Being based out of Philadelphia isn’t something I take for granted as a wedding photographer. Unless I were some sort of historian, I can’t think of another profession that would give me the ability to tour as many historic spaces as I have over the last decade. From ivy-covered 18th-century homes to some of our country’s most opulent landmark buildings, Philadelphia is layered with history around every corner. I love how well preserved and accessible these storied venues are, and I’m excited to show off some of my favorites. Keep reading to take a tour of these historic Philadelphia wedding venues through my lens!
Read More:
- A Hybrid Film Wedding at the MAAS Building | Philadelphia Wedding Photography
- How I Document Philadelphia Weddings on Film, Digital, and Super 8
- How to Choose a Philadelphia Wedding Photographer Who Feels Like the Right Fit
Historic Gardens & Arboretum Venues
Morris Arboretum
Northwest Philly is home to Morris Arboretum, a gorgeous 92-acre Victorian arboretum that hosts weddings and events yearround. I recently documented Kate and George’s rainy garden wedding day here in late August, and the photos told a rich story of their joyful, family-filled day. At Morris Arboretum, you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to backdrops. Ornate fountains, ivy-covered garden fixtures, and lush foliage beautifully drape every corner of this property. I shared more snapshots from Kate and George’s Morris Arboretum wedding over on my Instagram.
Curtis Arboretum
Barely 7 miles east of Morris Arboretum lies Curtis Arboretum, a picturesque 47-acre property listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The public greenspace is the brainchild of famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, the same man responsible for NYC’s iconic Central Park. Over 50 different tree varieties, two ponds, rolling lawns, ornamental gardens, and water features offer a beautiful setting for your wedding day. Built in 1893, the beautifully restored event space features hand-painted period murals, dual lounges, and a festive clear-top tent over the paving stone courtyard.
JAM Hospitality Group manages Curtis Arboretum, along with 16 other distinctive venues across the Northeast.
Check the Curtis Arboretum events calendar here to see if your wedding date is available.
Portico Awbury Arboretum
Portico Awbury Arboretum has been on my list of dream historic Philadelphia wedding venues for a while now. Tucked into 55 acres of Awbury Arboretum in Northwest Philly’s Germantown neighborhood, the Francis Cope House is a Wissahickon schist Victorian mansion. The wrap-around porch and English landscape gardens are laid out in the same tradition as the U.S. Capitol grounds. It’s the kind of outdoor wedding venue in Philadelphia I’d love to explore and document so soon!
Historic Homes and Estate Venues
The Inn At Fox Briar Farm
From the rustic indoor reception space to 50 acres of expansive outdoor space, there is so much to love about a wedding at The Inn at Fox Briar Farm. In more extreme weather, host an indoor wedding ceremony in front of the fieldstone wall backdrop or in the loft with dramatic oak beam trusses and double height windows. In milder seasons, choose to host your ceremony on the Breezeway Lawn like Lauren and Charlie did. The Corkery’s early June ceremony had stunning elevated views of rolling hills, fields, the pond, and surrounding woods. If you want to see more snapshots from their Inn at Fox Briar Farm wedding, I documented some of their film scans here and some digitals here.
This 18th-century stone farmhouse in Bucks County has eight beautifully appointed bedrooms to host close friends and family on the property, too!
Glen Foerd on the Delaware
Along the Delaware River in Northeast Philadelphia, Glen Foerd’s mansion, gardens, and waterfront views are preserved as a Fairmount Park property. Glen Foerd is one of my favorite historic Philadelphia wedding venues on this list! I’m saving the full story of the wedding I documented here for its own post soon; the golden hour light off the water alone is worth the wait.
The Willows Villanova
This historic mansion from 1910 is a stunning example of Spanish Revival style architecture. I documented Asli and Josh’s tent wedding at The Willows Villanova in late May on digital and film. The glass and brick enclosed space keeps the ceremony feeling nature forward, while the tented outdoor reception space also brings the outdoors in. More digital and Polaroid film scans from this Willows Villanova wedding day are documented here.
HollyHedge Estate
Just outside New Hope in Bucks County, HollyHedge Estate sits on 21 acres that trace back to the 1780s, when a stone farmhouse and barn were first raised along the property’s fields. The Old Stone Barn still holds its original fieldstone walls and timber beams, paired now with English-style gardens added decades later. It’s one of the Bucks County properties I return to for how well its early character is maintained.
Anthony Wayne House
Just outside Paoli in Chester County, the Anthony Wayne House began as a Georgian home built in 1724 for the Wayne family. It later passed to General Anthony Wayne, who served alongside George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Today, The Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks maintains its lawns, gardens, and carriage house. This is a favorite for couples drawn to real, lived-in history rather than a recreation of it.
Check the Anthony Wayne House events calendar here to see if your wedding date is available.
Historic Buildings and Landmark Venues
Powel House
Ever since documenting Dominique and Sean’s late September wedding at the Powel House, I dream of intimate weddings in historic Philadelphia wedding venues with garden courtyards. This 1700s home was purchased by Samuel Powel and his new bride, Elizabeth, four years after it was built. The Powels hired Philadelphia’s leading craftsmen to install the home’s carved ceilings, ornamental mantel, cornices, paneling, baseboards, and mahogany staircase. Dominique and Sean hosted an intimate ceremony indoors and continued the celebration by dining al fresco in the courtyard.
Cicala at The Divine Lorraine
On New Year’s Eve, I documented Allyson and Patrick’s wedding at Cicala. You’ll find this southern Italian restaurant tucked just inside the historic Divine Lorraine building. Designed by architect Willis G. Hale and built between 1892 and 1894, the building originally housed some of Philadelphia’s wealthiest residents as luxury apartments. The venue features crystal chandeliers, moody lighting, marble floors, and a velvet curtained ceremony backdrop. Ringing in a new year within a space this storied gave their celebration a kind of timelessness I love to document.
Booking A Philadelphia Wedding Photographer At A Historic Venue
Ten venues, and I still find something new to notice each time I return. That’s the quiet reward of touring spaces with this much history behind them. Every room and garden on this list has held its own version of a couple’s story. If one of these historic Philadelphia wedding venues feels like the future setting for your own day, I’d love to talk about what documenting it together could look like.
Shiloh Leath Photography is a Philadelphia-based wedding and elopement photographer. She creates timeless, ethereal images rooted in real emotion and quiet storytelling using digital, 35mm, 120, Polaroids, and Super 8. Shiloh specializes in making camera-shy and nervous couples feel completely at ease through her lived-in, poetic, and deeply human approach. Are you ready to have your love story documented with warmth, intention, and every detail preserved? Check availability and reserve your date here.
