Nontraditional Wedding Reception Venues

katieb927

Hi all, 

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for nontraditional wedding venues in the Philadelphia suburbs? I fell in love with the pictures of the Cafe at Styer's in Glenn Mills, but just found out they arent doing weddings anymore  I'm also looking at the Audubon House....I just don't want a hotel, country club, banquet hall, etc.  I'm having trouble finding things because most of the things on the internet, theknot.com, etc. are for more traditional places. Ideas? 

mana8503

What kind of "non-traditional" are you looking for?  Are you wanting country, or modern?  Gardens?

bstnbndbride

Sweet water farm Bed and Breakfast in Glenn Mills is a beautiful  place for a wedding and in the same area. Good luck.

LadyJ10

Do you include historic mansions/homes in the "traditional" camp? If not, I would recommend checking out:
Pen Ryn
Aldie Mansion
Glen Foerd
Greystone Hall
Brantwyn Estate (Wilmington, DE)

The only other "non-traditional" that comes to mind is Artesano Iron Works in Manayunk. It's a truly unique (and stunning) venue.

LadyJ10

Also, Party Space (www.partyspace.com) has a whole section of "Unique Venues" -- you might want to check that out.

brizzie918

I got married at a real unique venue and it was fabulous. Its called the brossman center (dont let the name mean anything). Its in chesnut hill located on the lutheran theological seminary campus. It has gorgeous exteriors, grounds, etc. PM for info/ pics.

Lauren0409

My venue is brand new and is nontraditional.  It's called The Manor House at Prophecy Creek Park in Blue Bell.  It's very similar to Audubon, but less expensive. It's an old manor house with several rooms and a huge terrace that they are building a permanent roof over with sliding glass doors to make into the reception area. It's very unique, sits on two ponds, has a barn, silo, and is in a park.  It's still in the beginning stages and they have their first wedding in a few weeks.   They have been great to work with so far!

BethtoWed

Columbia Station in Phoenixville is a restored train station. The Foundry in Phoenixville is a restored steel mill.  How big a venue do you need?  Pearl Buck House, Fonthill Castle, Northstar Farms (a working farm) all do tented weddings on their unique properties.

katieb927

So helpful, thank you!  We are having about 150 people and our budget is kind of on the smaller side... 

RecoveringActor

I was going to suggest The Foundry in Phoenixville.  Also The Old Mill in Rose Valley, PA.

kfitch10

Historic Waynesborough in Paoli is beautiful! We are getting married there.  There is a garden, historic house, and a tent for the reception. 

rockstarnat

I am not sure if "mansion"/stone is non-traditional, but I am having my wedding at the Merion Tribute House. it is gorgeous IMHO. 

In searching venues, I visited beat street station in Manayunk. it was truely unique and funky. it was so awesome and very artsy. I wonder if it is similar to what Bethtowed suggested in Phoenixville. 

GL! 

Nat

Amerbutt81

I second the Phoenixville Foundry.  It can be a little pricey, but truly unique.

Also, I know this is not really in the area, but friends of mine were married at the Mulberry Arts Studio in Lancaster.   It was so beautiful and very different!

neongreenbox

We are getting married at the Highlands in Fort Washington - another old mansion with formal gardens.  I really liked it here because it still had a rustic feel to it - there is not a main large hall it is split into several rooms which is perfect for a stations wedding (but you can always do sit down) You can choose your own caterer here and they only do one event a day (which I think is really really great)

brizzie918

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_pennsylvania-philadelphia_nontraditional-wedding-reception-venues?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:105Discussion:1e5ca63d-eefe-42f1-85ff-6a6eced6f140Post:e93def4b-ee36-4a9f-aa6b-91ffcb8aa5ca">Re: Nontraditional Wedding Reception Venues</a>:
[QUOTE]We are getting married at the Highlands in Fort Washington - another old mansion with formal gardens.  I really liked it here because it still had a rustic feel to it - there is not a main large hall it is split into several rooms which is perfect for a stations wedding (but you can always do sit down) You can choose your own caterer here and they only do one event a day (which I think is really really great)
Posted by neongreenbox[/QUOTE]
i almost chose the highlands but the layout was weird if you had more than 75 people because the various rooms only held up to 75 people. It'd be beautiful if you could afford to tent the outside.....that would be amazing, but costly.

neongreenbox

agreed brizzie - a tent would be fabulous there. We thought about the whole layout issue but decided that doing more of a stations/cocktail reception fit more of our style so hopefully it won't be a problem.