Adventure Aquarium Events & Catering

Our Wedding at the Aquarium was everything I dreamt it to be. My husband and I wanted something different than the normal catering hall and when we saw the aquarium had a hall we knew (before we were even engaged lol) that would be it. We originally planned for a Nov 2020 wedding but due to the Pandemic we rescheduled to April and than finally November 2021. During that time there was a change in event managers. Megan helped us through all the little hiccups that came along with rescheduling your wedding two times. She was knowledgeable and thorough. There are so many little things I can mention with how awesome she is but the one that sticks out the most was how the night of the wedding one of the vendors (separate from the aquarium) was not there. Megan went out of her way to reach out to the vendor to get them there. Taking all the stress off of me so that I could enjoy the night. Secondly, we were given a bridal attendant Ms. Darlene. Again I could go on and on about how wonderful she was. We have a 5 year old son and Ms. Darlene was so helpful with him. Even getting him a snack while we took pictures. She was so sweet and professional. Thank you Megan, Ms. Darlene, and the whole catering staff for making our wedding an unforgettable experience! And always Hire the PENGUIN! She was the hit of the party!

What a great time! We worked with Peter, and he was super helpful, the bar had a nice heavy pour, the food was great, and the venue was unforgettable. I cannot wait to get the photos back!

We had our wedding and reception in Currents Ballroom and had an absolutely outstanding experience throughout the process. The value is incredible for everything we got, and so much was included with our wedding package that it made planning super easy (our package included catering, full bar, linens, centerpieces, and a DJ). The events team did a fantastic job decorating the space, and the food was delicious. Terry the events manager was extremely responsive and easy to work with, and extremely flexible and full of helpful suggestions, even offering to customize some menu items for us. Donna the catering manager was like having our own day-of coordinator (we did not hire a day of coordinator, but Donna was on site for everything and kept things running super smoothly, even helping to corral family members for the rehearsal). Our bridal attendant Darlene was also awesome, she made sure we were well-fed and always had a full glass, and generally ensured that we got to enjoy the food and drinks we paid for while still mingling with all our guests. The entire team functioned like a well-oiled machine and exceeded our expectations at every turn. I really don't think you can find a better value or a more unique venue.

Shoutout to Stacy at Adventure Aquarium who, upon telling her my wedding was early 2018, told me I didn't need to worry about booking a venue yet...and then after several emails back and forth (most delayed on her part), never responded to the last 3 emails I sent asking to pick a date for a visit. I've since booked another venue that I'm in love with.

Just want to give a shout out to Adventure Aquarium who contacted me today, 5 days before my wedding to tell me the penguins I booked, paid for and were on my contact in APRIL will not be at the wedding because they "no longer offer that" which is coincidental because the new penguin exhibit opens to the public this weekend... shitty customer service at its finest.

I was married here over a year ago and I'm still upset about how my event was handled. I spent 18 months planning and dealing with one person then the day of my event that person wasn't even there. Unfortunately there is not enough character space to cover everything that went wrong but I'll try and cover the most awful highlights. If your getting married outside I hope your guest are mind readers because there will be no staff directing your guest where to go, more than half my guest wandered into the venue because no one was around to tell them otherwise so yes they missed my ceremony and were at another event entirely. Our parents didn't even have the seats closest to the front because the catering manager told people they could sit where they wanted. He knew exactly who our parents were because my florist ran late and we had him give our mothers their corsages because we were out of time. So you would think he would have made sure they were taken care of. The bathrooms were a disgrace no soap no toilet paper... Which I didnt know about until I over heard my guest complaining about it. I was told I couldn't have a rehearsal because they don't do evenings then I decided to just have a rehearsal without them since it was going to be outside and my officiate said we'd be fine without them, when I informed them of this I was told had I given more notice they would have had the catering manager there but he had other plans. I mentioned this 18 months before the wedding... Not sure how much more notice you need. My guest were afraid to go order drinks because they were being terrorized by the one bartender. He told my sister not to come to the bar again unless she knew exactly what she wanted. He informed my 70 year old mother "this ain't the club" when she tried ordering a drink that he didnt have the liquer to make and what she asked for, which wasn't anything special basically gin and 7up. I ordered chicken fingers for My nephew when I finalized my menu weeks before the event. His food never came. I had to go track someone down to find out where his food was, he basically ate as my wedding was ending. I'm sure like every bride I put my heart and soul into every detail and I was assured countless times by Stacy that my day would be perfect and I had nothing to worry about. While your pictures here will be beautiful and unique, save yourself the stress and have your wedding where they actually care about your day.

We booked the Currents ballroom and couldn't have been happier. The room is absolutely amazing. It is a little more on the expensive side, and we unfortunately went through four "Event Co-ordinators" in 15 months, which was stressful and than found out the coordinators don't even assist on the rehearsal or day of the event but instead the Catering manages take care of everything. They messed up our seating arrangements by missing a couple seats for guests and our Jr Bridesmaid and we had to scramble to remedy the problem before anyone noticed. The venue is worth the expense though.

You won't find a venue with so many great photo ops and delicious food for the price anywhere else! We received so many compliments from our guests who were just blown away with not only the shark tank in our reception room, but the best view of the Philly skyline! If you want great food and amazing pictures, this is the place.

Stacy Steffen is assigned to help design your event, but she is not actually at your event. She also tends to lose emails. Due to her losing my emails we ended up not receiving the upgraded bar we requested, the table we needed for the ceremony was not available, and she never got in contact with the vendor to arrange the time of their arrivals (I ended up doing this myself). Rose (I wish I knew her last name) was there the day of the wedding. She did an excellent job trying to deal with all the problems associated with Stacy's errors. She remained calm under pressure, but she should NOT have been put in such a situation. She did get the table, but unfortunately was unable to do anything about the bar situation. Unfortunately throughout the night we ran out of dessert, so the appropriate number of desserts were not made (which came part of the buffet package). In addition we ran out of milk/creamer for coffee several times. We had to request the servers to get more desserts and creamer each time. Of all the problems, only the last ones mentioned did the guests notice. However there is something about getting married in front of a shark tank and having the "pet a sting ray" exhibit open to your guests that makes these things seem irrelevant.

this was a great location

This venue was really unique and right by the riverfront, which was beautiful and very fun for our guests. The food was delicious! The only thing we wish had done better was for the staff to take greater control of the flow of the night -i.e- calling up tables to get food and making other announcements. Other than that, we loved it!

When we first got engaged, we didn't even have to look twice to have it here. The value was great considering it is a vendor AND an aquarium. We wanted something more for our guests besides a dull ballroom; we wanted them to have something to do besides looking at a dance floor all night. Not only do you get to see fish during the cocktail hour and dinner, but you have so many places to explore; guests can see the Philadelphia skyline and have access to the top portion of the aquarium! The food was also amazing and I am not saying that because I am biased; you also do not even have to pay for a tasting, which is required at some places! The vendor coordinator also works really well for what you need as well. The whole experience here was positive in all areas and our guests left SO happy! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

The groom and I had a great experience here. The staff was great from the first meeting until the goodbyes after the reception. I would highly recommended them.

Staff was friendly and helpful, views were beautiful, food was delicious. Some minor glitches during the evening, especially with the ceremony itself. Overall, we were very happy with our experience, and our guests had a great time.

I was blown away by the customer service of the Aramark staff at the Aquarium. I have to be honest, I was really hesitant when I heard Aramark was the in house catering company. HOWEVER, the food was delicious, the service staff was totally on top of their game, and the display of the food was completely impressive. We had dealt with Stacy Soper throughout the entire planning process who had helped us with every need we had, she made sure that we had a perfect day - - there was nothing she COULDN'T make happen. Chez ended up being there on the BIG DAY because Stacy was away on vacation, and was literally a life saver - - she made sure everything went smoothly and without error. Besides the beauty of the currents ballroom floor to ceiling shark tanks, the Philadelphia skyline on the riverwalk- - the staff iced the cake of our July wedding. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!! We are still hearing "That was the best wedding we've ever been to!"

They were SO helpful and made sure my day went perfect. They were so kind and helpful throughout the ENTIRE planning process and I don't know what I would have done without Chez and her interns. They made my day perfect -- I couldn't have asked for better service.

Amazing atmosphere, delicious food, open bar, reasonable price, awesome staff, helpful wedding coordinator, all of these things made my wedding day more than I ever dreamed of!

Having my wedding at the aquarium (not the currents ballroom) was so unique and beautiful. I got so many compliments on the wedding and location. It was something new for everyone. I'm so happy I picked to have my wedding there. The food was great too!!

Everything the night of was flawless.The food, staff, and venue were perfect. Everyone went out of their way to help us and our guests thouroughly enjoyed themselves. I highly recomend using Adventure Aquarium for your dream wedding. The only problems we encountered were with the way things were handled before our wedding. The staff at the Aquuarium were not always accomodating or tactful. There were also unresolved issues in the billing process. They break down the bill differently from how it is agreed upon in the contract causing additional rental fees.

From beginning to end, the staff was organized and accommodating. The ballroom was beautiful (with live sharks to boot), the drinks flowing, and food delicious. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a unique wedding your guests will love - bonus, great pics outside with the Philly skyline!

That it was so unusual with the aquatic life at every turn, there were quiet places to get away from the music. The deck offered an amazing view of the river and Philly and outside seating for smokers and we put a bar out there also. Nothing compares do this venue.;So large (460,000 square feet) the walking is a bit painful to the feet in heels. tell guests to bring comfortable shoes. Set up speakers not just in the Rotunda. Set up microphone in dive area where ceremony is performed so guests can hear everything said. Otherwise, everything is perfect. Don't use a wedding planner/day of planner as the Aquarium staff is more competent.

Currents Ballroom at the Adventure Aquarium was beautiful and unique. Wonderful view of Philadelphia along with a huge shark tank as a backdrop. Food is amazing. Really great to work with.