PAFA - the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Wow, I just simply can't say enough about PAFA and the absolutely wonderful people that helped us have the most wonderful day of our lives. We booked PAFA a year and a half before our wedding, so we had lots of time to get to know Kate and the other members of the team. It could not have been more apparent that they had our very best interest at heart and constantly worked with us and our vendors to make our wedding beautiful beyond anything we could have imagined. They really are such special people who work with passion and love for their couples. I really can't describe what a surreal and special place PAFA is. We both teared up when we entered the space for the first time, and we never toured another venue. There is just no where like it. In addition to its beauty and drama, PAFA is such a warm, inviting space, and feels truly intimate despite the size. One of the things we loved the most was that our guests felt like they had an experience at PAFA. Of course, they attended our wedding, but they also got to drink wine and eat beautiful hors d'oeuvres amongst a truly wonderful collection of art! As an art historian, it was just lovely to look around and see our loved ones discuss Kehinde Wiley's painting, read about the historic space, and explore the spot that is now forever a part of our story. PAFA is a dream, and truly made our wedding exactly what we had always wanted.

Gorgeous venue unlike any other! Kate and Harry were great and very accommodating and organized for our special day. Everything went amazing and guest had a really fun time and LOVED all the stunning artwork throughout.

PAFA is a breathtakingly beautiful building! My husband and I celebrated our wedding at PAFA's historical building in August 2020. When we first looked into PAFA, we knew we wanted a smaller wedding and to us, one of the benefits of PAFA (besides its absolutely gorgeous architecture and art) was the variety of spaces that could be used depending on guest count. Kate Young walked us through various options and offered helpful recommendations regarding vendors and just general wedding-planning resources and advice. We ended up having a super small wedding (10 guests) and had a perfect ceremony spot that felt just right for our small group. Plus, we had the museum to ourselves, letting our guests be able to wander the museum and soak in the beauty, which was a truly unique experience. Obviously, PAFA is beautiful–with stunning design, art, and colors that will add to your day and photos–but the PAFA team is really what made PAFA such a perfect venue choice. We worked primarily with Kate Young, from the beginning of the process to the end. Through all of the stress and last-minute decisions and changes required when planning a wedding during Covid, Kate was professional, caring, organized, and quick to respond. She made an effort to understand our vision and provided helpful insight from her experience. Every email, call, or zoom with her made us feel calmer, knowing she had things handled. On the wedding day, she continued to exude calmness and positivity, helping out wherever she was needed to keep things running smoothly, from coordinating with the other vendors to setting up our guests' favors to playing DJ. We highly recommend this venue!

Kate Young at PAFA is an absolute JOY to work with. You will not regret your decision to book your day at PAFA and have her coordinate everything. I was never able to see PAFA in person before booking but, through FaceTime tours and Kate’s helpful vision, I had no trouble at all deciding PAFA was the perfect spot for our wedding. Kate made the planning process so harmless and stress free. I never felt like I was under a time crunch even though I only had about two months to throw our mini wedding together! She had so many wonderful, creative ideas to add to my existing wedding vision and I truly can’t thank her enough for her kindness and creativity throughout the entire process!

The best ever doesn't even begin to cover how my husband and I feel about PAFA and their amazing crew. We ended up seeing the venue on a whim after pretty much choosing another venue and as soon as we walked into the Historic Landmark Building, we knew we found something truly extraordinary. The HLB took our breath away and I toured the space with mouth agape trying to take it all in. We ended up reaching out to PAFA almost immediately to book the Historic Landmark Building for our ceremony and reception. Kate Young and her team and nothing short of amazing, well organized, and so much fun to be around. Kate took us on our first tour and from there was our point of contact leading up to the big day. We ended up moving to California with 4 months to go before our wedding and she was so accommodating to show me the space with other vendors when I managed to fly back to Philadelphia. The day of the wedding I knew I'd have nothing to worry about and I was right. Kate and her assistant Marissa along with the staff and security of PAFA made sure everything was perfect. If something went wrong, I had no idea and got to enjoy our evening in elegance. (Special shout out to Marissa for literally giving me her shoes when I couldn't stand mine any longer and we forgot my reception shoes at the hotel.) In summary, they're the dream team and we would choose them over and over again!

From the moment we walked inside PAFA for our first tour, we knew that it was unlike any other venue that we had visited up until that point. The staff was knowledgable and respectful, but more than anything they got to know us as individuals. From planning special moments during our ceremony, to working with our other team members (including our wedding coordinator), it all went effortlessly well. You get what you pay for! Working with PAFA means that you have to choose from one of two catering vendors, and we worked with 12th street catering. They did an amazing job! We also worked with EBE lighting, and had an amazing DJ/MC team from EBE as well. PAFA was so flexible and accommodating when it came to adding personalized touches -- rugs on the floor, musician-friends performing during cocktail hour, special arrangements during the reception. Such a dream team. I have no complaints. We will never forget our special day at PAFA. It was our dream venue. We wouldn't have had it any other way. Thank you to all of the staff, security, and PAFA pros who helped our wedding to be such a memorable and special day!

PAFA's spaces are classy and we'd choose it 100x over. Our guests were thrilled with the venue. The Hamilton building is sleek and modern and the Historic building is majestic and transcendental--both elegant in their own right. Their staff was attentive and caring, in particular, Kate Young was the best individual we worked with at any point along the year-plus timeline (inc. culinary, hair-makeup-clothing, photographers, musicians / entertainment, planners etc.). She is warm and bubbly, and sought to ensure any question was answered and concerns were addressed. I trust you will be similarly pleased if you find yourself using her services. She was always there for us and was consistently reliable. When we had a legitimate fire drill and were distraught, she went above and beyond to restore our faith and actually ended up putting us in a better situation than before! Add PAFA to your consideration list, you won't regret it!

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 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. We had our ceremony at the stairs/mezzanine area, then our reception in the rotunda. Most importantly, PAFA’s staff were incredible. They were professional, organized, friendly, and very easy to communicate with. The venue coordinator (Kate McCammon) did a wonderful job coordinating with all vendors. The day went so smoothly because of her. We used 12th street catering and they were wonderful. We thank PAFA and all the staff for making our wedding day so magical. Do not think it twice, just choose PAFA!

This is the place to get married if you want to have the most memorable and fantastic day of your life. The two Kates are incredible and I truly love them both. From the first walk-through with Kate Young, I knew that we were going to be fast friends. She even came to our tasting, our wedding rehearsal, and the wedding day. It felt like we were in a friend's home and they made us feel so welcome. They helped me get our DJ, our bakery, and our hotel. I truly can't express how lovely my wedding process was because of the staff at PAFA. Our wedding was not only in a one-of-a-kind location, but it was such a wonderful stress-free experience. Our guests had a fantastic and memorable experience. It was the best day of our lives and PAFA was the reason why.

Where do I start? From day 1 every single staff at PAFA has gone above and beyond to help us make our wedding perfect. From Kate Y. who initlally took us around the amazing venue space, kept in touch and just a joy to work with, to Kate M. who helped us understand every single detail and guide us along the process, and Lauren R. (for Constellation) who helped us with the tasting, accomodated our every request to the menu, and lightning speed response time. They were so instrumental in making our big day perfect! Which brings me to food. Constellation catered our wedding and since they work with PAFA directly we will include it here. The food was PHENOMENAL, it’s been a month since our wedding and we still hear rave reviews about the food from our guests. The ingredients were seasonal, the flavors were just adventurous enough that satisfied every type of guest, and they had specialty foods like mini philly cheesesteak and vegan selections! After the ceremony during our down time, they even brought us a sample platter while we had our alone time. Finally, we could not have asked for a better space. We had the entire museum (Hamilton building) to ourselves for gods sake! It was so cool to have guests walk around the museum during reception and cocktail hour, it definitely adds to the conversation, and photos. We cannot recommend PAFA enough for anyone’s wedding venue!

Pafa is an amazing venue that is too beautiful to describe in words! It's magical! I had 200 people and it still felt so intimate. We just got the pics back and they are beautiful especially with the background of PAFA! It is truly a special place!

My husband and I go to so many weddings and for ours we wanted something totally different than the typical hotel or ballroom. We found that as soon as walked into the PAFA. Not only did we fall in love with the beauty of the space and but on our first visit we met Matt from Jimmy Duffys - the exclusive caterer. From our first meeting, Matt took every vision and idea we had and brought it to life. He was patient, creative, considerate, professional and above all else, extremely kind. We were engaged for 18 months and I called him and emailed him constantly - everytime he responded quickly, positively, and with ideas that were way better than mine! On our wedding day, everything exceeded any and all expectations that we had. The food - which was stations that had everything from salmon to a taco stands to cheese steaks and french fries (all done completely classy), was all exceptional; PAFA looked beautiful; and Matt and Judy (also a wonderful person you partner with from the Acedemy) were by my side all night asking me what I needed and how they could help. I would recommend PAFA and Jimmy Duffy's to anyone. They went above and beyond for my family and our wedding was perfect. If my words aren't enough, check out how beautiful everything came together in this short video by Forevery Lucky Films http://vimeo.com/21729745

The PAFA is a truly unique venue. It was perfect for our 100-person reception. My husband and I were sold the first time we walked through the entrance and saw the stairwell leading up to the Washingon Foyer. I was even more impressed with the artwork and the sculptures throughout the gallery. Judi Garst and her team, working closely with the staff from Jimmy Dufy Catering, were excellent to work with. So many of our guests raved to us about how beautiful and unique the reception was. We honestly could not have asked for more!

Great wedding location - people are still talking about how beautiful the site was!

It was a gorgeous art gallery -- it was historic and stunning and the staff was wonderful;It's an art gallery so it has lots of rules

The PAFA is a small art museum built in the mid 19th century. It is a stunning jewel box that took my guests' breath away. Getting married on a grand staircase, dancing between the statues, gorgeous paintings as the backdrops to my wedding photos....what more could you want?;I have NO regrets.