Independence Seaport Museum Reviews

The process is amazing beautiful venue and the staff are so professional and respond right away. It’s very affordable

My dad worked here when I was younger and ever since I attended a 4th of July event on their 4th floor I knew I wanted to get married here. It was such a unique venue with beyond breathtaking views of the city and a great location! The open bar was included in our pricing. Dena was accommodating and we were able to truly cater our day to have the exact experience we were looking for. The staff was great, but it is a place where you have to do setup yourself and reserve vendors on your own. The ceremony took place on the rotunda and we had a cotton candy sunset for cocktail hour on the 4th floor terrace. The venue is a hidden gem that could really provide the wedding of your dreams!

We just had our wedding ceremony and reception at the Independence Seaport Museum and we could not be happier! The setting is absolutely beautiful, with views overlooking the Delaware River and the ballroom is really spacious with a large terrace outside. We were planning our wedding from a distance and the event coordinator, Dena, was incredible to work with! She was so flexible in updating plans and making any changes we requested and really responsive to all our emails. Steve was there on our wedding day to help ensure everything ran smoothly and he was awesome to work with as well! We had so many compliments on how beautiful our wedding was and the venue had everything to do with that. I highly, highly recommend choosing the Seaport Museum and working with Dena for your wedding!

Haven't had the wedding yet, but working with Janelle has been great. She is flexible and allows me to be the laid back bride that I am. She is super genuine and honest which I appreciate during this process. She's also been helping me save wine corks for a wedding project!

I cannot say enough good things about the Seaport Museum and Janelle, who we worked with there. It is an amazing hidden Philadelphia gem. We planned to have our ceremony on the rotunda but due to rain had to have it in the reception hall with our cocktail hour in the exhibits - it was still super beautiful, and by the time cocktail hour came around the rain was clearing up. Janelle made it possible for our guests to hang out inside in the galleries AND outside on the decks. It was the best of both worlds! She was super accommodating and fun to work with. The Seaport Museum had everything we were looking for (nice big reception hall with a dance floor and attached outdoor space, outdoor ceremony space and awesome rain plan - our guests had a great time exploring the exhibits during cocktail hour) and I wish I could plan more parties here. I became a member for the wedding and will renew my membership for the next year so I can keep coming back!

Working with Janelle and the Independence Seaport Museum team was awesome! We had the times of our lives at our wedding and Janelle helped to make sure that everything ran smoothly through the process. The venue space on the 4th floor has amazing views with a huge dance floor. Our guests also thoroughly enjoyed exploring the museum collections and exhibitions during cocktail hour. The only disappointment was that it rained on our big day so we weren't able to have the ceremony outdoors on the beautiful rotunda... but the ceremony indoors ended up being perfect :)

The bridge and groom wanted a place that was in the city but not a ball room..
They wanted their guests to have a beautiful view of the city.
They wanted to add their personal touches to their wedding without having added costs for each idea.
They wanted the place to themselves for their event without any worries about another affair going on in the same venue that day.
They wanted to bring in their caterer.
They wanted to wanted to provide the alcohol.
They wanted an outdoor ceremony with an indoor reception.
They wanted lots of choices and freedom.
They got it all at the Seaport!

Working with Chrissy at Events at ISM was a dream! She was so helpful in making our day as perfect as can be! If you're getting married in Philadelphia, this is the perfect location! You get the city and the water. So easy to get to (really important for out of town guests) and is right next to the Hyatt! All of our guests raved at the beautiful ceremony and reception space!

I was lucky enough to have my wedding at this amazing location. If spectacular views and convenience is what you are after then I would highly recommend ISM for your wedding. It's right next door to the Hyatt, which is great for out of town guests too. We opted to have our ceremony on the Rotunda which allowed amazing views of the Delaware and Ben Franklin Bridge in the background. We then had our cocktail hour in the actual museum (cue great photo ops for guests and a really fun time) and then moved up to the grand ballroom and balcony for our reception, which was breathtaking. What's great about the museum is that they have a range of rooms and spaces, each with a different feel and you can use as many or as few as you want. There is even a small private theater where we had an intimate religious ceremony too. The staff there are wonderful and extremely helpful. Liz and Kelly get special shout outs - they will make sure your day goes well. Thanks ISM!

To say my wedding was a dream come true would be an understatement. I couldn't imagine a better venue for our day. The Seaport really transformed for our wedding and our guests LOVED walking around the museum. Janelle, our coordinator at the ISM (and Brulee catering) attended to our every need and idea and had exceptional attention to detail. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing! I look forward to visiting the museum in the future with my family to re-live our wedding day experience.

The Seaport Museum is the perfect place to have a wedding! They have a beautiful ballroom on the top floor with a huge deck that overlooks the Delaware River. The dance floor is huge, and the layout of the room is perfect. They work exclusively with one caterer (Frog Commissary), so you have to take that into consideration when choosing this venue (especially the cost), but it is absolutely gorgeous, unique, and memorable.

I looooooved having my wedding here, as did my guests. This really is such a fabulous location in downtown Philadelphia and one of only 2-3 locations on the water with outdoor space. We had our ceremony on the rotunda and the pictures are just outstanding with the backdrop of the delaware river and Ben Franklin Bridge. We had cocktail hour on the terrace (also gorgeous!) and dinner in the HUGE ballroom. A lot of my guests commented on how nice it was to have drinks outside but then dinner inside in the AC. The dance floor was huge too which was really nice for all of my guests.

I am so glad I got married here!

Amamzing venue at ISM- The staff are helpful and people are very nice.
It's a ok museum, but their ballroom is amazing! They had a rather new dancefloor and everything there is clean.

I mean- it is a museum- so don't compare it to like a hotel banquet hall... but overall- it's beautiful and the view looking at the Ben Franklin Bridge and Penns Landing was amazing!
The outside routanda where we had our ceremony was also amazing!

I chose this Museum based on the uniqueness it provided in a wedding venue. The museum staff were extremely courteous and Janelle was wonderful to work with through the entire process. It has spacious terraces and a beautiful ballroom area. Overall, I would recommend this venue.

I was appalled at the poor level of service I received. ISM has had a lot of turnover in their event staff and they do not seem to be as knowledgeable or service-oriented as the other Philadelphia venues of their caliber. Looking back on the whole process, if I could do everything over again I would go with the National Constitution Center, TRUST, or the Phoenixville Foundry - these venues know how to combine excellent service with breathtaking settings!!