Shofuso Japanese Garden is the perfect place for a small wedding in Philadelphia. It combines sprawling gardens with gorgeous architecture unlike anything you’ll find elsewhere in the city. N and M’s wedding is a great example of the intimate, joyful experience you can create at this venue.

In this blog post:

• Getting Ready at Cornerstone Bed and Breakfast
• Shofuso Japanese Garden: A Beautiful Wedding Venue
• A Tender Ceremony for N and M
• Documentary Wedding Photos

Getting Ready at Cornerstone Bed and Breakfast

N and M’s wedding had a somewhat unconventional timeline. Their ceremony at Shofuso Japanese Garden had to take place before the garden opened to the public. We started the day at 7:30 a.m. with getting ready at Cornerstone Bed and Breakfast. 

Luckily, if you have to get up early and take photos, Cornerstone is a gorgeous place to do it. The historic inn has six guest rooms and suites. Each has its own colors and aesthetic, but they create a cohesive experience in the bright Victorian house with vintage furniture and cool wallpaper. The two suites are especially great as getting ready spaces because they have natural light and room for you and your loved ones to spread out a bit.

Before heading to Shofuso for the ceremony, N and M were able to have a first look and get a few photos at the inn. I love the staircase with the elaborate wallpaper and stained glass window. 

In front of the inn, the azaleas were blooming. The little garden and unique architecture made it a great spot for N and M’s first look. 

Shofuso Japanese Garden: A Beautiful Wedding Venue

After getting ready at Cornerstone Bed and Breakfast, it was time to head to Shofuso Japanese Garden for M and N’s 9 a.m. ceremony. It was the perfect place for the ceremony, and the weather couldn’t have been better to be outside.

This venue is historic in a completely different way than Cornerstone. The Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia, a nonprofit, runs Shofuso. It uplifts Japanese art and culture in the Philadelphia region. What better way to do that than a gorgeous Japanese garden? 

More than just a garden, Shofuso includes a traditional Japanese house. The house itself was built in Japan in the 1950s using traditional materials and methods. Stepping into the beautiful building feels like being worlds away from Philadelphia.

Shofuso Japanese Garden is very transparent about pricing compared to some wedding venues. As of 2026, there are four packages available if you want to get married here.

• Level 1
  • Cost: $1500
  • Guests: 20 
  • Time: 2 hours
  • Days: Tuesday-Sunday 5:30-7:30 p.m. or all day Monday
• Level 2
  • Cost: $1800
  • Guests: 40 
  • Time: 2 hours
  • Days: Tuesday-Sunday 5:30-7:30 p.m. or all day Monday
• Level 3
  • Cost: $2200
  • Guests: 40 guests
  • Time: 4 hours
  • Days: Mondays or during winter
• Level 4
  • Cost: $3500
  • Guests: 40 
  • Time: 4 hours
  • Days: Available any day with Shofuso closing early at 3 p.m.

As you can see, Shofuso Japanese Garden is intended to be a small wedding venue. The space is just the right size for an intimate gathering. Everyone can be a part of the experience, and you get to feel connected to your people.

A Tender Ceremony for N and M

N and M’s Shofuso Japanese Garden wedding was really tender and intimate. Because they kept the guest list small, they were able to have meaningful time with every guest before and after the ceremony.

The ceremony itself was so sweet! Since it’s traditional in Japanese homes, N and M took their shoes off before entering the house. This shoeless wedding was a first for me! They stood on the porch to exchange vows. Their guests sat in the front room, which opens to the gardens. The ceremony was full of laughter and happy tears. It was the kind of experience that makes me feel so lucky to be a wedding photographer.

After the ceremony, the guests wandered the gardens while I took some portraits of N and M. A lot of my favorite images from this wedding are completely candid, but these portraits feel so natural, too. You can feel M and N’s joy when you look at them.

Documentary Wedding Photos 

Like I mentioned, I’m really partial to the documentary photos from N and M’s wedding. They give you such a good sense of what it was really like to be there on their wedding day. From the laughter with N’s mom and sister in the getting ready suite to the tender tears during their ceremony, those documentary images tell the story of their relationships.

Would you like me to photograph your wedding? I’m a Philadelphia wedding photographer specializing in documentary images that tell your story. Inquire with me!