Penn Museum

To say that the Penn Museum went above and beyond for us on our wedding day would be a complete understatement. Let me tell you — this venue and their dream team were beyond exceptional, Attiya and Jenn in particular! Where to start.

First - the Museum itself is stunning! The pictures don’t do it justice. Located in the heart of University City, Philadelphia on UPenn’s campus - the museum was such a creative and special place for us to tie the knot. Rich with history and stories of cultures from across the world, when Attiya showed us around we knew immediately that this was the place. I’ll get to this miracle worker in a second but first I wanna hit on our truly magical run-of-show. The Museum staff gave us two classrooms to prep once we arrived - super clutch for sprucing up, any costume changes, and a safe space to keep our stuff. We did our photos beforehand with hair and makeup fresh and ready to go in the back Stoner Courtyard by the fountain which was perfect. We were greeted with a plate of cheese and wine and an Attiya there to help settle our nerves with reassurance that all prepped and that the ceremony would go off without a hitch. Then we were off to the races! We got married in the Warden Garden with our parents walking us down the gorgeous steps from the main entrance of the building with the beautiful Coy pond adjacent to our entrance. After that, while everyone made moves to the reception on the main floor in the Sphinx Gallery, my new wife and I snuck away to the rooftop for a moment to ourselves with some bubbly. From there we joined our guests for cocktails and passers in the Sphinx Gallery with speeches there from our Maid of Honor and Best Man on the side steps. After that we headed up to the most magical dinner of our lives. You’ve probably seen the Chinese Rotunda online. It was simply breathtaking with the lighting and florals. We did our first dance upon our entrance (gotta be a slow dance because of the delicate statues) and then our parent dances after the first course. Cut the cake, and then danced the night away in the Egypt Gallary next door. We closed up the night with hot Philly pretzels and made our exit under sparklers in the Warden Garden where we’d just been married a few hours ago - facilitated by the amazing Penn Museum Staff.

That brings me to one of the most important parts of this review. Attiya. Wow. This woman is one of the most organized, get shit done no matter what, intelligent, people I’ve ever met. Eager to problem-solve with her astute knowledge having organized weddings for couples many times before - we leaned on her wisdom through the duration of our planning. Also she is an awesome human being who we really enjoyed being around. A good thing for us because we had so many questions with planning around COVID and making things work with our guests, vendors, and run-of-show. Let me tell you, planning a wedding during a pandemic is not for the faint of heart. Attiya was responsive, honest, straight forward yet kind - and very obviously knew what she was doing. It felt like she truly wanted our wedding day to be as fabulous as we did, almost like a friend or family member would. Attiya is a great leader and we are so grateful she was there to guide us through the planning and day of. Sometimes we’d be like … let’s do this! And she’d be like, I like that but here are some things to think about based on what I’ve seen. (SO HELPFUL!) She’d listen to our ideas and always try to make it work. Attiya made our day so special. We simply couldn’t have done it without her.



We did our catering with CxRA and were blessed beyond measure to have Jenn lead the way on this hugely important piece. She helped us create a innovative and delicious signature cocktail for the reception and helped us piece together everything from the bar menu, to the apps, to the cake, to the full dinner itself. Jenn organized a menu that blew us away and presented us with options that utilize fresh, local ingredients, by chefs who care deeply about getting it right. The food represented a tireless dedication to quality and Jenn was there to ensure every aspect of our catering went off without a hitch. Our reception apps were AMAZING:
- Jumbo lump crab cake
- Maine lobster
- Jumbo shrimp cocktail
- Creekstone farm beef tenderloin
- Smoked gouda
- Garlic glazed chicken Starters
For dinner we served:
- Barolo Braised Beef Short Rib, Olive Oil Whipped Potatoes, Crispy Brussels Sprouts, Cipollini Onions, Aged Balsamic
- Miso Glazed Salmon, Ginger Carrot Puree, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, 5 Spice Red Wine Reduction
- Ricotta Tortellini, San Marzano Tomato & Butter Emulsion, Pecorino, Toasted Bread Crumbs, Basil
Our party desserts were:
- Dark chocolate ganache
- Caramel cheesecake
- Lime Coconut Cream Tart, Mango
- Mini apple pie
*This worked great because everyone got some sweet treats as we moved to the dance party … and then upon their departure got bags of our cake at the exit door! (We did the traditional thing and saved a layer of our cake to enjoy on our anniversary.)
As you can imagine … the food was one of the best parts of the wedding. It was also an aspect that we didn’t really worry much about after the tasting with Jenn. We knew this woman had everything covered and that the food would be amazing. Believe me - it was!

This review is already way too long and I’m not even close to finished but I will close with this. We had the wedding of our dreams at the Penn Museum. If you’re looking for good people and the most magical spot to make the promise of a lifetime before your family and friends? This place is next to none. 10/10 stars. You won’t be disappointed. We’re 6 months out and already eager to plan a vow renewal so we can do it all again!