuxedos/suits. - Renovations lead to limited room/date availability. (Our preferred room for 'rain plan', which luckily we didn't need to use, was unavailable due to renovations.) - Exclusive partnerships with catering, bar options, and lighting - it can be nice to have options if you are looking to cut costs on some of these areas, especially on bar packages (the exclusive vendor did not have a 'well liquor' open bar, only top shelf liquor or wine/beer). - No free parking for guests

the ceremony The space was great And it was amazingly priced.

rgotten. Our memories are accompanied with gorgeous photos that are breathtaking and much different than regular wedding pictures. If it wasn't for Stefanie helping us plan our wonderful day, none of it would have been possible. She was attentive, informative and extremely helpful. We look forward to spending more time in the museum, taking in all of the new and upcoming exhibits and always remembering the very special day the Penn Museum played in our lives. Thank you.

along the way. The museum itself was beautiful and our guests raved about how unique and beautiful it was. My only real complaint is the lighting technician they use. We were only allowed to use one specific company which the museum has an exclusive contract with, and I was not happy with the setup. They placed our microphone underneath a tree during the ceremony and the branches were in the readers faces the entire time. Also, the lighting in one of the dancing rooms was way too bright and my cake was not lit up at all. Overall, bad quality for the money paid to the lighting company. Everything else on the museum's end went great.

asy to work with considering I planned the wedding 1000 miles away from it.

the entire event. from rain plan, to first dances, to proposed photo locations, Rachel was phenomenal at providing guidance and flexibility along the way. the museum and our wedding exceeded any and all expectations that we may have had. if you're looking for a stunning, unique, full service venue for your wedding, look no further than the Penn Museum.