Skulls, steampunks & seasonal discounts: Philadelphia wedding venue The College of Physicians

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What does the the birthplace of American medicine and a collection of historical skeletons have to do with your wedding? Well, if you're getting married in Philadelphia… then I may have just described your perfect offbeat wedding venue — The College of Physicians!

We've got some fascinating facts about this venue (what famous scientist's brain is stored here?), tips for the perfect reception (no dancing required!), and a discount on your wedding at The College of Physicians. Just take my bony hand…

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The College of Physicians is a beautiful Beaux-Arts style building, located in Philadelphia's Rittenhouse-Fitler Historic District, that has the unique distinction of being home to the oldest medical society in the country AND to the renowned Mutter Museum.

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Instead of awkward getting-to-know-you small talk, your guests could bond over private tours of the Mutter Museum — featuring the remains of folks like John Wilkes Booth and President Grover Cleveland. There's also a collection of skulls and skeletons from the beginning of human history, medical instruments, and OMG! Albert Einstein's brain!? These museum tours are the perfect built-in solution for those of you planning a dance-free reception.

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Now, for those of you DO want to dance your ass off all night, The College of Physicians makes the perfect ballroom-type venue. Unsurprisingly, we're told that the College of Physicians is a super popular spot for Steampunk weddings, so of course they won't bat an eye at your weird and/or wonderful wedding schemes.

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…I mean, check out this cake. CLEARLY they've seen some awesomely unusual weddings in their day!

I'm not going to mince words: this is not an inexpensive location to get hitched, but The College of Physicians does offer discounts for offbeat couples planning their weddings during the off-season or on non-typical wedding days. (We know lots of you love your Sunday weddings, and your winter weddings…)

So if you're in Philadelphia, and you're dreaming of an outlandish and whimsical venue filled with curiosities and science, contact them before your date gets booked up!

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Comments on Skulls, steampunks & seasonal discounts: Philadelphia wedding venue The College of Physicians

  1. I visited Philly two years ago for a conference, and their icebreaker was here. LOVED IT! Too bad we literally live accross the country, or this is the first place we would have looked at for a wedding. They don’t allow photography in the actual museum, and I don’t know how flexible that policy is for weddings.

  2. Thanks for posting this, I was considering The Mutter as a potential venue and its good to know they have discounts for or odd and off-season days.

    Also if you don’t know anyone who is having a wedding there, but wish you did, they host an annual ball. One is coming up on March 31st. Details are at this site: http://www.mutterball.com/

  3. I love the Mütter Museum! It’s one my favorite places to take out-of-towners. I’d love to go to a swanky wedding there – it really is a beautiful building, and filled with so many creepy things! I think they also have a garden planted with medicinal plants.

  4. If I didn’t live on the other side of the state, I would SO get married there. *Sigh* It’s just so pretty and creepy. So perfect for a Steampunk/gothic wedding.

  5. I love this place, it’s one of my favorite places in Philly, and I’ve seen more than one really excellent art exhibit in there as well. Man I hope someone i know has a wedding there so i have another excuse to visit!

  6. OMG want. Not because I’m into steampunk…mostly, I’m an anatomy nerd and I love bones!

    Too bad I live in Australia…

  7. I love this museum. So cool to see a wedding there! I think you can find out more about cool venues like this on Partyspace.com

  8. I was just casually glancing around at various venues, absolutely certain that I wanted an outdoor fall wedding someplace with huge beautiful gardens and decadent meals. Certain I DID NOT want to get married in my hometown (I love you Philly but you always make sure to show me your nastiest, dirtiest, grimiest secrets – so very NOT what I want for my wedding day).

    Two words were enough to turn everything on it’s rear: Mutter Museum!

    Between the architectural beauty of the building and the displays of medical oddities is a space for my gothy little heart. Now I’m all mixed up. How to do a brilliant outdoor fall wedding in Philly AND have my Mutter cake and eat it too!

    This can be done. This WILL be done. If I have to split my wedding up, have an intimate ceremony outside of town somewhere and come back to Mutter for the reception – so be it!

    • My sentiments exactly! I wasn’t even sure I wanted to have a wedding for a while there. I thought long and hard about eloping. But I’ve always loved the Mutter Museum and if I could get married there I would stay in Philly to do it. If not then we’re eloping. Haha!

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