Weddingbee Blog

Because of our status as wedding pros (award given once you’ve attended 15 weddings together—we have 32 under our belt), we had seen what we thought was every possible venue. Ballrooms, country clubs, museums, tents—you name it, we ate cake there. Each venue type we visited had its own unique benefits, and every couple made their reception truly their own through personal touches. However, since we had attended multiple weddings in each of these venue “categories,” we wanted to find something that was different. We had a few criteria when making that decision.

Primarily, we wanted the venue to be uniquely Philadelphia. Since we chose to get married in the city where we both live instead of where I grew up (as is more customary), we wanted our guests to get to know and love the city while they celebrated our marriage. Satisfying this meant finding somewhere that had gorgeous views of the city…

…or incorporated the historic aspects of the city…

The Benjamin Franklin National Memorial at the Franklin Institute / Image via The Franklin Institute

…or was completely unique to Philadelphia…

Personal photo of Boathouse Row

Our goal was to immerse our guests in the city—from hotel accommodations to activity recommendations to the reception site.

We also wanted the venue to be unique in and of itself. This meant more of a “blank slate” in terms of decor and a bit off the ballroom path. Yes, we did realize that this also meant more money…ouch.

Either way, as we went through the options available for weddings—taking into account the guest list (200) and feedback about certain locations (e.g., poor acoustics), we found ourselves a first choice…

Personal photo of the entrance

The Kimmel Center is a performing-arts center on the main thoroughfare of the city, Broad Street. It opened in 2001 to much fanfare (I was a freshman in college at the time) and has, in the past 10 years, hosted nearly every type of arts performance—from ballet to the orchestra—in its various halls. However, in our mind, the crown jewel of this building is its design.

Check.out.that.dome. We fell in love with the idea of having an open space all to ourselves, with views of both the sky and skyline. The balcony on the second floor would hold our cocktail hour, allowing guests to step outside and enjoy the hustle and bustle of Broad Street. Both unique and uniquely Philly, a blank slate and historic site in its own rite, the Kimmel Center fit perfectly in our vision for the wedding.

Lucky for us, my mom was able to visit when in town shortly after our engagement, scope out the details, and book us in May. Even better, due to some construction changes in the works, we would be allowed to have a band! It was fate. And so, within a week of having a ring on my finger, we had both a date and a venue.

What were you looking for in a venue?