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Portico is an enchanting venue at a Victorian mansion in Philadelphia.
The Francis Cope House is located at Awbury Arboretum, a 55-acre public park with a historic landscape of trees, shrubs, meadows and botanical gardens.
Photo Credits home page: Samantha Jay, Haley Richter, Yana Shellman, Heidi Roland.
Portico sits within the extraordinary 55-acre Awbury Arboretum in the historic Germantown neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia. Once the private enclave of an extended Quaker family, the Arboretum is a green oasis in a densely-populated urban environment with the Francis Cope House as its centerpiece.
The property is part of a Quaker community imbued with the ideals of simplicity and integrity. The venue's capacity is 160 with outdoor dining in a white tent and use of the house with its Portico and surrounding landscape.
The grounds of Awbury Arboretum were laid out in the 19th century in the English landscape garden tradition by William Saunders, designer of the Capitol grounds in Washington, DC. They include botanical gardens, specimen trees, meadows, wetlands, birds, native wildflowers and grasses, even a Secret Garden.
There are many gathering spots for photos and ceremonies — all with different vibes-enchanted forest, verdant lawn, shaded clearings, English garden, white peaked tent, all as picturesque and charming as can be.
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The Francis Cope House serves as the gathering point for your event. The gracious Victorian stone mansion, built of Wissahickon schist from a local quarry, features a gabled roof, floor-to-ceiling windows and a delightful wrap-around porch from which guests can survey the picturesque English landscape. The house is large and elegant, but not ostentatious. Its interior is comprised of a variety of rooms with tall ceilings and windows that open up from bottom to top onto the porch. A spacious wedding suite is situated on the second floor of the House overlooking the grounds.
Originally the summer home of the Cope family, the land upon which the Arboretum sits was purchased in 1852. In 1916, concern for the preservation of this open space led to the establishment of the Arboretum as a non-profit for the “quiet enjoyment of nature” and for educational purposes.
A portion of the proceeds from events held here go directly towards the maintenance and preservation of this precious parcel of land -and the many non-profit projects benefiting the community, such as the Agricultural Village, Education Center, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Weavers Way Co-op farming and the Philly Goat Project.
I would get married there again in a heartbeat.