We loved many things about PAFA, but most especially how welcoming and accomodating their staff is. When I first met with Kate Young, when we were first looking at venues, she made me feel immediately at ease, and very quickly suggested ways to make our wedding at PAFA special for us. Not only is it a beautiful museum, but there are two of them! Since our wedding was the only event that evening, we were able to take photographs in the historic landmark building, while our reception occured in the Hamilton building. Kate and Marissa worked tirelessly with use to coordinate with our vendors and make sure everything went off without a hitch- which it did! And you cannot beat the location on Broad Street- we were even able to sneak out to catch a photograph in the snow during the reception!

PAFA is a beautiful and elegant venue for a wedding and the staff is top notch! We loved the Hamilton Building with its contemporary elegance and lots of special space for our guests to enjoy. Everyone loved the huge cocktail area with a view of City Hall and Broad Street ( the bride and groom rushed out during the reception when it started to snow to get their picture taken with City Hall in the background with snow flakes ) and then being able to eat a spectacular meal provided by 12th Street Catering in an art gallery with a 12 piece band playing was something our guests raved about. The space is expansive, interesting, and has the elegance befitting a wedding. From our perspective , the amazing staff was just as important to us as the wonderful venue space. PAFA's expert staff Marissa Peduto and Kate Young had everything under control from the beginning to the end of the process, they were an amazing team that took all the worry out of the process. Also, a special shout out to ... Read morethe security guards who were polite , helpful, and a pleasure to work with and to Harry Pierson who expertly led the 12th Street Catering team . Kate, Marissa, and Harry worked together seamlessly. The evening was perfect with this team making it all happen!!

PAFA is exquisite. The level of class and elegance provided the perfect ambiance for our wedding. PAFA at night, is a romantic and magical place. Kate and Lauren (from Constellation Catering) are excellent. They went above and beyond. They were so kind and attentive in every way to insure we had the perfect wedding. The preplanning was meticulous and everything was executed smoothly throughout the wedding. Absolutely amazing venue and stellar people to work with for our most memorable night!

My husband and I were married November 2019 and celebrated our wedding cocktail hour and reception at PAFA's historical building. We searched all over Philadelphia for our perfect venue. Can I just say from the very first line of communication with the PAFA team, excellent 10/10 customer service. We had yet to meet a more accommodating team from the very beginning. Kate Young who became our wedding coordinator was OUT. OF. THIS. WORLD- This girl has got it. Professional, kind, funny, understanding, patient to just name a few words to describe her. She brought joy and focus to our wedding planning process when things could easily feel overwhelming. She understood our vision and goals and made sure everything was organized and executed properly. Our wedding at PAFA was a dream come true. From the stunning venue to the awesome team, I wish we could do it all over again! xoxox

We had been to PAFA’s historic building for a party about two years before we got engaged and had an absolute blast, so when we got engaged it was one of the first places we wanted to look into for our wedding. It’s such an incredibly unique space that is both very fancy but also doesn’t have a stuffy vibe. Kate Young gave us a tour and talked us through all of the options that they offered, and it was clear that the staff there would work with us to help pull off our big day. Kate McCammon took over once we were officially booked and was helpful throughout the entire process. She made us feel confident that all of the details would be handled on our big day, and I was just always really surprised by how helpful everyone was, giving recommendations about vendors and overall advice on the run of show and how to make our day perfect. For our big day, Kate M worked with us so we could get in early to take photos before our ceremony. The backdrop was just so stunning, and we even got... Read more to take some photos in front of our favorite paintings in the collection. During the entire reception, everything ran perfectly, and our friends and family were just so blown away by the space. It was such an amazing place to celebrate and have our big day, and so memorable!

If you are looking for a memorable, special, gorgeous venue for a wedding, look no further! We had our wedding at PAFA’s historic building in August and we can not be happier about our choice with the venue. I remember walking into PAFA’s historic building for the first time and I immediately fell in love with it. I did not even check other venues. The venue is so rich with art, history, and colors that it does not require any excessive flowers or lights. All our guests were amazed by the beauty of the space. I got 1000 of compliments regarding the venue. Most importantly, PAFA’s staff were incredible. They were professional, organized, friendly, and very easy to communicate with. The venue coordinator did a wonderful job coordinating with all vendors. The day went so smoothly because of her. We thank PAFA and all the staff for making our wedding day so magical. Do not think it twice, just choose PAFA!

It's hard to put into words how incredibly helpful and professional the team at PAFA is. From the moment we stepped into the space, we were greeted with kindness. Kate and her team made sure every detail was managed through the entire planning process. She followed up with EVERYTHING quickly and was solutions based the whole time. Not to mention, the venue is just stunning. We wanted to give our guests an unique experience, and because of Kate and her team, we were able to do so. PAFA will always have a special place in our hearts and we are so grateful to the team who pulled it all together.

Beautiful venue with great works of art! Staff very friendly, flexible, and professional; for our wedding they helped a lot in planning the ceremony and reception.

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA ) is a magical wedding venue. Staff worked with us to achieve our dream wedding and everything promised was delivered. We give them 7 stars and would book with them again without hesitation!

We rented the Historic Building of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, PAFA for our wedding. The building’s architecture is a fantastic backdrop to any event but especially a wedding. The beauty of the building is that you can have your ceremony and reception at the same location. We met Kate Young, the Venue Manager on a Saturday afternoon. Her demeaner, caring attitude and professionalism is what made us decide to go with PAFA. Then we met Kate McCammon, Event Coordinator and she was just as wonderful and helpful as her colleague. We never had any regrets with our decision. Both Kate’s have the experience and dedication to their work that made for a stress free and elegant wedding. They both gave you their full attention, were always on time for appointments and answered emails the same day if not within hours of receiving it. They were able to coordinate all of our vendors, had suggestions when we were stuck with a decision and made our wedding a fantasy come true. O... Read moreur guests are still talking about the venue, the staff and the food. We made the right decision hands down. We, without hesitation, would recommend PAFA for your next event.

We are so glad we chose to have our wedding reception at PAFA's Historic Landmark Building. We worked closely with Kate McCammon and Duffy's Catering (one of their two caterer options), and we also worked occasionally with Kate Young. Everyone was extremely kind, organized, quick to respond, and knowledgable. Kate McCammon shined as one of the best vendors we worked with; when it came time to organize day-of timeline details with our other vendors, I learned that Kate was already in contact with all of them and that she accomplished this huge organizational task for me. Talk about a bride's dream! Our wedding day went off without a problem, and our guests LOVED the venue (obviously, we did too). We had around 150 guests, which was the perfect number for the rotunda. The art along the walls made for beautiful decor, and an unforeseen pro of our venue choice was that we could keep our florals and other decorations simple (and more affordable) so that PAFA's art could shine. Our guests al... Read moreso enjoyed having two galleries opened during the dancing portion, so that any one who needed a break from dancing could mingle and enjoy the art. We had our Photobooth in one of the side galleries, which encouraged people to continue enjoying the art. Our first look was in the cast room and our family photos were in a portrait room, and you can see from the pictures that ALL the areas PAFA has to offer will be gorgeous during the wedding day and in the photos afterward. If you want classy, glamorous, and professional at an affordable and competitive venue price, then I highly recommend PAFA. We would choose PAFA over and over again if we could.

The venue was absolutely beautiful and the ladies at PAFA were so helpful and accommodating. It was perfect for our small wedding. Great place for photos because of the beautiful art and architecture.

We loved our wedding at PAFA! The space was beautiful, and all the staff members were wonderful - they gave us truly a perfect day.

We loved PAFA! The older portion of the museum was a gorgeous place for our ceremony, and the new portion was the perfect elegant site for our reception!