About this vendor
Your history begins at the Penn Museum! With breathtaking galleries, beautiful gardens, a dedicated staff and international caterer--we are here to help create the wedding of your dreams! Priceless Artifacts + Unique Venue = Amazing Events!
Amenities + details
Ceremony Area
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
On-Site Accommodations
Outdoor Event Space
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Covered Outdoors Space
Liability Insurance
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Settings
- Ballroom
- Garden
- Historic Venue
- Museum
Venue Service Offerings
- Bar & Drinks
- Cakes & Desserts
- Other Desserts
- Food & Catering
- Service Staff
Awards and Affiliations
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
4.8
out of 5.019 reviews
We are SO happy we had our wedding at the Penn Museum. Liz, Atiya, and the rest of the team were incredibly responsive and accommodating throughout the planning process. On the day...
of, Liz was an amazing resource to have around at wedding day and I always felt calm knowing she was there to field any last minute requests. The team was so flexible when we needed to use our rain plan and it ended up being even more gorgeous than we could have imagined having the full wedding inside! It’s an amazing venue to book when you don’t want to have to rely on Philly weather to be perfect on your wedding day. The guests couldn’t stop talking about how special the museum was and how much fun they had in the spaces. Dinner in the Chinese Rotunda really blew our guests away. I never expected to have such fond memories from the security at our wedding but they were also amazing! They were helpful in directing our guests and brought so much good energy and positivity to the wedding.
Grace and the team at CxRA also did an absolutely incredible job with catering our wedding! Start to finish, the experience was excellent. The table set ups looked amazing, the staff was incredible, and the experience was just so smooth. They worked closely with us on floor plans to make sure the setups were exactly as we wanted, and then seamlessly executed changes when we needed to use a rain plan. The bartenders were mixing up amazing drinks and there were never lines for the bars despite us having a big crowd of guests. The food was SO delicious - from the small bites, to starters, to entrees, to desserts and we had multiple guests tell us it was the best wedding food they had ever had! By the end of it, I felt like Grace was a friend of mine at the wedding celebrating with us! Can’t recommend the Penn Museum and CxRA enough.
My husband and I got married at the Penn Museum on September 24th, 2022 and have nothing but great things to say about the venue and the venue team - Atiya and Jenn from Restaurant...
Associates. Atiya was incredibly professional and helpful throughout the planning process. The venue itself was perfect for an early fall wedding. Our guests couldn't stop talking about how amazing the venue - super unique and beautiful - and food were. We loved the fact that we could have an outdoor ceremony and cocktail hour and not feel like we were in the city. Additionally, the Chinese Rotunda was such a grand space to invite our guests to dinner. Overall, the Penn Museum is an amazing and memorable location for a wedding in Philadelphia!
We had a spectacular wedding at the Penn Museum in October 2021 and can't imagine it being anywhere else. Atiya was great walking us through our multiple covid delays and was extre...
mely responsive and understanding to our requests and concerns. The layout of the museum is extremely conducive to a great wedding experience. The Chinese Rotunda was a jaw dropping backdrop to dinner and the location of dancing and the bar helped the wedding have a very nice flow. We received numerous compliments on the food and passed apps from CxRA, who provided us with extensive options to chose from and executed the service perfectly. We would highly recommend the Penn Museum! It is a unique oasis in the city and the event staff are all wonderful.
We are so happy that we went with the Penn Museum for our wedding venue. The Warden Gardens was gorgeous for the ceremony and cocktail hour. The guests were SO wowed by the Chines...
e Rotunda and Egyptian Gallery for the reception. Guests kept coming up to us and saying this was the coolest wedding venue they’ve ever been to! The events team was awesome - Atiya and Angela answered all our questions and were so helpful. Jenn on the CxRA catering team was very accommodating and the food was delicious - like the best wedding meal ever, definitely recommend getting the arancini appetizer! We can’t say more positive things about the venue and the team.
Wow! That was the first word out of everyone’s mouth when they saw how beautiful our reception looked. Wow! That was the first word out of everyone’s mouth when they saw the soarin...
g lights and beauty of the Chinese Rotunda at our dinner. Wow! That was the first word out of my mouth when I saw how beautiful our wedding looked in our photos. All of those jaw dropping wow moments were thanks to Atiya and the truly incredible team at The Penn Museum. We wanted something special and different for our wedding and the venue sets the tone for the whole day. From the first day of planning with Atiya right through dancing the night away at our reception surrounded by ancient Egyptian artifacts, the Penn Museum delivered the wedding of our dreams. Atiya and her team made sure every little detail was perfect and just how we dreamed it up. When the rain came and forced us to move half of our wedding festivities inside, they were so accommodating and helpful to make it look like we planned it all that way from the beginning.
And everyone is still talking about how amazing the food was! Jenn and her team at CxRA stole the show with their mouthwatering catering from beginning to end. Right from the beginning with the tasting, Jenn made sure everything was exactly as we wanted. She made every little menu adjustment we requested and made sure that all of the many dietary restrictions of our guests were strictly respected to ensure everyone got to properly enjoy the amazing food. They even made a point to clean the fryer before making our gluten free fried food to ensure there was no cross contamination. That’s attention to detail. And every member of the wait staff was so incredibly friendly and attentive.
If you want a boring banquet hall style wedding, then look somewhere else. If you want a truly special wedding venue for your special day, then look no further. Atiya, Jenn, and the team at the Penn Museum can deliver you the wedding of your dreams just as they did for us.
Where to even begin- the Penn Museum as a wedding venue was an absolute dream. The space is like nothing else which made it all the more special. We worked with Jenn and Atiya from...
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!
To say that the Penn Museum went above and beyond would be an understatement. This venue and their dream team were exceptional, Attiya and Jenn in particular!
First - the Museum ...
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!
The Penn Museum was an absolute dream venue. Atiya and the whole team made the entire planning process so easy and beyond enjoyable. And not only is the venue gorgeous, but the cat...
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!
What a GORGEOUS and unique venue! Our guests raved about the galleries. Atiya was so professional, responsive and a joy to work with. She was happy to recommend other vendors and a...
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!
We cannot emphasize how perfect Penn Museum was for our wedding. The pricing was awesome and the accommodations were endless. The team there are experts and masters of their craft,...
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.
I cannot stress how amazing the whole team at the Penn Museum was. From the start, Hladini was extremely responsive and helped get everything situated. When we toured the venue for...
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.
The Penn Museum was the most incredible backdrop for our truly memorable and unique wedding! The venue is simply stunning and provided a backdrop to an evening unlike any wedding o...
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!!
Atiya (from Penn Museum) and Jamie (from the exclusive caterer Restaurant Associates) were an outstanding team that provided a flawless and first class experience. They were in co...
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.
Overall, we were very happy with our experience at the Penn Museum. While everything isn't perfect, the beauty of the venue outweighed the negatives for us.
Pros:
- Amazing unique...
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
Was looking for an intimate venue to host a small wedding ceremony. Booking the museum's Simple and Sweet package we had a wonderful ceremony.
Staff was very helpful in planning...
the ceremony
The space was great
And it was amazingly priced.
An amazing and beautiful museum!
We were lucky enough to be able to get married in Lower Egypt. Our ceremony (in front of the Spinx Statue) will always be a memory never to be fo...
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.
Working with the Penn Museum for my wedding was a great experience. They were in constant communication during the planning process and they accommodated all our needs and changes...
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.
Overall I loved my location for the wedding, I just wished they had a better back up place for when it rains...there really is no where to go. Otherwise it was good and they were e...
asy to work with considering I planned the wedding 1000 miles away from it.
our wedding at the Penn Museum was such a stunning event, owed in part to the gorgeous artifacts and building, but mostly to Rachel Sanders who did an amazing job at orchestrating ...
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.
Contact
3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA | Tri-State Area