The Franklin Institute Reviews

The Franklin Institute has always been my dream venue for as long as I can remember. The Franklin Institute is flat out gorgeous. It’s in the city that is near and dear to my heart. Everything about having my wedding at the Franklin Institute was perfect. Also, It was not hard to convince my husband to book this venue. My husband and I are Drexel University engineer alumni and what better place to celebrate our wedding then the best science museum in the country. Our wedding revolved around the availability the Franklin Institute. End of August it was and luckily the weekend before the “Made in America” festival.

My husband and I booked both ceremony and cocktail hour/reception services. The two main ceremony locations are the FELS planetarium and the rooftop deck. At first, we considered the rooftop deck, but after considering potential weather concerns and overall guest count, we booked the FELS planetarium. During pre wedding walk throughs, my husband and I worked with Gina and Simon on lighting options in the Planetarium from the prelude, processional, ceremony, and recessional. Massive kudos to Simon for assisting us on using custom images for our ceremony in the planetarium. In terms of the cocktail hour, the changing earth, heart, and electricity permanent exhibits were a HUGE hit. There is nothing like being able to eat, drink, and mingle among the exhibits in a private event.

My husband and I can’t express how perfect the reception was in the Franklin Hall as the Ben Franklin statue sat watch. Purchase the lighting package for the reception! Gina helped us customize the color scheme for the entire reception. We had different color configurations for dinner, dancing, and speeches. The stars projected on the marble floor for our first dance was probably our favorite part of the lighting package. My husband and I booked the luxury catering package with Levy catering (in house catering group) which allowed us to use the chivari chairs. These chairs were so worth it. Connie helped us with everything catering wise. We were able to make substitutions with alcohol, appetizers, and entrees. If we asked for something, Connie got it for us.

My husband and I are so grateful for all of the organization and flexibility Gina and Connie had during this entire process. The clear communication amongst all parties created a stress free day where we could focus on creating beautiful memories, dance the night away, and stuff our faces with delicious food. We HIGHY HIGHLY recommend booking The Franklin Institute for your reception and/or ceremony venue.

There are not enough words to express how wonderful the team at the Franklin Institute and their in-house caterer Frog Commissary made our wedding reception. It was absolutely magical from start to finish, and the planning process throughout the year leading up to our wedding was absolutely seamless. We interacted via calls and emails regularly, visited a number of times for walk throughs, decor and lighting consultations, and a tasting (we are out of state and they accommodated us SO wonderfully), and honestly just had so much FUN with the team of staff from the Franklin and Frog throughout the whole process!!! Our guests raved about cocktail hour in the exhibits as well as the big reveal into Franklin Hall, and the room looked exactly as we had imagined it, tables, lighting, and all! Kristi and Morgan got us scheduled and
booked, and our Big Day was made so special especially by Connie, Gina, and our attendants and catering staff who, please know, are some of the kindest and most helpful people we have ever had the pleasure of working with. Thank you ALL so much for your hospitality, attention to detail, and truly accommodating nature!! We feel like we could not possibly have picked a better venue for our wedding reception and feel so lucky that the FI/Frog has such an incredible team of professionals to help us see it through. Photos attached are by Daniel Moyer Photography.

Our wedding at the Franklin Institute was perfect and STUNNING!

My husband and I knew we wanted our wedding to be in Philly because it represents us as a couple since we spend so much time out and about in the city. We have no regrets with choosing the Franklin Institute as our reception venue. It was an amazing night that our guests and we will never forget!

My Mom and I booked tours at 9 different reception venues in Philly. The Franklin Institute was the first of our 9 visits. As a teacher that has had field trips at the FI, I just wasn't sure that I wanted to have my wedding at the same location that I've brought kindergarteners to for a field trip. Boy am I glad I gave it a chance. After seeing the Franklin Institute on the first day of our first visits, it was clear that every other venue paled in comparison. Sure, there were some beautiful venues but none of them came close to the unique and breathtaking elements that the FI had to offer.

You can have your cocktail hour in the brain which is so unique. We loved that our guests could have an interactive experience! It was really neat for out-of-towners as well as people that just haven't been to the FI in ages.

The light and sound package can't be beat! As your guests enter the main dining room, the lights change, a video plays and the whole reception experience transforms right before your eyes. You choose all of your light settings ahead of time and you are able to project any logos, photos or videos that you want! There are engineers on site the night of your wedding to ensure everything is running smoothly. We got lots of compliments on the slideshow we had running throughout the length of the reception.

Even more amazing than the light and sound package?! The GINORMOUS statue of Ben overlooking the most amazing night of your life.

You can't get a better dance floor than a true marble floor. We were able to line the stairs with candlelight which looked gorgeous. The chiavari chairs unfortunately aren't included but they are absolutely worth it and will make your room look amazing!

We had a representative from the FI and one from the catering company that worked together to help us plan our event. On the night of our wedding, we had a bridal attendant that was amazing! She was there for everything we needed the entire night!

We loved that there can only be one wedding per night so everyone was focused on our event and not multitasking with other weddings.

They validate parking for $7 per car which is amazing considering it's Philly. Trolleys will drop your guests off at the front steps which makes for an epic entrance!

The bathrooms are pretty ugly since they aren't a fancy venue but you can do things on your own to give them a personal touch.

There are soooooo many amazing photo opportunities throughout the FI and they give the bride/groom and photographer full access.

Lots of options as far as where you put your bars, your food stations, photo booth, etc. The food is all made from scratch from the Frog Commissary.

We had a few bumps in the road during our two year planning process but overall everything was great; our wedding day was everything we dreamed of and so much more! The Franklin Institute is an amazingly unique venue that you and your guests will rave about.

Thank you to Gina, Beth and everyone else that helped make our wedding reception the most special, amazing night of our lives. We will never forget it!!!

Our wedding at the Franklin Institute on November 10, 2019 was spectacular. People are still talking about it being the most beautiful wedding ceremony and dinner/party they had attended. The entire staff was attentive, knowledgeable, totally supportive and we didn't have to worry about a single detail from the moment of our arrival until our departure at the end of the night. I can't say enough about the entire staff and the wonderful Frog Commisary.

What a showstopper! The venue was the very first thing we searched for in preparations for our big day. Our guests were wowed with panoramic views, great location, top notch service, an amazing light show, & the coolest cocktail hour a wedding has ever seen! Weather moved our rooftop ceremony inside to the stunning Pepper Hall. We absolutely loved the beautiful bookshelves lined with votive candles for our ceremony he gigantic dark wood doors at the end of the room made for a spectacular entrance down the aisle. Beautiful views of our beloved city were visible from every window. After the ceremony, our guests were escorted to cocktail hour in Wisdom Hall & the Brain Exhibit. In the Brain, guests could climb through the two-story neural structure with lighting & sound features. A huge wow factor & perfect spot for some quick bridal party pictures!
The optional lighting package in Franklin Hall is a must! It added so much color & fun to the space & the stars displayed on the floor during our first dance were magical. With the lighting package, we could indicate which colors we wanted at which intervals throughout the night as well as display a monogram on the pillars throughout the night. Completely customizable & very much worth it!
Every step along the way we worked with very professional & helpful staff. Gina helped us organize everything- she is on top of it! We were very comfortable & felt as though we were spending our wedding budget wisely to invest in a venue that would be so memorable (& that we could visit in the future without it being weird haha). Pairing Frog Commissary catering with the Franklin is a perfect fit. They are very skilled at working together & know how to put a one of a kind event unique to each couple. The complimentary surprises we received in the mail a month after the wedding was such a treat! We look forward to visiting the Franklin Institute for many years to come to enjoy the museum as well as to remember our special day.

Not your typical ballroom/banquet hall; has character, class and awesome service! Filled with beautiful details from the high dramatic ceiling to the marble floors, the interactive rooms, the Ben statue, the lighting (get the package) ---so many compliments and didn't want our wedding to end!

We loved our wedding here! It didn't require any extra decoration and was great for adults and kids.

Amazing venue to get married. Everything ran like clockwork and the staff was at the top of their game. As smooth as a wedding could go.

The Franklin Institute was an amazing venue for our Wedding Reception! We hosted our cocktail hour in the exhibit, Your Brain, which was fun, upbeat, and classy! The reception was held in Franklin Hall, beneath the Ben Franklin Memorial statue. The space was absolutely breathtaking! The staff at the FI did an amazing job of planning the evening, and followed through with excellent customer service! Their in-house caterer, Frog Commissary, gave us a delicious variety of items to from for both our cocktail hour and our dinner. It was a great venue to host a Wedding!

My husband and I were married at the Franklin Institute in April 2015. From the moment we walked in for our initial visit until the moment we stepped out of Franklin Hall as husband and wife our experience was perfect. This venue and it's amazing team makes sure every detail is taken care of and assures that the bride and groom (as well as their families) have nothing to worry about but having fun and celebrating the day.

We held our ceremony in Fels Planetarium which provided and amazing and unique location to say our vows. I will recommend to future couples that bringing in additional lighting was key to making the planetarium perfect. Our florist was able to bring in some spot lights and it made all the difference in the world. The projections on the ceiling still came through but our family and friends could see our faces while we said I do.

If you're looking for a gorgeous, show-stopping venue for your wedding, The Franklin Institute is that place for you. Obviously my husband and I thought our wedding was the "Best Wedding Ever" but when our guests told us they felt the same way...I actually believed them!

Everything was EXCEPTIONAL!!! I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. They were very accommodating to where we wanted pictures and the cocktail hour. It was beautiful and everyone keeps talking about it.

I had my sights set on the Franklin Institute before we even got engaged and it did not disappoint. It was the perfect setting for a unique downtown wedding. Our guests loved it. Perfection

We are so glad that we chose the Franklin Institute as our wedding venue. It provided such a unique and magical experience for us and our guests! We got married in the planetarium, had cocktail hour through the exhibits, and had dinner and dancing in Franklin Hall. All of the staff is absolutely wonderful and the venue is so beautiful!

Perfect venue for a perfect night it was stunning

As an excessively nerdy couple, my then-fiance-now-husband and I couldn't have asked for a better spot for our wedding and reception than The Franklin Institute. Gina DeGiovanni and her event management team were a pleasure to work with -- responsive, creative and helpful, in coordination with our magical wedding planner (Katie/DFW Planning), they orchestrated our traditional Indian wedding (starting with a Baraat up the Pendulum Staircase with a drummer providing the soundtrack) with grace and ease. With a cocktail hour in the Changing Earth, Electricity and Human Body exhibits and a gorgeously elegant reception at the foot of Ben Franklin himself, every single one of our guests enjoyed the day!

We just had our wedding at The Franklin Institute and wanted to post about how wonderful it was! The museum is a gorgeous and unique place to get married - the architecture is amazing and you're able to mix the classic columns of Franklin Hall and the steps outside with the unique and cool aspects of the planetarium and exhibits. The lighting package is also fantastic. Gina DeGiovanni, who we worked with, was one of our favorite vendors of the whole process - kind and calm and so nice and flexible! If you want a memorable and unique venue, TFI it is!

We had our reception at The Franklin Institute (the ceremony was actually held in a nearby catholic church) and it was absolutely beautiful! When we first were deciding on where to have our reception, we stopped by the Franklin unannounced during one of our trips back east. The coordinator at that time happily came down and showed us around the rooms where the cocktail hour and reception would be held. He had all of the information at his fingertips (an iPad) so we had pictures and information available during the tour even though it was an unannounced visit! As time progressed, the coordinator ended up changing but she was just as helpful and responsive as the first!

For us, the cocktail hour was held in three side rooms where our guests played with the activities while enjoying a cocktail. The actual reception was held in the main foyer with the statue of Ben Franklin watching over us. We opted for the lighting package so we could change the lighting on the dome, windows, columns and walls throughout the event and we even had a powerpoint with pictures of our loved ones playing! My (now) husband and I, as well as all of our guests, loved the venue :) Oh and another benefit was that this venue came with the caterer so (for those planning a wedding from across the country like we did) we didn't have to go through the process of finding a caterer.

We used the Franklin and Frog Commissary for our annual Holiday party. It was both an elegant and fun evening. I was overwhelmed with the positive feedback we received about the service, the venue, the staff and the food. The Titanic exhibit is a must see! My personal experience arranging the event was that catering and guest services was responsive, helpful and a joy to work with. I can't wait to have our next event there!

unique venue location, recommend the rooftop...this is a must have!

The venue was just spectacular and breathtaking. Everyone on staff was awesome especially Gina. We will never forget our evening there.

The rooms were all set up extremely well & everyone was very kind/helpful. So many guests came up to us raving about how great our venue was that night!

The Franklin Institute was the perfect venue, and their entire team was extremely professional and helped to make sure our wedding night was spectacular! Everyone love the ambience from the dramatic starry planetarium to the fun science exhibits to the grand Franklin Hall, which made a great dance floor. Thanks to Gina, all our vendors and wedding party members worked seamlessly together and everyone knew exactly where they needed to be. Alli and Jill and the rest of the Frog Commissary Catering crew were wonderful throughout the planning process and the night of the wedding, making sure the dinner was delicious while fitting all of our dietary requests.

All our family and friends loved the food, and they loved the feeling of the venue which is unlike any other wedding or celebration we had experienced. The venue is definitely on the pricey side, but it was absolutely worth it. The lighting in Franklin Hall, the sky in the planetarium, and the ambience of the whole museum made our night beyond amazing. My now wife and I are so happy with how everything went! Thank you to all the staff at the Franklin Institute and the Frog Commissary for assembling a wonderful evening!

Our wedding (I am the mother of the groom) was held at the Franklin Institute on 09/01/19.

The venue is just so cool!!! The chuppah at the planetarium looked amazing with all the lighting!!! The location is great! Many guests said that it was the most unique place they ever attended for a wedding.

We had a lot going on with setup: personalized picture frames, bathroom baskets, table numbers, a personalized gift for the bride for the cocktail hour, a couple of fun stations for the guests. All these needed to be setup and arranged by the event team in a very short period of time. Everything was done to our fullest satisfaction and also everything was packed back for us upon leaving the venue. We also had a movie that we made to play on the TV in the Changing Earth room. Gina and the event team were accommodating for us to bring it in and try it ahead of the time. At the time of the trial I asked if we could have another TV in the Electricity room – the answer was no problem, we will get it all setup for you. And they did! The movie played in both rooms where all of our guests were able to enjoy them.

Connie and the Frog Commissary team were accommodating also to setup the gift for the bride on the table for everyone to enjoy during the cocktail hour. The food was very delicious and very nicely presented. The fish and beef were amazing! The tables were decorated beautifully and tables arranged well so that there was plenty of room for guests to sit comfortable and to dance. The lighting in the room was fabulous!

Acoustics were also great!

Family pictures were taken up on the roof and they came out beautifully

The wedding was held during the weekend of the “Made In America” concert, which made us all nervous preparing for it. Gina (the event coordinator) made sure we had directions, street closures and accommodating parking to assure everyone got in on time. Everything worked out just fine, all vendors and guests made it on time without any troubles.

The Franklin Institute made our wedding absolutely unique and all of our guests were definitely wow'ed by the ballroom! Cocktail hour throughout the exhibits was great, with everyone making weather reports and climbing through the giant heart. The lighting options for the rotunda helped change the feel during dinner vs. when the party was started. The acoustics/sound of our band was also great (they installed sound deadening panels to prevent any echoing in that huge space)!! Overall our night was magical and my husband and I were even allowed to go up on the roof for some alone time after cutting the cake. I can't say enough positive things!

Amazing venue! We got so much great feedback from our guests about the uniqueness and classic beauty of the space. Gina, the venue coordinator, is fantastic to work with and ensures everything runs smoothly the day of.