Please Touch Museum Wedding Guide | Philadelphia, PA

Please Touch Museum sits inside Memorial Hall, a gigantic 1876 Beaux Arts building in Fairmount Park, with a carousel your guests can ride and a four-story Statue of Liberty torch made of toys. It holds a lot of people. I have photographed three weddings at Please Touch Museum.

This guide covers the three spaces on the museum’s wedding page, where the ceremonies and receptions in my photographs took place, the carousel, and the spots I use for portraits inside and out. Please Touch Museum is also one of the picks in my guide to the best Philadelphia wedding venues, if you are still comparing.

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Please Touch Museum Wedding Venue Snapshot

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Why Couples Choose Please Touch Museum

Memorial Hall opened in 1876 as the original art museum for the Centennial Exposition, and Please Touch Museum has been inside it since 2008. So you get a Beaux Arts hall built for a World’s Fair and a playful museum in one place, and you can lean as far into either one as you like.

• There is a carousel inside, the historic Dentzel Carousel, and your guests get to ride it.
• It is a landmark, literally. The museum’s wedding page calls Memorial Hall a registered National Historic Landmark.
• The floors are the original white, red and black marble, and the museum renovated them ahead of Memorial Hall’s 150th anniversary in 2026.
• Portraits can go from grand to goofy, from the front steps outside to the Mad Hatter’s tea party inside.
• The museum also points history fans to its Centennial Fairgrounds Model, handcrafted in 1889, which shows the 1876 World’s Fair grounds in miniature.

And the big round purple sign by the lawn makes sure nobody forgets where you got married.

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What I Tell Couples Before a Please Touch Museum Wedding

After hours, the museum is yours

You get access to basically the whole building, with staff escorting you. It’s surreal, like being inside a kids’ storybook with the lights off. We bring our own lighting into the rooms, so you can go just about anywhere. I did an Alice in Wonderland themed shoot with one couple. Whatever you can imagine, we can cook up there.

Go out front at night

This one is underrated. Go out front after dark. Memorial Hall is lit up behind you, the sky is dark, and the street lights glow as you come down the steps. I have done full family sessions out there at night.

Cherry blossoms out back

Behind Memorial Hall there are amazing cherry trees. They usually bloom in early April, though it changes a little every year. If your date lands then, I highly suggest it. Out front there are lots of spots with different structures, plus the front steps.

The carousel

Everyone loves it, and almost no other venue has anything close. We usually do carousel portraits before cocktail hour, and your guests get to ride it later in the night.

Getting ready

There is a prep space on site, but many of my couples get ready at a hotel or a house and come over.

The food

The hors d’oeuvres at cocktail hour are high-end and really unique, passed by the staff. Not the usual pigs in a blanket.

Lighting the room

The reception room is huge, so uplighting doesn’t do much. Pin-spot the tables instead. Many of my couples have had their ceremony in the front room. If you want it to look incredible, add a spotlight from the back aimed at the two of you. I have never seen anyone do it there, and I think it would look fantastic.

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The Wedding Spaces at Please Touch Museum

The museum’s wedding rental includes three distinct locations for the ceremony, the cocktail hour and the reception, and its wedding page describes three spaces by name: Hamilton Hall, the South Foyer and the Carousel House.

Hamilton Hall

This is the big room under the dome. The museum says Hamilton Hall has 60-foot ceilings, a dance floor on marble, and a four-story replica of the Statue of Liberty’s arm and torch. According to the museum’s history page, the artist Leo Sewell built it from nearly 2,000 toys.

The museum lists Hamilton Hall at 650 for a reception, 550 seated, or 360 seated with a dance floor. The receptions in these photographs were in this room. Here it is set for dinner, with round tables, tall flowers on gold stands and the columns uplit.

The South Foyer

The South Foyer is right next to Hamilton Hall and has the same dramatic architecture, per the museum. It can hold your cocktail hour or a smaller ceremony, or add seats when the reception outgrows Hamilton Hall. The museum puts it at 450 for a reception and 250 seated.

The Carousel House

The Independence Blue Cross Carousel House is a 9,000-square-foot glass atrium around the historic Dentzel Carousel, with hand-carved animals and chariots from the early 1900s. It has an optional separate entrance and driveway. The museum suggests it for a ceremony, a cocktail hour, or a gathering after the reception, and lists it at 200 for a reception and 150 seated.

Every rental includes one hour of carousel rides for your guests, and the wedding party can climb on too.

Confirm your count with the events team for any of these rooms. The museum also says it can add other parts of the building based on your design, from a small wedding in one room up to a full museum rental.

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Getting Ready for a Please Touch Museum Wedding

For the weddings in this guide, the couples got ready in the city, then headed out to the park.

If you get ready downtown, you can pick up portraits on the way. With one couple we did them around Logan Square and the Parkway before heading to the museum. Build that drive out to Fairmount Park into your timeline.

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Ceremony Options at Please Touch Museum

Both ceremony spaces on the museum’s wedding page are inside: the South Foyer and the Carousel House. The ceremonies in this guide were in the ornate front hall, with its marble floor and the aisle right down the middle.

One of them was under a floral chuppah, with the wedding party on both sides and tall flowers lining the aisle.

The same hall works for family photographs. For one wedding we did them there before the ceremony.

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Cocktail Hour and Reception at Please Touch Museum

Cocktail hour

Cocktail hour can go in the South Foyer or the Carousel House, per the museum. At one wedding here, the guests spent part of it on the carousel, riding the carved animals in their wedding clothes.

Dinner and dancing in Hamilton Hall

Dinner comes from Rhubarb Hospitality Collection (RHC), the museum’s exclusive culinary partner.

The torch is hard to miss. One DJ worked right out of its round base, and the first dance happened in front of it.

You can still see the museum from the dance floor. Here the hanging clouds and the tree from the exhibits are lit up between the columns, behind the guests.

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Best Spots for Photographs at Please Touch Museum

The museum points couples to its grand entryways outside and its playful exhibit spaces inside, and my galleries from here have both. Besides the front steps and the purple sign, these are the spots that show up in them.

The side walkway below the dome

Walk along the side of the building and you get the tall arched windows, with the green glass dome and its statue rising above you.

The lawn and shade trees

Right beside the building there is a wide lawn with big shade trees, a nice change of pace from all that granite.

The carousel

You can get up on the carousel for portraits too. The lights, the gold trim and the carved horses do a lot of the work.

The Mad Hatter tea party table

Inside the Alice in Wonderland exhibit there is a Mad Hatter tea party table, and the Mad Hatter will gladly sit in on your portrait.

The hedge arches

The same exhibit has green hedge arches, with hanging clouds and an upper walkway behind them.

The hallway of doors

And there is a narrow hallway of painted doors with a checkerboard floor, straight out of the story.

My galleries from here also have a rabbit hole tunnel with a hanging lantern and an upper walkway in front of a big woodland mural, so leave yourself time to wander.

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Planning Tips for a Please Touch Museum Wedding

• Plan your guests’ hour on the carousel. Every rental includes one, so decide where it fits in your day.
• Ask the events team which exhibit spaces you can use for portraits, and leave room for them in your timeline.
• If you get ready downtown, plan your portraits on the way out to the park.
• Tell your guests about the gated lot. The museum’s wedding rental includes parking there for them, and ride shares can drop off at the main entrance or by the Carousel House.
• Ask about the Carousel House’s optional separate entrance and driveway when you plan how your guests arrive.

Ask the events team what else is happening in Fairmount Park on your date. In this drone frame from a June wedding, there is a big crowd with tents and trucks on the lawn right beside the building, with the Center City skyline behind it.

Save the photograph with everyone for the front steps. They are wide enough to hold a big group.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Please Touch Museum Weddings

Where is Please Touch Museum?

Please Touch Museum is in Memorial Hall at 4231 Avenue of the Republic, Philadelphia, PA 19131, in the Centennial District of Fairmount Park.

Can you get married at Please Touch Museum?

Yes. Please Touch Museum hosts weddings in Philadelphia, and its wedding rental includes three distinct locations for the ceremony, cocktail hour and reception, plus parking for your guests in its gated lot.

How many guests can Please Touch Museum hold for a wedding?

Please Touch Museum lists Hamilton Hall at 650 for a reception, 550 seated and 360 seated with a dance floor, and says it can open more of the museum for larger events. Confirm your count with the events team.

Who caters weddings at Please Touch Museum?

Rhubarb Hospitality Collection (RHC) is the exclusive culinary partner for Please Touch Museum, according to the museum’s own site, so RHC caters weddings there.

Can guests ride the carousel at a Please Touch Museum wedding?

Yes. Please Touch Museum says every rental includes one hour of carousel rides for guests on the historic Dentzel Carousel in the Independence Blue Cross Carousel House.

Where do ceremonies happen at Please Touch Museum?

Please Touch Museum offers the South Foyer, next to Hamilton Hall, and the Independence Blue Cross Carousel House, a glass atrium around the carousel, for wedding ceremonies. Both are inside.

Is there parking at Please Touch Museum for weddings?

Yes. The Please Touch Museum wedding rental includes parking for your guests in the museum’s gated lot, and ride shares can drop off at the main entrance or by the Carousel House.

How old is Memorial Hall?

Memorial Hall, home of Please Touch Museum, opened in 1876 as the original art museum for the Centennial Exposition. The museum calls the Beaux Arts building a registered National Historic Landmark.

Where are the best spots for wedding photographs at Please Touch Museum?

At Please Touch Museum I use the front steps, the purple museum sign, the side of the building below the glass dome, the lawn, the carousel and the Alice in Wonderland exhibit, Mad Hatter tea party table included.

Can you take engagement photographs at Please Touch Museum?

Only with permission. Please Touch Museum requires permission for professional engagement and wedding photographs, the same as any commercial shoot, so your photographer contacts the museum first to schedule a visit.

When do the cherry trees bloom at Please Touch Museum?

The cherry trees behind Memorial Hall usually bloom in early April, though it shifts a little every year. If your wedding lands then, they make an amazing spot for portraits.

When do carousel photographs happen at a Please Touch Museum wedding?

We usually do carousel portraits before cocktail hour, and your guests get to ride it later in the night.

Can you take photographs all over Please Touch Museum during a wedding?

Pretty much. After hours you get access to basically the whole building, with staff escorting you, and we bring our own lighting into the rooms. I did an Alice in Wonderland themed shoot with one couple there.

Have you photographed weddings at Please Touch Museum?

Yes. I have photographed three weddings at Please Touch Museum. Every photograph in this guide comes from my own galleries there.

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