3 New Venues To Hold Your Wedding In Philly
Scott Lewis
Garces’s New Digs
Rustic meets modern in one of Center City’s newest wedding spaces, formed when Jose Garces’s J.G. Domestic restaurant is combined with the Cira Centre’s atrium. The interior of the restaurant is inspired by the outdoors, featuring wooden pergolas and a living wall of plant life and herbs, while the glass-paneled atrium gives an outdoor-wedding vibe and views of the city skyline without the worry of rain on your parade. A team of Garces Group event specialists will assist you in planning your soiree, especially when it comes to working on your menu, which can feature the farm-to-table American cuisine of J.G. Domestic, or your favorite foods from any of Garces’s five local restaurants. Prices available upon request (garcescatering.com).
Wedding on the Water
Freedom Elite, the new 90-foot-long private yacht from the owners of the Spirit of Philadelphia, offers an on-the-move wedding celebration: After embarking at Penn’s Landing, you’ll cruise north on the Delaware River before coming about and heading back south toward the Navy Yard, for views of the Philadelphia skyline from every angle. (Parties can last between three and five hours.) The partially covered roof deck offers 360-degree vistas as a backdrop for your ceremony—you can even get the ship’s captain to officiate!— or cocktail hour, and the inside, featuring lots of large windows, can hold either 68 seated guests or 110 for a cocktail-style reception. The cost for lunch or dinner plus the charter fee starts at $75 to $125 per person, with custom options that include chocolate fountains or even karaoke (entertainmentcruises.com).
Bart Breslow
Space Station Soiree
Set in a repurposed government facility that houses a centrifuge—the astronaut training device that simulates the G-forces in space— the just-opened Fuge in Warminster is a large round space (it’s got a 125-foot-diameter!) guaranteed to wow your guests and make for some extremely memorable wedding photos. (Your band or DJ can even set up shop atop the centrifuge motor housing.) The 17,000-square-foot venue can accommodate up to 700 guests for a sit-down dinner, or the exclusive event design team from Eventricity can divide the room with drapes to create a more intimate party. The rental fee is $3,500 (which includes both lighting and draping), and you have the choice of Drexelbrook Catering or Brothers’ Catering; price per person depends on menu selections (rentthefuge.com).
Getting married? Start and end your wedding planning journey with Philadelphia Weddings' guide to the best wedding vendors in the city.
