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Morris Arboretum is a private garden wedding venue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For couples who crave a break from the rush of city living, this intimate, outdoorsy venue is the perfect spot. With 92 acres of colorful, eclectic gardens, original Victorian architecture, and magical fountains, the beautiful property is the definition of natural enchantment.

Facilities and Capacity

Couples can host up to 175 guests (155 with dancing) at the venue. We offer our Big Tent for up to 350 guests one weekend a year in June. Ask about the Big Tent special! The grounds have multiple outdoor ceremony locations to choose from, as well as a few specialty garden features to enhance your event, like the Rose Garden and our treehouse, Out on a Limb. Receptions may be held under the tent connected to the Widener Visitor Center, a gorgeous 100-year-old stone carriage house. The reception area also includes the lower gallery and classroom areas as part of the amenity space.

Services Offered

Morris Arboretum has a wide variety of options for the big day. They can provide the following amenities to couples:

  • Included in the base rental rate:
    • Exclusive use of the gardens for your private event
    • Tented reception area and interior amenity spaces
    • A garden ceremony location, several sites to choose from
    • Chairs for ceremony seating up to 175
    • Round or rectangular tables and white padded seat reception chairs for up to 175
    • A golf cart and driver for the first three hours of event time
    • Five hours of event time with additional guest arrival and end of night clean up time
    • 114 on-site parking spaces for guests and vendors included in the base rental rate
    • Full catering kitchen for on-site food preparation
  • Additional amenities to enhance your experience:
    • Specialty flower gardens for ceremony and cocktail reception (June to September)
    • Out On A Limb treehouse feature for cocktail hour
    • Additional cart and driver for more transportation within the garden
    • Group rates for rehearsals prior to the big day
    • Additional time rental rates for extended photo sessions

Cuisine

The historic wedding venue provides five pre-approved caterers who offer a wide variety of menu options, styles, and services. Outside caterers are not permitted.

Other Facilities

Before and during the celebration, your wedding party can use the McLean Room for your private bridal suite. There is wheelchair access and parking on the premises.

Other Services

The venue can also host your engagement party, engagement photo session, and bridal shower. Individual rates apply, and bookings are subject to availability.

History

In 1887, Morris Arboretum was established as the summer home of brother and sister John and Lydia Morris. During this time, it was known as Compton. The Morrises decided to create a school and laboratory on the property devoted to horticulture and botany. In 1932, Compton became the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania and is now a resource center for the University.

Location

The outdoor wedding venue is located 30 minutes from downtown Philadelphia. Nearby attractions include Gates Hall and Woodmere Art Museum. Wissahickon Valley Park is 11 minutes away, while Ridley Creek State Park is 31 minutes away. Philadelphia International Airport is a 37-minute drive from the venue.

What You'll Love About Morris Arboretum

Couples who have tied the knot at this romantic venue adore the natural and varied celebration spaces available. They also rave about the coordination team, who will ensure that your big day goes off without a hitch. Check out the Real Weddings section for examples of fabulous wedding days at Morris Arboretum.

Pricing information

Starting at $4,500 Starting at $2,900
Couples usually spend $6,250 Couples usually spend $3,700
Reception
$5,300 starting price
Reception
$3,100 starting price
These prices are available for the months of May, Jun, Sep, Oct. These prices are available for the months of Apr, Jul, Aug.

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FAQ’s

Do you have a site fee for wedding receptions at your venue?

Yes

What is the starting site fee for wedding receptions during peak season?

5,300.00

What is the starting site fee for wedding receptions during off-peak season?

3,100.00

Do you have a site fee for wedding ceremonies at your venue?

No

Which of the following are included in starting site fee?

Bridal Suite
Chairs
Parking
Tables

Describe your venue:

Garden
Historic Building

What kind of settings are available?

Covered Outdoor
Uncovered Outdoor

Which of the following wedding events does your venue service?

Ceremony
Reception
Bridal Shower
Engagement Party

What event services do you offer?

Event Rentals
Get Ready Rooms

What event items are available?

Chairs
Tables
Tents

What transportation and access is available?

Parking
Wheelchair Access

What months are included in your peak season?

May
June
September
October

What months are included in your off-peak season?

April
July
August
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Reviews of Morris Arboretum

We're all about trust. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
4.7 out of 5 rating
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2025 Winner
4.7 out of 5 rating
104 reviews
94% recommend it
  • Quality of service
    4.8 out of 5 rating
  • Average response time
    4.7 out of 5 rating
  • Professionalism
    4.8 out of 5 rating
  • Value
    4.8 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    4.4 out of 5 rating
This AI-generated summary gives you a snapshot of the overall ratings and feedback from the reviews this vendor has received.

Review summary

Powered by AI

Morris Arboretum is highly praised as an amazing and beautiful wedding venue with stunning gardens and diverse settings like the Rose Garden and Out on a Limb for ceremonies and cocktail hours. Reviewers appreciate the team's exceptional service, flexibility, and helpfulness, with special mentions for staff members Sarah Ruth, Toy, and Ken. The venue's natural beauty, attention to detail, and flexibility with vendor choices are highlighted, making it a perfect choice for a picturesque and well-coordinated wedding experience that can accommodate a variety of guest counts.

Review summary

Powered by AI
This AI-generated summary gives you a snapshot of the overall ratings and feedback from the reviews this vendor has received.

Morris Arboretum is highly praised as an amazing and beautiful wedding venue with stunning gardens and diverse settings like the Rose Garden and Out on a Limb for ceremonies and cocktail hours. Reviewers appreciate the team's exceptional service, flexibility, and helpfulness, with special mentions for staff members Sarah Ruth, Toy, and Ken. The venue's natural beauty, attention to detail, and flexibility with vendor choices are highlighted, making it a perfect choice for a picturesque and well-coordinated wedding experience that can accommodate a variety of guest counts.

Weddingwire
4.7/5 104 reviews
Google
4.8/5 2508 reviews
M
Margaret Sent on 07/20/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Magic Spot

From the moment we stepped foot on the Morris grounds, we knew we had found our venue. We had toured a few spots, but felt something was missing at the ones that were strictly wedding venues that can feel sort of lifeless when you tour and no event is happening. The attendant at the gate encouraged us to enjoy the woodland path, and from then on it was just magic. Before we'd even started the tour we felt pretty certain we had found our venue, but we were truly wowed by the beauty and the uniqueness as we went through each location. When we arrived at Morris, families were enjoying the grounds, it felt lively. We toured in the fall and the foliage and late-blooming flowers were stunning. We were spoiled for choice with different potential cocktail hour and ceremony sites.
Sarah Ruth and the whole team were extremely responsive and helpful throughout the process. We used basically only friend vendors who they suggested, and it took out so much guesswork. The vendors we chose from those suggestions were all awesome, and it made for a super smooth process knowing that the people we were working with knew the space so well.
We were worried about possible thunderstorms hitting our day (which turned out to instead be super hot and sunny), but it was a comfort to have the Morris team to set our minds at ease about employing our rain plan if needed.
On the day, we were just so excited to be back at Morris again and to show it to our loved ones! The team made it a breeze to get us around for photos in our golf cart (side note: definitely was worth it to pay extra to arrive early so you can hit more sites with your photographer and be free to just enjoy more post-ceremony). Our cocktail hour on Out-on-a-Limb was a blast! We loved that we could encourage guests to stroll through some of the other gardens, but when they came together on the canopy walk everyone thought it was just the coolest thing and we had people of all ages having fun in the netting.
For the reception, we didn't end up decorating the roof of the tent or adding a dance floor, but it was still just beautiful and the views of the surroundings were fantastic.
Overall, just an amazing place and amazing team.
R
Ryan Sent on 11/22/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing Wedding Venue

Morris Arboretum was an amazing and beautiful wedding venue. They worked with us every step of the way to make our day as special as possible. Luckily, we experienced great weather, but if we did not, they were ready to go with a back up plan. The Rose Garden was so beautiful for the ceremony and Out on a Limb was perfect for cocktail hour. We highly recommend using them as a venue. So amazing!!! Thank you Morris!
M
Mandula Sent on 10/20/2024
4.6 out of 5 rating

Beautiful but non-traditional venue. It took time to navigate the time line of a public garden and coordinate the various moving parts. But, the staff

My husband and I had our wedding at Morris Arboretum in May of 2023, and we loved it! The garden looked spectacular in late May. I had family members comment on how beautiful it was to see us process down with those beautiful trees towering over us! (We had our ceremony at Baxter Memorial)
Choosing this for our wedding was a no-brainer; it was the only site that we toured that my husband stated he could "see us getting married." As a bonus, it was more meaningful to us that the money we spent on the venue was being put towards upkeeping the arboretum and it's trees so other people can enjoy this beautiful patch of nature. This being said there are somethings to consider when using a venue that is a public space. In order to keep the garden open to the public, there are restrictions on the time you have to set up before the ceremony (1-2 hours), the vehicles you use to transport things, etc. We opted to have some professional help and have some "do-it-yourself" decor. For me personally, organizing the decor items, timing the drop off, and timing the set up of the "do-it-yourself" decor was stressful. Retrospectively, I would have kept our ceremony stage and decor more simple. Honestly the gardens are so beautiful that you do not need too much. The other option would have been to hire more profressional help due to the short set-up time. Other considerations are to accept that weather can be a huge factor. I opted to go with ceiling decor because I wanted the reception tent space to look more dressed up in case the ceremony was rained out (the reception tent is a covered tent on top of a black top). The venue did a great job working with my caterer to come up with a plan A, plan B, and plan C to give us an option of using an outdoor space if the weather fluctuated and the skies cleared. Also of note, the reception tent could hold 175, but be aware that it might not leave room for a dance floor. We had 125 guests and it left room for a nice open dance floor. The reception area was the perfect amount of space for guest count of 125. Another plus for this venue, was the staff. Sarah Ruth helped coordinate; she was very understanding of the cultural aspects of our wedding and was willing to help accomodate as much as she could. They were kind enough to let us come visit ahead of time to plan out how to put up our cultural ceremony strucutre. I was also touched that she wore a traditional saree to my wedding! Sarah was there in person the day of the wedding, and helped to corral people who were dropping off decor, etc. She helped keep order! She and the staff did a lovely job carting our familiy members and us around the venue for photos. The golf carts are worth the cost and were so spacious and well kept! Overall, we really loved having our wedding at Morris Arboretum, and we would recommend it to others!
104
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2025 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2024 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2022 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2020 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2019 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2018 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2017 Winner
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Are you interested?

Real Weddings

Crys & Abbie
18 photos · 08/20/2022
Danielle & Joseph
71 photos · 09/13/2019
Caroline & Hin
24 photos · 07/12/2019
Annette & Ben
31 photos · 04/27/2019
Olivia & Sean
22 photos · 04/14/2019
Deanna & Gage
19 photos · 04/27/2018

Professional Network & Endorsements

Joshua's Catering Joshua's Catering Wedding Caterers

The Arboretum provides many choices for outdoor weddings. The 90-acre property with greenery along with the large-scale art pieces bring a classy, yet elegant feeling to any celebration. The Out on a Limb section is a Joshua's favorite! It not only a fun treat where guests can lay within the trees, it's a great spot for a cocktail party or portion of a wedding.

Company's Coming Catering
5.0 out of 5 rating , 98 reviews
· Wedding Caterers
Jeffrey A. Miller Catering
4.8 out of 5 rating , 636 reviews
· Wedding Caterers

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Morris Arboretum frequently asked questions

Morris Arboretum includes the following items and services for wedding events in its starting site fee:
  • Bridal Suite
  • Chairs
  • Parking
  • Tables
The space offered by Morris Arboretum for wedding events is known for:
  • Garden
  • Historic Building
Morris Arboretum offers the following indoor/outdoor options for weddings:
  • Covered Outdoor
  • Uncovered Outdoor
Morris Arboretum offers the following types of wedding events:
  • Ceremony
  • Reception
  • Bridal Shower
  • Engagement Party
Morris Arboretum offers the following services for wedding events:
  • Event Rentals
  • Get Ready Rooms
Morris Arboretum offers the following furniture and decor items for weddings:
  • Chairs
  • Tables
  • Tents
Morris Arboretum is recommended by 94% of couples who have used their services. Their overall rating is 4.7 out of 5 with the following breakdown: 4.8 in quality of service, 4.8 in professionalism, 4.8 in value, 4.7 in average response time and 4.4 in flexibility.
Morris Arboretum currently offers 1 offer promotion for wedding services.

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