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theatre wedding in the greater philadelphia area?

caserahcaserah member
First Comment
in Pennsylvania-Philadelphia
my fiance and i are planning a june 2011 wedding (date flexible within june-august). hoping to have a friday afternoon ceremony followed by dinner reception (followed by pub crawl). the budget is $10,000. we will have around 100 guests. we are leaning towards holding the event in philadelphia, but are willing to consider annapolis, baltimore, wilmington, etc. the main focus for us is to find a unique venue that can be within walking distance of reception, hotel accommodations, and bars, hence the urban choices.

the problem: we can't seem to find a venue. my top choice is the trocadero theatre, but i can't seem to get a hold of anyone who can help me out. i'm also looking into the theatre of the living arts and the tower theatre. we would like to have the ceremony and the reception in the same place, bringing in caterers and having someone set up tables/chairs in the main hall between events.

has anyone done a theatre wedding in philadelphia? do you have any suggestions? at this point i am also open to any other similar venues (looking for something unique, not really a barn or ballroom girl).
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Re: theatre wedding in the greater philadelphia area?

  • Amerbutt81Amerbutt81 member
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    Have you checked out the Chestnut Club at Arcadia Theater??

    http://www.thechestnutclub.com/index.html
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    Hunter Fillmore
    October 1, 2011

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  • virgil108virgil108 member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I am getting married at Artesano Iron Works gallery in Manayunk. It is an art gallery (2 floors). I am having the ceremony downstairs and reception upstairs. There is also a courtyard and it is on the corner of main street in manayunk which would definitely acommodate the pub crawl.
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  • jewels2730jewels2730
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Ok - so I'm a little confused on what you want.  The three places you name - Trocodero, TLA (Theatre of the Living Arts), and the Tower are all music venues.  They are not traditional theatres in the very least, but pretty grungey concerts venues.  They are places you do not want to see during the light of the day. 

    If you are interested in traditional theatrical/performing arts theater type of places, maybe start by looking at the Kimmel Center which has an events department and caters to weddings.  Then, if you are still looking for a music venue look at World Cafe Live.  They also do weddings and has a real "stage".  I work for a theater but I highly doubt our venue would be what you are looking for because we're not really set up for them.  If you are still looking for theater, maybe check out the Walnut Street Theatre or the Prince Music Theatre, but you have to remember that most of the places that are not specifically geared towards weddings will have a pretty large rental fee and then you have to bring in a caterer, plus lighting, technicians, security, and all of that stuff can really add up. 

    If you are looking for something urban and "non-traditional" there are plenty of choices in Philadelphia.  I got married at the FUEL House, now called TRUST in the heart of Old City.  The rental fee would eat up most of your budget, but maybe think along those lines.
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  • LaRositaMonitaLaRositaMonita
    1000 Comments Fifth Anniversary Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    jewels is the end-all-be-all of theaters in the Philly area...do you think that People's Light and Theater in Malvern might also do the trick for the OP, jewels?  I defnitely know that they have weddings there.  Not in the city, but might be more affordable, as well, as a result. (For the record, I have no idea what their pricing is.)  It seems like budget is obviously a concern here.

    But I definitely agree that the Troc, the TLA, and the Tower are NOT wedding venues!!
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  • jillnpaul11609jillnpaul11609
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011

    There's a theatre/ballroom combo in Collingswood, NJ that may meet your needs. It's located about 10-15 mins outside of CC. The only issue is that the town is dry, so there are no bars. However, you could have your guests stay at the Crowne Plaza which is pretty local and shuttle them back and forth. Or, they could take PATCO to Collingswood from the city (just some thoughts).

    http://www.collingswoodballroomtheater.com/

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  • caserahcaserah member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    i suppose now is a good time to mention that my fiance and i met each other doing photo and video services for local bands (that played at the troc, and the tla). the troc is my top choice because it has personal significance, and i like the idea of transforming its purpose. also, the trocadero is a victorian theatre that has been around since the 1800s. it has floor-to-ceiling windows, chandeliers and a lot of stained glass work, so it's not entirely "grunge." the tower is sort of a back-up choice because it has the prototypical theater facade complete with marquee (something the trocadero lacks).

    the chestnut club and artesano seem like fine alternate choices, but i have doubts that they can be done for under 10 grand. thanks for the suggestions though, and i'll check into the collingswood ballroom.
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  • Amerbutt81Amerbutt81 member
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    The People's Light and Theater cannot be done in under 10.  That will be the catering fee for 100 people.  I know- I tried.

    Bascially caserah, unless you are getting married in a park or your backyard, I think you might have to up your budget a little.  Getting a venue in the city and a wedding for 10,000 is really really hard.
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    Hunter Fillmore
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  • nancyrnancyr member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Not sure if the Media Theatre does weddings or not, I know they used to do dinner theatre so it's a good possibility for both reception and wedding; Collingswood as the previous poster mentioned is also a good choice, tho I have a feeling it's pricey since they just remodeled.  There are several churches that have theatres in them, ck w/the local theater people some of them would know, I know Temple has one they used to use for opera performances but not sure what the deal would be w/food there.  Not sure if the Hedgerow (I thinks it's media too, might be wallingford) would do, not sure if they'd let you have a reception there.  Harcum College has a little theater as does Villanova.  Harcum either just redid theirs or it's in progress, not sure.  Villanova I haven't been in in years, but I'll bet it's still there.  Ck with the other colleges.  There's a small theater down the street from the Univ of the Arts but on the east side of the avenue of the arts.  Swarthmore has a theater, do a search for theater groups or ck the Theater Alliance in Philadelphia, you'll be able to ck where they're having performances and go from there. 
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  • CleverEuphemismCleverEuphemism
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    It's a little outside of Philly, but the State Theatre in Easton is beautiful and there is a ballroom there:

    http://www.statetheatre.org/index.php?tpl=room

    There's also the Keswick in Glenside.

    http://www.keswicktheatre.com/content.cgi?cid=20&PHPSESSID=6cc631fe121d45ad96c0b5c252e2252e

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