Portico - Awbury Arboretum

We could not have been happier having our wedding at Awbury Arboretum. The venue is beautiful, the food was amazing, and everyone at Portico is so friendly and helpful. Special shoutout to Grace who went above and beyond helping us plan everything. She was so organized and responsive and made everything so much less stressful. We wouldn't change a thing!

Our wedding at this venue was truly magical. The whimsical garden setting made it feel like a dreamy fairytale, and everything was absolutely perfect. The staff were amazing—attentive, professional, and genuinely kind. The food was absolutely incredible, our guests are still raving about how good it was! We opted for some premium upgrades, and it was worth every penny. I’m only sad I didn’t get to try all the hors d’oeuvres and our poke station, but what I did have was amazing. It was truly the most unforgettable day, and the venue played a huge part in making it so special. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience—it was everything we dreamed of and more! When we booked the venue, an event coordinator was included, and we were lucky enough to work with Grace, who started coordinating with us about six months before the big day. From the very beginning, she was a calming presence, always ready to answer our endless questions and help shape our vision into reality. No detail was too small for her attention, and she offered thoughtful suggestions that made everything even better than we had imagined. On the day of the wedding, Grace was a true lifesaver. She ensured every detail was flawless, keeping things on schedule without ever making us feel rushed. She even made sure we had time to eat and enjoy the food, which is something most couples forget to do! Grace was incredibly attentive to all our needs and always seemed to be one step ahead, handling things we hadn’t even thought about. Thanks to her, we were able to fully enjoy the day without worrying about a single thing.

Portico and Peachtree gave us our absolute dream wedding! From start to finish, we loved the process. Touring the venue for the first time, we fell in love both with the space and with the full-service process that we knew we wanted/needed for our wedding. The value in what the team provides is amazing. Our coordinator, Micah, was a joy to work with and always incredibly helpful with us even when we took a long time to respond or make decisions. The package includes a tasting dinner about six months out from the wedding, when we knew the food would be delicious. We also got to do a wine tasting that helped us decide on which alcohol package to purchase. Finally, the value added from a team of professionals who put on beautiful events multiple times every weekend cannot be overstated. They had answers to every question and knew how to make an event run smoothly. The venue itself is beautiful - we had an August wedding, and the wildflowers around the venue are stunning. The arboretum provides a perfect backdrop for photos, and the tent and house ensure that the wedding will be beautiful even if there is rain. (We had a lot of rain the morning of our wedding, but we were able to keep it outside.) The food the day of the wedding was even better than at the tasting. All of our guests raved about the food. The cocktail food was amazing, and we loved the butlered desserts! It provided a great little break from dancing. The bartender, Jen, was exceptional. The staff overall was lovely and made sure that we had the best time. It also was amazing that they provide a dignitary (ours was Taylor, who was lovely!) to ensure that you get to enjoy everything. She had drinks and food ready for us at all times. Overall, we loved our experience with Portico and would highly recommend booking your wedding there. It was everything we could have imagined.

After picking Portico as our venue, we knew the day would be beautiful given how stunning and whimsical the venue was; however, the entire experience of working with peachtree far exceeded our expectations. They made things beyond easy and took care of so much. Our planner, Grace, walked us through the process step by step and was available to answer any questions leading up to the day. She was organized, accommodating, and genuine. She made wedding planning truly enjoyable. On the day of the wedding, every single peachtree team member was incredible and helped make the day perfect. Many of our guests commented on how delicious the food/drinks were and how wonderful the peachtree staff members were. The day flowed perfectly and was truly more amazing than I could have possibly imagined. I am so so happy that we chose Portico for our big day and you will be too!

As a newly wed, I don’t feel like I can accurately describe how magical our wedding venue was, but here I go! To start, my now husband & I are a NY couple who instantly fell in love with Portico Awbury Arboretum. We knew immediately that this was our dream wedding venue coming to life. I always knew I wanted to get married at a venue that cared for nature, trees & the environment. Not only did Portico celebrate & care for nature, but they created a beautifully unique space & venue for brides who appreciate, love & respect nature to celebrate their wedding ceremonies there. This was one of the most magical places I’ve ever experienced .. there is just something special about Portico. I still don’t have the accurate words for it. Our wedding day, we were blessed to have the sun shining (with zero humidity), birds chirping, happy trees & a beautiful green wonderland. Our guests are still absolutely & completely blown away by how beautiful, amazing & unique Portico was! We specifically want to describe how important our particular wedding coordinator, Grace was & still is to us. Grace went above & beyond for us since the moment we started interacting with her. Grace was consistently supportive, organized, validating, professional, kind, loving & made sure that we had every single thing that we wanted & needed. Though we absolutely recognize it took a Peachtree village to make our wedding vision come to life, Grace was genuinely the person in our opinion who brought our absolute dream wedding a complete & total reality. Grace made it completely magical. I was, still am, & will always be completely blown away by how beautiful our day was. Not only was she involved in each detail (& trust me, as a bride, you tend to become very detail oriented!) but she consistently took care of us, our families, our bridal parties & of course, all of our guests. Grace made sure that we ate, drank our signature cocktails, stayed hydrated & did everything that we wanted to do that day. Grace did a phenomenal job coordinating, communicating & planning with each & all of our vendors throughout the entire process. When an unexpected detail beyond anyone’s control happened (as things do in life!) Grace completely handled, fixed & advocated for me. Grace kept me calm, and more importantly, in a lot of my key memory moments I will always credit Grace for being the one to have made those possible. Grace is a wedding vendor who was difficult to say goodbye to after the wedding is over! As a bride, it was important to me to honor my loved ones who I recently lost. Grace put so much love, respect & professionalism into ensuring each memorial in honor of my loved ones was set. Grace was so kind in ensuring what I felt comfortable with. For anyone who is grieving, small details like that, having someone like Grace means a whole lot. From the moment I walked into my bridal suite the morning of our wedding, Grace was already there; happy, calm & ready to go. Each moment of our wedding day, Grace was right there, happily coordinating. Grace helped ensure my in-laws, who require ADA compliance, were completely comfortable & taken care of. Right before our phenomenal DJ announced my husband & I for the first time, I remember looking at Grace, who was beaming like we were. I hope I am painting the picture of exactly the venue & the wedding coordinator that a bride & group would want & be truly lucky enough to have on their wedding day. Being a “long distance bride” I had to have so much trust & faith with my vendors. With Portico Awbury Arboretum & Grace, I could not have wished for a better experience. We do not have the accurate words to thank you, Portico & Grace, but, we genuinely thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for creating our dream wedding! XO Gillian & Paul

We loved our wedding at Portico! Portico is also an absolutely beautiful location, and our guests raved about the venue, the food, and the drink. Being able to get ready on-site with the bridal party was also a huge plus for us - it really felt like we were able to relax and enjoy the day without the stress of transferring between locations. We worked with Grace, who was quick, responsive, and helpful throughout our planning process and day of - we never felt like we were adrift in the wedding planning ocean with Grace by our side! We could not have imagined our day at any other venue, and would highly recommend working with the Peachtree team.

We got married in October and are super still thinking about how beautiful the venue is--and how good our food was! Grace was a lifesaver a dozen times during the day and was super communicative and awesome leading up to our wedding. If she's your coordinator, you're in expert hands. The house was the perfect backdrop to the ceremony, cocktail hour stage, and dance floor. Guests loved the fire pit and, generally, loved the opportunity to walk around the grounds. The bartenders were great and guests told us later how much fun they had with everyone working there! We truly can't think of a downside to Portico and haven't regretted our choice for a second.

The venue is beautiful, with a tent and lovely porch and indoor space that we used due to rain. We couldn't have asked for a more magical evening, with a beautiful setting and string lights hung everywhere to enhance the scenery and the historic house. Peachtree Catering did a great job, making the evening super easy with no issues and smooth timeline transitions. The food was spectacular, and they were flexible with us since a family member provided the cake and flowers. Jen, our wedding attendant, was especially attentive and wonderful! Overall, a great experience.

Had a great wedding here in June. The venue is just so beautiful and unique with its various spaces and luscious green landscapes. Our guests loved the venue as well as the food and the service from the Peachtree staff. We got many compliments. The Peachtree coordinator was also easy to work with. We didn't need an outside coordinator. I'd highly recommend.

We couldn't be happier with how our wedding day at Portico/Awbury Arboretum turned out. We knew we wanted something in an outdoor setting, and the venue is absolutely gorgeous, in a more wild, natural way. The outdoor ceremony set-up, reception tent, plus historic house with wrap-around porch were the perfect setting. Our family and friends couldn't stop commenting on how nice the venue was. Peachtree catering was amazing, and we had multiple foodie friends compliment all aspects of the catering service. Lindsay, Karina, and the entire staff were so friendly, professional, and competent, that they made it a wonderful experience. Even with the threat of extremely stormy weather, they were able to accommodate our wish for an outdoor ceremony (when it cleared), and were so flexible to work with us to include our 3 dogs in the outdoor ceremony as well. Our guests included children, and we had the option to set up lawn games in one outdoor area, which was great. Our coordinator Lindsay was amazingly helpful-- so organized, professional, and friendly. We are pretty low-key people and weren't sure we wanted a traditional big wedding and the stress of planning that goes along with it, but Lindsay's organizational skills and guidance kept us on track from the start. We really relied on her expertise during the planning process, plus her calm demeanor kept us feeling stress-free. All in all, we had the best wedding day, and highly recommend Portico.

Portico at Awbury Arboretum was a wonderful venue for my September wedding and I wish we could do it all over again! If you’re looking for an outdoor venue in the Philadelphia area, Portico is a gem to consider. My husband and I danced around several ideas early on in planning, from a destination elopement in Montana, to a wedding in Center City with cocktail vibes, but once we toured the Arboretum with Fallyn we felt at home and fell in love with the romantic woodsy setting. We liked the idea that our guests would have multiple spaces to explore, from the house, to the charming wrap around porch, the fire pit area, the tent in the backyard, and the magical grounds. On our wedding day, both our Coordinator Grace and the Event Manager Kate made us feel at ease and ran everything smoothly. The food was excellent and the staff were so professional that our guests couldn’t stop complementing them! A quirky detail that we noticed while looking at other outdoor venues, was that most use plastic or wood folding chairs. Portico uses white folding chairs for the ceremony and solid chivari chairs for the reception. This was important to us as we were recently at a beachy tent wedding and 3 or 4 guests fell on the floor during dinner because folding chairs broke underneath them. You don’t want that on your wedding day! Another detail we liked was that their flooring underneath the tent was a slate floor, vs. fake pop-up wood flooring or grass. The venue is newer to the wedding scene, and you can see they have invested more into the property over the past few years. With that said, the only con we noticed about the space (which is an easy fix) is that the groom’s suite needs an AC unit for Summer weddings! The main part of the house and the huge bridal suite upstairs are air conditioned, but the groom suite in the back of the house is not. Overall we loved Awbury! <3

We recently hosted a micro wedding at Portico, and couldn't have asked for a better venue, food and team. This was a destination wedding for us, and we booked everything without a site visit, thanks to the videos and calls we had beforehand. We were not disappointed when we saw the venue a few days before the wedding (even in the winter!) The house and grounds are very charming. We had a great time, and our families kept commenting on how lovely everything was. Our event was completely Gluten Free due to a guest with celiacs, and the catering team pulled it off seamlessly. The service was excellent and the food was delicious. I really appreciated the individual attention as a bride, and the way the team helped pack up and break things down once it ended.

My husband and I live in Seattle, but are from Philadelphia and wanted to get married in our home town. We actually booked our Wedding date at Portico without ever seeing in in person. We took a leap of faith after seeing an excellent video tour by Fallyn and when we finally did get to tour it in person it was exactly as beautiful and unique as we expected . Stephanie was excellent during the planning process, especially since I was planning form across the country. She made great suggestions for the flow of the day based on the layout of Portico, like doing out first dance later in the evening on the side porch which I'm so glad we did. The wedding day couldn't have gone smoother, the staff that day was superb- I wish I got everyone's name. Guests couldn't stop talking about how great the food was and how much they loved the space. I'm so happy we chose this venue for our day !

We hosted a small intimate brunch to celebrate our elopement over the weekend and I can not praise Portico and the entire Peachtree team enough. From the very beginning speaking with Fallyn, to meeting Lindsay our day of coordinator, and the service from the AMAZING bar and wait staff was perfection. I had envisioned a garden party brunch and they delivered exactly that. We had the best time and if you’re looking for a tucked away, beautifully maintained space with impeccable service than Portico at the Awbury Arboretum is the way to go!

I wish we could get married all over again just to spend more time at Portico. They made every single part of the process completely seamless. From booking to planning to day-of and after. A huge part of our incredible experience was our coordinator, Stephanie Giuzio. From the day we met, I knew she 100% understood our vision for our day and did everything she could to bring it to life. Her prompt communication, professionalism, and obvious experience made her my go-to person for so many decisions. The day of our wedding, she kept me calm, kept our wedding party and family in order (no small feat!) and made the whole experience so fun, while also perfectly coordinating arrival times, set up, and tear down of all of our vendors. Our dedicated attendant, Jen, was also a godsend. She made sure my husband and I had everything we needed day-of, from making sure we ate to checking for loose bobbypins in my hair. She was poised, professional, and able to anticipate our needs even before we did. I don't know what we would have done without her. The venue itself is STUNNING. My bridesmaids and I got ready in the bridal suite and it was so special. The grounds were meticulous, everything was so clean, and it was so easy for all of our vendors to set up quickly with no hitches. Lastly, the food was AMAZING. Peachtree went above and beyond—we had so many guests come up to us during and after the wedding raving about the food and the service. We couldn't be happier with our experience at Portico and with Peachtree Catering. Would 10/10 recommend to anyone!!

This was the absolute perfect wedding venue for our garden-inspired, vintage wedding theme! Portico is one of those hidden gems that no one knows about but when they see it, you can't stop hearing about it. I cannot count how many of our guests said, "how did you find this place? It's beautiful!" Lindsay (our event coordinator) was wonderful to work with. She answered all of our questions timely and was very patient and understanding as we added and subtracted people at the last minute as well as additional beverages, added time to the bridal suite, etc. We also had the most exceptional wait staff, especially Ashley (our head server)! She was hustling all night to make sure my husband and I had any and everything we would need. She was always 10 steps ahead! Since I was completely clueless about wedding planning the best advice I can give is to accept that you are going to go over budget as there are little details here and there you don't count in. Also - if you're considering the outdoor market lights, DO IT. I was hesitant when I saw the cost but let me tell you, it make the whole experience come together beautifully. I regret nothing! I actually cried a few days after our wedding because I wanted to come back and do it all over again! Portico is a magical place with amazing staff. I would re-marry my husband all over again if it meant I get to get married here again!

We loved our wedding at Portico Awbury Arboretum. The Cope House is so charming and the grounds of the arboretum are lovely, perfect for the tree-filled garden wedding we dreamed of. We also love that the arboretum itself is free and open to the public, so we know we’re supporting a community green space, and we can continue to visit for anniversaries to come! As for the service from the Peachtree team, the food was good and we had many guests compliment the h’or d’oeuvres and desserts in particular. There was a wide variety of items to choose from when selecting our menu (including Asian-inspired h’or d’oeuvres that even our Asian families were satisfied with). We also appreciated getting drinks and a plate of appetizers brought to us in the bridal suite immediately after the ceremony, so that we could enjoy them in a quiet moment by ourselves before rejoining the guests downstairs. The downsides were that food service ran a bit behind during dinner (though we did have 150 people, which is close to capacity for the venue), and I will say that there were many additional charges/upgrades that came up, such as extra time for getting ready in the bridal suite and lights for the outdoor area, so make sure you still have extra room in your budget after factoring in the base catering cost.

My wife and I got married with around 100 guests in attendance at the Cope House on the Awbury Arboretum property (Portico) in September 2022. The entire staff has been an absolute PLEASURE to work with! From our very first inquiry the team was responsive, easy to reach, friendly, excited, clear and punctual. There were a few changes of hand in terms of communication, but we always felt supported and the Event Coordinators and Catering Team were always ready to answer any and all questions. The staff were professional, friendly, communicative and a joy to be around. The setting is seriously unbeatable and all our Philly-area guests were blown away by the garden oasis in such proximity to city living! Guests raved about the food, the ambiance and the service. All of our decor was arranged by staff, packed up and cared for. Communication with other vendors was prompt and effective. The ONLY downsides are that the downstairs getting-ready area could use air conditioning and is not equitable to the upstairs area and the parking situation is a bit far from the ceremony/reception site outside of the 15 VIP spots (which we were aware of prior to booking!). I cannot recommend Portico enough - from the 18 months of planning and the actual wedding day, the experience was flawless.

Portico was amazing. Our guests loved the ambience, the food was delicious, and possibly most important, the communication all along the way was superb. We had SO many questions, and we were assigned Stephanie as our coordinator who answered all of our many many questions along the way. I've heard so many people say that you don't actually get to eat on your wedding day, but this was not the case for us! The staff brought us our cocktails and one of each buttlered hors d'oeuvres as soon as we walked out of the ceremony! They made sure we were well fed and had a fresh cocktail as needed! A day of issue/miscommunication arose and Stephanie worked it out like it was nothing. The whole staff was so personable and wonderful, and all of our guests loved them. Our guests were telling us how much fun they had with the staff. Unfortunately my father had a medical issue during the reception and the staff went above and beyond tending to him and caring for him, making sure everything went as smoothly as possible. We truly couldn't have asked for more responsive, caring and attentive people to help us through the planning and the craziness of the wedding day :) If you go with Portico/Peachtree Catering you will not be disappointed!

This is such a beautiful space. It was a natural oasis right outside the city. Our ceremony and reception were wonderful. The only negative was our experience working with Stephanie. I still have the vendor 5 stars because it was my own fault for not speaking up and requesting a different planner. Stephanie did the job but did not go above and beyond. Getting information out of her about things like linens, chairs, additional costs was like pulling teeth. I had to constantly ask for the information as she was not forthcoming with it. Luckily I had phenomenal maid and matron of honors who helped the day of the wedding. Unfortunately that meant that I got to spend less time with them. Again, my fault for not switching planners. I even asked Stephanie to help with providing the information but this was not terribly effective. Regardless, this venue is gorgeous!! I am still so happy we had our day here. The food was truly the best wedding food I’ve had. Still so happy with our day

Our wedding reception was beautiful and the food was amazing! If we had to do it again, I'd redo it at Portico and try to slow down time because the day flew by so quickly. Stephanie, Fallyn, and the whole Peachtree team were so helpful and accommodating in planning our reception from across the country, even taking the time to record video tours for us. Stephanie was very flexible and attentive onsite the day before and day-of our event.

We had a perfect wedding all the way from the staff,the venue,the food it was all perfect. They took care of me and my wife. The staff was so nice and helpful and willing to help with anything you need. The venue was beautiful Oct 15th all outdoors ceremony. Couldn’t of ask for a better place. Thank you

My husband and I were so pleased with our wedding day at Awbury. We're not exactly great planners and felt pretty overwhelmed with the wedding process, but everything ran so smoothly on our wedding day and the staff at Awbury were the primary reason. Additionally, they were all so friendly and kind to us and a number of our guests commented on how wonderful they thought the staff were. Most importantly, the grounds were absolutely beautiful. If you can, get married in the fall there!

We had an absolutely perfect day at Portico. Our venue coordinator, Stephanie, and her team went above and beyond to make the day go smoothly. For example, it started raining at 4:00 and our ceremony was at 4:30. Stephanie was immediately on her weather app, looking at the radar and talking me through my options. And when it stopped raining at 4:25, the staff ran out and wiped off the chairs and made my outdoor ceremony a reality. Listen, I know weddings aren't cheap, but you get what you pay for. We spent more than we had originally planned and I was constantly worried about how much everything was costing us. But at one point during dinner, my now husband and looked at each other and we both said "This was so worth it, I don't even care how much it all cost." And honestly, for how good the day went, we probably would have paid a lot more at another place. The venue is beautiful, food is tasty, staff is friendly and hard working, and the support I got from Stephanie in the months/weeks leading up to the event was unparalelled!

We loved our Oct 2 wedding at Awbury Arboretum and will try to summarize the many reasons here! We loved the woodsy outdoor feel that was also in a super accessible location, and that our site fee would be supporting a local park. Portico does not feel like a place that churns out weddings - I felt like our day was truly our own even though we had all expertise and amenities built in from the Peachtree team. We loved working with Stephanie throughout the planning process and miss her already! I also have to add that Peachtree was kind and flexible beyond expectation when it came to handling COVID. We decided to push a whole year from Fall 2020 to Fall 2021 and faced no penalty or stress from Peachtree. We can't say thank you enough for that. Highlights: enchanted outdoor space, beautiful tent with slate floor & bistro lights, beautiful suites for getting ready, delicious food, fun and professional staff, gorgeous wraparound porch for cocktail hour. Writing this review makes me want to do it all over again!

Cannot recommend this venue enough! The Cope House is beautiful and full of character, and the outdoor space at Awbury is absolutely gorgeous. Fallyn and Lindsay were our contacts at Portico and both were incredibly helpful, friendly, and prompt in all of their communications leading up to the day. Venue staff was professional and friendly on our wedding day, and made sure my partner and I were fed and generally taken care of during a hectic day. Awbury was the perfect spot for the fun and low-key wedding of our dreams, and we are so grateful to the venue staff for their flexibility and support.

My daughter got married yesterday! The venue was magical! Fallyn and her staff were perfection. Attention to detail, friendliness, and their professionalism made the day exactly how my daughter had envisioned it. The food was delicious, and everything from the bridal suite to the end of the night fire pit was on point!! I highly recommend this venue, and Fallyn and her staff! Every email, and every phone call leading up to wedding was promptly answered by Fallyn that same day. We truly felt that Fallyn and her staff wanted my daughters day to be just as special as we did.

Our wedding was held at Awbury Arboretum on Sunday, October 18th, 2020 outside in the meadow! The location was beautiful, affordable, and very accommodating! Linsday Keane, my event coordinator at Awbury Arboretum was great - she had awesome customer service skills, was very responsive with all emails, phone calls, text messages and she was very professional! Lindsay went above and beyond! The venue also worked well with all of our vendors! Our special day in unfortunate worldly circumstances was nothing short of AMAZING!

Awbury Arboretum holds such a special place in my heart. Not only are the grounds and the Francis Cope house absolutely gorgeous but working with Branda, was so effortless and wonderful- she made sure all of our needs have been taken care of and it shows that she truly cares about her couples and taking great care of Awbury. I cannot recommend this venue enough to couples looking for an outdoor venue.

We had a beautiful wedding at Awbury this September. We liked Awbury because it's close to our home, allowed us to DIY many aspects, and was a beautiful location. We liked the mix of indoor and outdoor spaces which created a nice flow to the day. We had our ceremony off the side porch, cocktail hour on the front porch, dinner in the tent on the patio, and dancing in the parlor. The property has lots of green space for photographs. Branda, their site coordinator, is a joy to work with and Robin was there the whole day. Do keep in mind that you will have to rent most of your furniture and a tent. We had to do all of the setup the morning of, so consider booking extra time if you have substantial decor.

Venue was great! Branda was fabulous to work with and very accommodating. It was so beautiful! A great spot for someone doing more of a DIY wedding. I loved working with them and would highly recommend!

My husband and I were looking for a wedding venue that would accommodate our large wedding (around 170), but that would still be flexible and allow us to create the event that we wanted. It turns out this is a difficult ask, but Awbury fit the bill! They were very flexible and Branda, who was our point of contact, was incredibly helpful through every step of the process. No question was too small for her. We had our ceremony on the wrap around porch, and fit all of our guests under a tent on the newly paved patio behind the house. I was worried it would feel small, but Branda suggested a solution of adding a second adjoining small tent for the bar, and it worked beautifully. There are some quirks given that Awbury is in a residential neighborhood - the reception needed to end at 9:00 and Awbury is necessarily serious about keeping the DJ speaker noise level down out of respect for the neighbors. However, people were happy and the 9:00 end time didn't feel too early. We rented a large airbnb in the neighborhood for the weekend (so many beautiful houses!) with some out-of town friends, and just brought the celebration back there! It was perfect.

We stumbled on Awbury when we were looking for a wedding venue, and were delighted with it from start to finish. Branda was responsive, thoughtful, and made the experience worry-free. We received constant compliments from our guests about how unique the space was, and it was beautiful in the fall foliage. I would get married there again in a heartbeat.

Beautiful Venue. I received complements all night long about how picturesque the venue was. The staff were wonderful to work with from beginning to end. They offer different tiers that fit a variety of budgets. Highly recommend.

We chose Awbury Arboretum for our ceremony. The grounds are gorgeous! It rained on our wedding day, but the inside of the Francis Cope house is beautiful. Awbury is an oasis in Philadelphia. Branda, the manager, is great at what she does! She responded to every email/ silly question that I had.

Awbury Arboretum was the perfect wedding venue. The grounds and the Cope House are stunningly beautiful - you really can't ask for a more picturesque setting if you want an outdoor, rustic wedding. Branda, the manager, was really easy to work with. You can tell that she loves the arboretum and takes a lot of pleasure in helping people plan events there. The flexibility to bring in your own caterer really allows you to have a personalized wedding. The constraints of the kitchen space in the Cope House can be challenging for a caterer, but we spoke with multiple caterers from Awbury's list of preferred companies, and it wasn't a problem for us to find several different catering options. The combination of the indoor space in the Cope House, the porches surrounding the house, and the paved patio make for a really lovely atmosphere and allow you to have an outdoor wedding while still offering your guests some comforts of indoors. We got a lot of compliments from our guests about how gorgeous the grounds and Cope House were. The arboretum also has a really great mission, and it was cool to get married in a spot that values the surrounding community. This place is a hidden gem in the Philly wedding scene!

Awbury arboretum was the perfect place for our outdoor summer wedding, it made our photos look incredible and all our guests loved it too! Branda is also such a wonderful person to work with, she always got back to me so fast with every inquiry and question I had. Thank you so much everything Branda!

Awbury Arboretum was the perfect venue for our wedding, and Branda was beyond helpful throughout the entire process. My husband and I planned our wedding remotely from Chicago, and were looking for a relaxed, outdoor/indoor, inexpensive venue that wasn't too difficult for our guests to get to (including those flying into town)-- Awbury was all that and more. Branda was responsive to our emails and helped us plan from afar. One of the best bonuses is that Awbury is a public arboretum that is free to visitors and provides a lot of great community programming, so we knew that the cost of renting the facility for the day was going to help support their great mission. Since you rent the Francis Cope House along with the surrounding grounds, we reserved the facility from 10am-10pm, which gave us plenty of time to decorate/set-up, as well as the ability to get ready with our wedding party in different rooms in the house. I even had our hair stylist come to us (Molly from Salon Manivanh), which gave me some added time and flexibility to help with decorations before it was time for me to hide out upstairs and get ready. The house has recently been updated to have air conditioning throughout, which made it possible for us and our guests to make it through a hot outdoor wedding in July. ;) There were two Awbury staff members present throughout the day to answer questions, make sure things went okay, and assist guests with parking (note: they were not there to fulfill the role of a wedding planner). If you're looking for a super fancy, up-to-date-looking place where everything will be taken care of for you, this may not be the right venue for you. However, my husband and I found it to be an affordable, beautiful, vintage-looking location that gave us a ton of flexibility in how we set things up and decorated. We had our ceremony outside (I processed out through the front doors of the house), and our reception (of about 100 people) was held under a (rented) tent next to the house. We were able to incorporate yard games into our reception, and later the tent and beautiful wrap-around porch allowed us to still have a wonderful evening outdoors despite the fact that it rained. Much of the wedding planning itself (including table, chair, and tent rentals) was done through a separate catering company (we loved Cricket Catering), and they were the ones who helped us with most of the planning and logistics. One other potential downside was that we could only play music until 9pm since the arboretum is in a residential area, so we didn't really have the option of extending our reception later than that. However, we picked a nearby restaurant/bar (Iron Hill Brewery in Chestnut Hill) for guests to go to afterward, and they were easily able to accommodate the roughly 40-50 people who headed over for a fun, informal "after party" with me and my husband. In conclusion, we highly recommend Awbury, and Branda and her staff were great!! :)

Our experience at Awbury couldn't have been better; we had a a small but elegant wedding on Halloween, and were looking for an outdoor space with an indoor option. As it turned out we used both the indoor and outdoor space! The staff could not have been more accommodating of our various needs (we were doing the decorating ourselves), and communication was airtight. The only thing that was unclear was whether or not they provided chairs; while they do have chairs for small events, we ended up opting to do a 55 chair rental to have all our chairs be matching. The space is really beautiful for small intimate weddings!

Our caterer recommended Awbury and we were so thrilled they were available for our October date. It was a beautiful setting for our outdoor wedding and backdrop for photos. Branda was wonderful throughout the whole planning process and had great suggestions with her vast experience coordinating events at Awbury.

We booked Awbury for our (very) DIY Wedding. We were not looking for the typical banquet hall or country club for our wedding, and there were a lot of things we wanted to customize to make our wedding unique. Awbury was able to accomodate that with ease. The space was beautiful, relaxed and comfortable. We felt like we were at the home of a friend of the family. The staff was very kind and helpful, even allowing us to store items prior to our wedding. They were very flexible with times and scheduling. Branda was very responsive and had the answers to all of our questions. Awbury was even able to accomodate a meeting with all of our vendors prior to the wedding and Branda was ready with all of the answers for us and our other vendors. This venue was fully customizable (within reason). The site was beautiful and created the perfect day for our wedding. We have already recommended this venue to our friends. Check this place out! It is a hidden gem in the Philadelphia area.

We had a very untraditional wedding so having a wedding at the Awbury Arboretum in the middle of the winter wasn't as unusual as you would think! We know, most people want to have their big day outside on the beautiful grounds surrounding Frances Cope House ... Not us! The day before the wedding we had bad weather including snow and ice. When we showed up for the big day they already had the entire area plowed and salted! We set tables and decorations up in the parlors while our caterer, Blue Monkey Catering, was busy at work setting up in the entrance hall and side room which provided ample space for our Hors d'oeuvre and buffet spreads. As our guests arrived through the main doors they could feel the history and splendor of this grand old house. The folks at Awbury were gracious and accommodating to our needs. There were the perfect hosts.

We wanted a beautiful outdoor but informal wedding venue where we could have the ceremony and reception. We had guests traveling into Philadelphia from many other cities and we didn't want to subject our guests to too much moving around. We also needed something that had indoor space in case of rain. Awbury has extensive grounds that are beautiful, and a stunning house that is part of the rental package. The first floor has two giant rooms with huge windows that look out onto the gardens. There are two bathrooms, an extra room that could be used as a coatroom or caterer staging area, and a kitchen. We used the upstairs conference room with attached bathroom as a dressing room for the bridal party. There is also a wide porch on two sides of the house. We used the porch for the bar, the toasting area and for dancing--the porch has a large circular portion on the side that is perfect for dancing. We set up our dinner tables on the side of the house under the trees. Our ceremony was held behind the house in front of flowering bushes. My bridal party walked out the back door of the house, along the gravel pathway that surrounds the circular lawn, and over to the ceremony area. After the ceremony, we walked back to the porch for toasts, then did all of our photographs right there by the house. Everything was gorgeous! Our reception dinner was under the trees. The caterers set up in the front room and we used the back room for the dessert table and for our family slide show and singing (we had a lot of guest singing!). We also used the circular lawn for yard games after dinner. We had more than enough room for everything and the progression of the event from space to space was seamless. The whole Arboretum is super beautiful! There are multiple areas to use for every part of the wedding event. Guests didn't have to leave and travel somewhere else. The staff helped us set-up and clean-up afterwards.

Awbury Arboretum is a wonderful place to have an intimate but elegant event. The grounds are amazing. If you are looking for formality and manicured gardens, it is probably not for you. However, if you are looking for rustic and historic elegance, it can't be beat.

great service, loved every minute