As soon as I got engaged, I knew that I wanted a historic venue for the wedding. I've been going to the William Penn Inn for various special dinners over the years with family, so I already knew that the building is beautiful and the food is fa...ntastic. So they were on our short-list to visit ASAP.
We met with Caryn, who went over the packages and we quickly learned how much of a one-stop-shop they are: in-house catering, baking, and florist! They offer indoor and outdoor ceremonies and have large and small rooms to accommodate any size event. My husband's family is huge, so we knew we'd need the entire ballroom and so we booked both the Surrey and the Carriage Ballrooms. I'm also extremely anxious, and did not want to worry about the weather for an entire year, so we decided up front to do the ceremony indoors. The indoor ceremony in the Carriage Ballroom can take place in front of the stage or the fireplace; we opted for the fireplace, because it's been recently renovated and is absolutely gorgeous.
They have the planning down to a science and will contact you when the time comes for specific decisions to keep you on track. While our main contact was Caryn, we also worked with Shelley and Monica for various planning things, and Robin was our day-of coordinator. Everyone we dealt with was very nice and knowledgeable about our event so they could help us at the drop of a hat. On the day of, Robin had everything running like clockwork, which made it so much easier for us to relax and actually enjoy the day.
Kate is the florist on site, and she was wonderful to work with. I brought a handful of pictures and a vague description of what I wanted, and she turned that small bit of information into perfect floral arrangements. All I said was that I liked shorter and wider centerpieces (as a short person, I value being able to see people across the table!) and organic shapes. When we came to the trial appointment, I had no changes, she'd nailed the vision I had in mind! And when the day of the wedding got closer, she even checked in because the flowers she intended to use to achieve our color scheme seemed to be showing a little off and she wanted to make sure we'd be happy with the color.
And of course the food. Oh my goodness the food is incredible. We went with the lobster & crab imperial salmon, the chicken francaise, and the braised boneless beef short ribs. Everyone we spoke to commented on how the food at our wedding was the best they'd ever had.
I really can't recommend the William Penn Inn enough, it was the perfect venue for our absolutely perfect wedding.