New England Aquarium

ng the harbor. You could see the planes taking off in the distance and the gorgeous skyline of the Seaport/East Boston—it was a serene place to have our ceremony. We had our cocktail hour inside the main aquarium exhibit halls, which our guests loved. It was so fun to have a drink while watching the penguins or being mesmerized by the large talk. We had our reception outdoors in the harbor side tent. We hired a florals and lighting to really brought the space to life. The aquarium staff set up everything so beautifully and elegantly. The service was efficient with plates being brought out and cleared promptly. We ate, cried, laughed and danced the night away. It was a magical evening that we’ll never forget. Besides the event itself, we also really enjoyed working with the staff at the Aquarium, in particular Amanda and Alex. They were extremely supportive, responsive via email, and made us feel so at ease. I frantically emailed Alex one Friday afternoon and she responded almost immediately, and even offered to jump on the phone to talk something through. Overall, we loved our wedding at the aquarium. We are so happy that we chose it. The location/venue was awesome, the food was excellent, the staff were amazing. Thank you Alex and Amanda for the event of a lifetime.

one interested in a unique experience and working with . We primarily worked with Amanda and Alex. They were very knowledgeable, responsive, and helpful throughout planning. And during the wedding, they and their staff were incredibly organized, helpful, and kind. It was rainy during our wedding day so we had to move the ceremony inside. The transition in plans was seamless, and getting married in front of the penguins with our friends and family towering over us was a truly extraordinary and precious experience. After the wedding, we had several guests reach out about how unique the venue was, how great the food tasted, and how attentive the staff was.

ception all at one venue, but still have it feel like three totally different venues - getting married with the penguins, cocktails at the top of the tank, and the reception on the water was a perfect mixture. We even had to change our ceremony from outside to inside at the last minute due to weather and our main contacts Abigail and Amanda made it extremely stress-free for us. I am the kind of person who likes to feel in control of everything, but I learned to trust and rely on Abigail and Amanda, who correctly assured us that if they were not stressed, we should not be stressed! They really made it happen. Plus, all of our guests were raving about how unique and personal the event was. We would highly recommend the New England Aquarium to any couples looking for a unique venue in the city.

was beyond expectations! It was beautiful from start to finish. The venue was a fun and different wedding experience for everyone. Our guests raved about how much fun they had. Our coordinator Amanda was incredibly accommodating and made the whole experience stress free. The on site staff were extremely attentive as well.

nue. Let’s start with communication. From the beginning, communication was lacking on their end. After submitting our deposit, we were told by the event manager that catering would reach out to us in January, but that did not happen. Finally, at the end of February we had to reach out to initiate a conversation. After meeting with the catering manager, we were told we could hear from her in July to set up a date for our tasting. That did not happen. In August we tried reaching out to schedule our tasting, but we never received a response. So, I made a phone call to the catering manager and was told she would contact me later that day, that did not happen. We did not hear from her for a week! At this point, I was stressed because we were four months away from our wedding and our invitations had to be sent out, but we could not do that until we knew what food options we were offering. At the tasting, everything went perfectly. The food was incredible, and I felt confident that the wedding would go off without a hitch, but boy was I wrong. At the rehearsal, we were told the ceremony would not take place at the coral reef because of a lighting issue. Fine. No big deal. On the day of the wedding, we were lining up to get ready to walk down the aisle when they informed us we would not be standing where we practiced the night before, but we would standing where we were supposed to originally, by the coral reef. Everyone was stressed because this was not what we practiced the night before. As a bride, my stomach was already in knots and the last thing I needed was more stress, but I let it go. The show must go on. The ceremony was lovely and when my groom and I walked out we were greeted by our attendant with champagne. At that moment, I was able to relax, and I thought the rest of the evening would go smoothly, but I was wrong again. During dinner service, my husband and I were served the wrong meal, our steak was cold, and close to being raw. The sauce and sides were disgusting. I was shocked. This was not what we tasted and chose during our tasting. While walking around to our guest tables, we noticed nobody was touching their food and we heard whispers of people complaining about their meal. This is not something we wanted to hear. We were embarrassed and this caused so much stress, but we tried our best to stay calm. For the remainder of the evening, my blood sugar kept dropping due to the lack of carbs and protein from not eating our meal, as a type 1 diabetic, this was concerning. We have reached out to the catering manager to address our concerns and while she did seem genuinely apologetic and she refunded us our money for the meals, we still don’t have an answer about what went wrong. We are go with the flow kind of people, and it would be ridiculous to assume everything would go perfectly at our wedding, but this mistake was one that shouldn’t’ve happened. People pay a lot of money for weddings, and the bride, groom, and guests not having an edible meal to eat was unacceptable. We were told by the catering manager she went home after salads were served, but we’re having a difficult time understanding how she was not aware that the chef was not serving the food we chose. Let’s assume they accidentally ordered the wrong food for our wedding. Fine. At least say something to use. At least acknowledge that you made a mistake. We’re very understanding people and the fact that nobody besides the catering manager has reached out to apologize is absurd. I strongly advise any couple considering this venue to consider it carefully.

s, they were able to finish my sentences, they knew my event inside and out! I felt so prioritized and taken care of. The ceremony space is stunning and who can beat a cocktail hour inside the aquarium around all of the penguins!! We had a blast, and now I am trying to figure out how I can have another event there. I wish I could give them 100 stars!!!

en it would be five stars, hands down. Unfortunately, though, they work exclusively with the Patina Group for catering, and this company is a disaster. I’ll spare the internet the full details, but the short of it is this: They deferred our requests to schedule our tasting dinner until four weeks before the wedding (which was in mid October). The day after we finally had it and firmed up our menu, they emailed to let us know us know that they were increasing our contract cost by $10,000, or a full 33% of the original cost. Again, they did this four weeks before our wedding, with no forewarning, in a breezy 3 line email that referred vaguely to “unexpected price increases.” Notably, the increases were mostly associated with labor costs and managerial fee mark-ups, not food costs based in our selections at the dinner. We were blindsided. When we protested, they told us they would “work with us.” This largely consisted of leveraging the fact that we had fewer guests attending than originally estimated and also revising the number of hors d’oeuvres served down to 2/3rds of our guest count— because why should we want there to be enough for everyone? They also told us that we were the only couple to complain about a last-minute price hike in our contract, as if we were in the wrong. (Mind you, when I told people about the increase, the most common response was an astonished, “Is that legal?” ) To make matters worse, the night of our wedding, the service was a mess. They carved the wrong name for me into a decorative watermelon accompanying a flavored water station set out for guests before the ceremony; they repeatedly ignored our requests to open the sides of the reception tent (we wanted to minimize chances of COVID transmission and had discussed this explicitly days before the wedding, and then repeated it day of); they forgot to set aside wedding cake slices for me and my husband, so that we didn’t get any; they neglected to set out our wedding favors until all but the final guests remained, so lots of guests didn’t get them after we spent hours curating and copying a customized playlist onto 130 thumbs drives. The whole thing was disorganized, impersonal, and seemed sort of thrown together. We felt disappointed and taken advantage of, which was a real bummer because we love the aquarium and their staff members were great. If anything, I would just strongly urge the aquarium to consider dropping their exclusive contract with Patina and allow couples to explore other vendors. I’m sure there are lots of great local groups to work with. As it stands, with Patina as the only caterer/ event mgmt group to contract with, I sadly can’t recommend having a wedding at the aquarium.

timely and efficient. Our special day was as stress free and amazing as possible.

ptions for different tastes/diets. Amanda from Patina (the catering company) was wonderful about answering my questions and tweaking some menu items to fit our preferences (I do not eat pork/shellfish). She was very pleasant to work with especially on the day of the reception, and kept everything running smoothly.

lowing year. Since we didn't get married on-site, we used the South Terrace area for cocktail hour and it was magical with the sunset and breeze! The tent right on the Boston Harbor is one of, if not the best, location in Boston for a wedding. You can't get any closer to the water than that! Our guests also loved having access to the Aquarium for the entire evening. Thank you to all the staff and amazing vendors for making our dream wedding come to life!

. Also the food was SO good. Patina catering is amazing. 10/10 would recommend 100 times over. I also love that they stay committed to sustainable fishing so the food choices are dependent on what's available. An environmentally responsible vendor.

rs ago. If we ended up having our reception at the aquarium, I might feel differently however after having the unique experience of working closely with two venues, there are places that do it better. My husband and I were supposed to have our June 2020 wedding at the aquarium and rescheduled it for June of 2021. We reached out to the aquarium in January of 2021 to let them know that regardless of the status with Covid, we did not want to postpone again and were going to move ahead with our June date no matter what that looked like (limited capacity, etc). As the wedding approached in the spring, they never reached out to us. Even as government phases started to roll out, it was always us reaching out to them and getting a response maybe a week later; they never reached out to us and never replied in a timely manner. Fast forward to April and it's go time! We needed answers and to start reaching out to our guests and they were still like "we have time, we'll figure it out." Very wishy washy. We were about 60 days out from the wedding and had a conference call with them where they only had answers to about 50% of our questions. I understand a pandemic is unchartered territory for all of us and we are all just trying to do out best, but it seemed like the topics we were bringing up were things they hadn't even thought about, yet they are the event experts (I should say that actually the catering and planning is through a partner company called the Patina Group, which is where most of my frustration is directed). For example, a covid restriction was supposedly that we couldn't have a live singer in Boston but we already had a contract with a band. The aquarium/Patina Group just choose to say "no" instead of offering solutions. Meanwhile, our band and other vendors were bending over backwards to come up with solutions that worked in a covid world. 50 days out from the wedding we still didn't have answers from them on many of our questions, and their entire team was on vacation. Odd. Finally at about day 45 out from the wedding we changed to a different venue. Our new venue immediately started scheduling calls with us, and would answer any of our questions within 24 hours, because they are event experts and understand it's go time when you are within 45 days of a wedding. The aquarium would be an absolutely iconic place to hold and event, and I'm bummed it couldn't work out. However, my in depth experience with both venues was a night and day difference. The aquarium/Patina Group added stress when they should have been relieving it. I'm sure they run beautiful events if there are no wrenches thrown into plans, but they are not solution oriented or responsive if you need to make a Plan B.

ll be one they will never forget! We got married 11/9/19 and did the ceremony, reception, and cocktail hour all inside NEAQ. It was so fun and unique to host everything inside the building with the penguins as extra wedding guests! I cannot stress enough how easy it was to plan our wedding NEAQ wedding coordinator, Kelcee. She knew everything there was to know about all of the options the aquarium can offer to make your wedding go off without a hitch. We had a lot of questions about pretty much everything wedding related and Kelcee listened to our vision the entire time and helped make the event come to life! NEAQ understood our vision and executed it seamlessly so that we could fully enjoy the entire night with our guests. We were so not stressed on the day of the wedding that we were about to truly be present in the moment. If we had to do it again I would hands down choose the aquarium every time! Our wedding day will be a day that we never forget and we are so thankful to the aquarium for providing such a unique and memorable venue and easy to work with staff to help us really bring our day to life. 10/10 would recommend to anyone and everyone looking for a wedding venue!

out by the boardwalk was nothing other than incredible. Our guests were blown away by the entire experience — it was a huge hit! The NEA event planning staff came ready to help plan and were always available when I needed them. They made it easy for me to make decisions and were flexible with payments. Overall, we would enthusiastically recommend having your wedding at NEA (and kissing a seal while you’re at it!)

stic feel to it. Guests enjoyed the ability to venture off and explore the aquarium at night. The tent allows for a lot of areas for personal touches. In terms of communications, Della did a fantastic job in the sales process. There was a slight change of personnel in between us signing and our wedding which led to a couple of minor communication hiccups. Overall though we were very pleased with the level of service and support we’ve received from Erin in the lead up to the wedding. The food is fantastic for wedding standards and honestly would still be very good for a restaurant standard. The service during the event was impeccable and very attentive. A couple of things to note that you should consider before going with this venue: your wedding day will be fairly packed if you try to have both ceremony and reception at the venue (earliest start is 6 PM on a Saturday and end by midnight). Also consider there is a public walkway behind the area where the ceremony takes place (i.e. make sure you have ushers on docket to help move people along; the NEA staff is not legally allowed to do so). Besides this, we loved everything about this place and would gladly do our wedding there again.

and family right along the Boston harbor. We had a beautiful ceremony on the back pier just before sunset. There were a few passing boat noises during our ceremony, but for us, was good to help cut the tension and add some giggles. We had perfect weather for our reception in the big pier tent, not too hot with the nice ocean breeze at the end of July. We opted for station meals and our guests commented that they really enjoyed the food. We arranged for just a few lantern lights on ceiling and uplighting in the tent with Groove Events and are happy we did because it looked really great (especially in photos). We did have a little stress in the weeks leading to our event with 3 rapid coordinator changes, however, the staff really pulled together for the night of and we are thankful for their attention to our every need. We only wish we could have celebrated longer, but that is a sign of a good wedding!

e penguin platform, and our guests had epics views of us while standing on the spiral around the Giant Ocean Tank. They really made us feel like stars. Our whole wedding planning experience with NEAQ was amazing. They provide an event coordinator. Ours, Tie, guided us the whole way through. She arranged nights for our private food and wine tasting and a separate night, at our request, for a sound check of their audio system when we started to freak out about getting a DJ or not. She answered all of our questions in a timely and friendly manner and worked closely with our own wedding planner to arrange all of the crazy details we came up with. She provided complimentary parking for all of our appointments. On the day of our wedding, Tie also had her staff to help set up our centerpieces which was above and beyond (normally a separate vendor would do that). The wedding night itself was magical. The staff was extensive and all very professional (wait staff, servers, bar tenders, our 2 roaming educators, security, and everyone behind the scenes). All of the floors were open to our guests to enjoy the exhibits, and the bars were opened on each floor as the night progressed, which was excellent given the size of the venue. We kept the touch tank open and staffed during cocktail hour. The food was incredible, especially the salmon. They accommodated all special requests for allergies (vegetarian and gluten free). Our guests raved about the food. Surrounded by penguins, we danced the night away. NEAQ has everything you need for a wedding (well actually, for any event) and if they themselves don't handle it, they have preferred vendors for everything else. We didn't have to think about renting tables, chairs, dinnerware, etc; it was all included. The couples' night tasting happened about 2 months before our big day. All of the details that we stressed out about and/or didn't get around to, we found answers to that night. Yes, we hired the DJ, who was DJ'ing for the couples' night. We also went with their preferred limo company and rented 2 busses. Phew! If you want to experience what an evening event could look like, get tickets for the NEAQ Valentine's Day event, "That's A-Moray" which is also when the proposal happened (2018) and our engagement photos (2019).  The overall cost for having NEAQ as our ceremony site and catered reception was on-par with other venues we looked at. NEAQ captured our heart, and we are so glad to get married there. Every time we visit, we remember our wedding day all over again. We would do it again in a heart beat! (This review was written together by both the bride and the groom. We are both very happy with NEAQ.)

job helping us find vendors and then coordinating with them on the day of. My ceremony coordinator was fantastic and my bridal attendant made the night so easy for me. There was some coordinator turnover during our planning process that required extra/repetitive communication, but I was very happy with the product I received, not to mention just how beautiful and unique the venue itself is.

g guests. They worked great with our vendors, they made us special cocktails and did not go light on the booze :-D Also during the day they had a waiter just for us who made sure we did not have to worry about anything! I will say there was some confusion on the day involving the food. Everything was delicious however there seemed to be some mixups around the appetizers we picked out and one of the entrees was significantly different from the tasting. While that was frustrating they did acknowledge the issue and worked with us to try and make it right. That aside we are really with the process and the evening overall!

could have ever imagined. Food was great, space was beautiful, and it was a really unique venue.

top of that, the staff was incredibly kind and helped with every one of our needs. Kelcee in particular made sure that everything that night went great. We couldnt have been happier choosing the Aquarium to host our wedding and definitely recommend it to everyone!

in the aquarium space. The NEAQ staff was absolutely incredible throughout the twists and turns of our planning, including adapting to the rain plan when a summer shower was identified for the hour of our ceremony. (getting married amidst the penguins was so memorable!) The food was amazing; we also received many complements from our guests there. And the pictures! We got some awesome images unlikely any of our friends' wedding pictures given how special and different NEAQ is. If only we could do it all over again! :) Thank you, NEAQ team!! (Erin, Della, and Tie in particular)

em, they were timely and informative. I loved working with Kelcee, the Catering Manager. She was thorough and detail oriented which I definitely appreciated. Everything was delivered exactly as promised, I couldn't have asked for a better experience!

ght! There's something about drinking and eating alongside the penguins that can't be replicated. I cannot thank Erin enough for going along with my crazy, random, ideas and setting up all of my decorations: mermaids, lobsters, pirate ships, treasure chests, vinyl records, disposable cameras- she met with me once, and set it up perfectly! The food was absolutely delicious and every single person that worked the wedding was so attentive and friendly. The incredible views was an added bonus! If you are looking for a unique venue that gives your guests an enjoyable experience, I can't recommend the New England Aquarium enough!

od. They were credibly helpful and caring with some requests for a family member with a health issue which I will forever be grateful for them for being so kind on this special day to make things easier. Specially Cynthia who was constantly in communication with my planner and myself over every detail . Thank you to the Aquarium I wouldn’t have changed a thing

day come true. Our guests raved about the experience from seeing the seals and fish down to the guac bar we had at the cocktail hour and the stations for dinner. A month later we are still having friends and family tell us how much fun they had. The aquarium has this down to a science and you will not regret getting married here. We went with mostly the preferred vendors and are happy we went that route! They know the aquarium inside and out, which helps especially with the flowers (there is a list of flower types you can have!). The tent is spacious and our guests did not feel on top of one another, even though we had close to 200 guests. I cannot thank The New England Aquarium enough for making my dream wedding come true. My husband and I are so thankful for their team and for everything they did!

a. Tie was so above and beyond what we could have hoped for in a planner and coordinator; we felt like we were friends with her from the second we met her. She helped us plan our perfect day and was incredibly well organized. Our ceremony was on the back patio outside and we were so lucky to get perfect weather. Tie made sure everything went off without a hitch and she made it so I didn’t have to worry about any of the logistical details (which I normally worry about!). Our guests loved the atmosphere of the aquarium and had a great time inside at the cocktail hour. Our reception was out back in the tent and it was a dream come true. Tie helped us stay on track so we accomplished all the major things we had to accomplish and didn’t leave until everything was taken care of. She answered all of our many questions during the planning process and was always prompt and clear. The space was gorgeous and far surpassed our expectations, and Tie was a dream to work with. Five stars just aren’t enough. Thank you so so much!

ess thanks to them. Tie had everything under control and I didn't have to worry about a thing. The team also set up the venue beautifully. We received endless comments about how much fun guests had - cocktail hour in the aquarium was a hit. Very happy with our choice and very appreciative that we had such a great team at the Aquarium helping us from day 1.

ork with and handled all our concerns with warmth and professionalism. She interfaced with all the other wedding vendors and made sure everything was very organized. The Aquarium was beautiful, the food was delicious, and all our guests are still raving about this unique venue. In addition, we had lots of little guests and they had a ball as well.

nses. At noon the day of the wedding we dropped off the center pieces, signs, random decorations and stuff for a taffy bar. I gave Tiesha (the social catering manager) little to no direction on how to set it up and everything came out amazing. She came up with creative ways to use all our decorations. We got lucky and had nice weather so had the ceremony on the harbor walk and got the best sunset. After cocktail hour the guest raved about the venue and how unique it was. As well as how nice it was to have the whole aquarium just for the wedding guest. After dinner I even had one guest tell me the steak dish was the best wedding food they have ever had. I would recommend this venue to anyone! It’s amazing how much adults love running around the aquarium with just themselves :).

the venue about a year in advance and Tie was phenomenal from the start. She was so responsive, she honestly made us feel like we were the only couple she worked with. From the food, to reviewing the space, to rentals, to day-of execution, everything was perfect. I was so anxious about the weather on the day of (we were supposed to have our ceremony outside) and Tie texted me throughout the day about how things were looking. I felt so much better about everything knowing we were in such good hands and, ultimately, the weather ended up being perfect! The whole night was just absolutely flawless. Guests still text me about how good the food was (I wish I had eaten more than two bites that evening!) but I'm so so grateful for the NEAQ team. The venue is simply stunning and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect evening. Thank you, thank you NEAQ for making our day so special!!

eception inside the Aquarium and our reception/dinner/dancing inside the tent behind the Aquarium also on the Boston Harbor. It was such a memorable night that not only my husband and I cannot stop talking about but many of our guests are still talking about as well! Planning events can be very stressful but in this case, it was very easy. From the first email I sent to the NEAQ to the last person to clean up after our event, everyone at the Aquarium was a pleasure to work with - especially our Catering Manager, Tiesha Cole. GOSH, Tie thank you, thank you, thank you! Tie was beyond organized, professional, unbelievably timely in her responses, and just an absolute joy and pleasure to work with! I had A LOT of questions, from the cocktail hour food, bar options, signature cocktail, entree/dessert, venue restrictions and overall evening timeline and Tie listened to each and every question and made it ALL come to life. It was supposed to rain on our wedding day and Tie knew how concerned we were with moving the whole ceremony inside. She was very accommodating and understanding and let us make our decision as late in the day as possible. Everything turned out perfect (and didn't rain) and the seals helped us celebrate by barking in approval while we said our vows. Overall, it was the most amazing day and one that I know everyone will remember forever. Thank you, NEAQ for helping us create something so memorable.

to end which is the exact response you want from guests after all the time/effort that goes into wedding planning. We got married 6/2/18 & did a 75 minute cocktail hour inside the aquarium followed by dinner, dancing, & dessert outside under the tent on the Boston Harbor. Words cannot express how much we LOVED planning our wedding with the NEAQ wedding coordinator, Tiesha. She knew everything there was to know about all of the options the aquarium can offer to make your wedding unique. Tiesha was organized, professional, very quick in her response time, and just an absolute joy to work with! We had A LOT of questions, from the cocktail hour food, bar options, entree/dessert, and overall evening timeline and Tie listened to our vision the entire time and made it ALL come to life! We selected to do a Ben & Jerry's ice cream station as one of our dessert options & it was one of the biggest hits of the entire evening, for all ages! Tie also made our "day-of" timeline, incorporating aspects that we had forgot to consider and giving us full freedom to change items / timing as we saw fit . NEAQ understood our vision and executed it seamlessly so that we could fully enjoy the entire night with our guests. If we had to do it again (maybe in a vow renewal) I would ALWAYS choose the aquarium, and not change a single thing! Our wedding day will be one of the happiest days of our lives together and we are so thankful to the aquarium for providing such a unique and memorable venue and staff to make it all possible.

dding ever and went above and beyond for me, my husband and our 125 guests. There was a hurricane the day before our wedding (super stressful!) but the NEAQ and the staff ensured everything went smoothly for us the day of. We chose to get married inside over the penguins, leaving us with a super unique and unforgettable ceremony-the penguins were cute and made noises during the ceremony (as if they had rehearsed!). And the entire reception was inside the aquarium. Our guests were wowed by everything and so were we. After touring many places, we knew the aquarium was perfect for us because not only was it a super cool location- so much was included in the wedding packages- we didn’t want to have coordinate lots of vendors the day of our wedding. I was worried reading through all the paperwork- there are a fair amount of restrictions- (noise level, decorations…) rightfully so to protect the sea life first- but at the end of the day this did not hinder us having a fun and beautiful wedding. The music was plenty loud and everything looked amazing. The food was delicious- at the tasting and at the wedding- and the aquarium was easy to make alterations for our food preferences. Coordinator Tiesha (Tie) worked with us to ensure everything was set up to our preferences and went above and beyond to make sure we were happy. Thank you Tie! We had a personal attendant for the evening which I didn’t realize how important would be the day of. My husband and I got to enjoy the entire evening without worrying about a thing. One super cool thing at the aquarium – beyond the fish, Myrtle the turtle and staff- is that you have unique options to add on to your wedding. We chose to add on a costume character- who we call the DANCING SHARK! Bonnie the shark came out to kick off the dancing and it was amazing and so fun. Our guests probably took thousands of photos and it was like we had a celebrity at our wedding. At the end of the night Bonnie returned to send our guests off with a good bye and shark high five. Thank you NEAQ for making our wedding so fun, unique, romantic and unforgettable.

our guests. Since that night, so many people have told us it was one of the best weddings they have ever been to, and that it truly a testament to the staff at the Aquarium. We booked the venue fairly early as we we loved the space, it was exactly what we were looking for in terms of providing a unique and memorable location for our wedding, but also providing the highest level service and experience. While Renee was not with the Aquarium when we originally booked, when she started, she seamlessly transitioned into the coordinator role there and was beyond helpful and responsive. Renee, Sandra and the rest of the staff impressed my fiance, me, and our parents from the very first time we met them at the tasting. We also could not believe how delicious the food was! It was amazing, some of the best food I've every had. The chef is amazing, and they were not only completely fine with responding to our special requests for the menu, they came up with unique ideas as well. We got married on the South Terrace, and had the cocktail hour in the aquarium, with dinner and dancing in the tent. Everything moved seamlessly, including the set up of the jenga and cornhole on the terrace afterwards for some extra entertainment. My wedding day was one of the best days of my life, and I have the NEAq team to thank for that!

ey do there -- the staff are incredibly helpful, charming, responsive, and easy to work with. They are a real full-service venue, and they can handle a lot of the wedding details in-house, which is so valuable for busy brides. They made the planning process a breeze!! There are some limitations on what you can bring in to the Aquarium -- understandably, because of the animals! -- but the staff does a great job of explaining those limitations and working with you to make sure the day still goes just as you envisioned it. They even had a special server dedicated to making sure that my groom and I had all the food and drink we wanted during the wedding. On the day of, our guests were just blown away by the space, and couldn't stop talking about how great it was to watch the penguins, see the sea turtles, etc.! The food also really exceeded my expectations. Everything was really delicious!!

d with the penguins, seals, and all the other amazing "guests" that call the aquarium home. Its a picturesque setting on the beautiful Boston Harbor located in the heart of the city. Who could ask for more. The Aquarium and their staff run a great operation and do an excellent job to make sure your wedding day is as perfect as you dreamed. Its safe to say the Aquarium will always hold a special place in our hearts.

views of the harbor. The staff was amazing to work with, through the planning with Renee and execution Keleigh and the rest of the staff , we created a special and memorable event for our client. We hope to have the opportunity to work there again soon!

ely responsive in all of our questions. We were approached by so many guests afterwards who were raving about how unique a venue it was, and how much they enjoyed the event. Couldn't be happier with our choice!

ee to our day of coordinators (Keleigh and Sandy), we had top notch service throughout. The Aquarium has been planning events for a very long time and it is clear by how smoothly everything unfolded. We loved that they have their own kitchen (where the food is delicious and expertly prepared) and their own tables/chairs/linens/silverware/etc. (which you get to choose the details of). In addition, the NEAQ provides a lot of extras we took advantage of (table numbers, toasting glasses for the bride and groom, display at the bar for signature cocktail). Whatever was not included was clearly communicated in case we wanted to provide these extras for our guests (i.e. guestbook, bathroom amenity baskets, ceremony programs, reception menus, dance floor flip flops). We were able to drop those off the day before the wedding and the staff set up everything! Further, the week of the wedding, our wedding event coordinator at the NEAQ contacted each of our outside vendors (cake, band, tent/table decor) to make sure all deliveries were set for the big day. Which, as we got closer to the wedding, was a huge load off our backs! And last, but certainly not least, I have to mention that we looked at a lot of venues in Boston and Cape Cod and we found the NEAQ to be very reasonably priced for a wedding venue in the heart of Boston. The NEAQ was such a unique wedding venue. Our guests have been raving about our wedding ever since 9/9! Everyone was so impressed with each part of the ceremony and reception! My husband and I highly recommend having your wedding (or any event really) at the NEAQ if you can. From the planning to the celebration, we were beyond impressed. We didn't worry about a thing prior to or the day of because it was all meticulously planned and executed. Thank you to the staff for creating and facilitating the best setting possible for the most memorable day of our lives!!

y of the event! And while the hour did fly by, along with the rest of the evening, there was a literal army of staff on site to help ensure that the evening ran as smoothly as possible. The venue itself, though, is what made the evening so memorable for us. Our event was in the Main Exhibit, with reception held on the 4th floor where the top of the giant tank was, and dinner held on the first floor by the penguins. It was both fun and elegant, which was exactly what we wanted as our guests included families. Everyone in our party, from kids to adults, enjoyed being able to walk around and see the exhibits throughout the evening. We had a bit more than 90 guests and managed to just fit the 10 tables on the first floor for dinner. I think the setting would work even better for a slightly smaller party, as the tables are placed in a row, and some of our guests did have to move up and around a bit for better viewing. Also if you are thinking of coordinating everything yourself, rather than using an event coordinating, we highly recommend communicating your vision for the event early on and with as much detail as possible. As mentioned before, set up time is extremely tight, and you are really dependent on the aquarium (and your DJ if you have one), for making all the necessary announcements for each event of the evening. Also, do bear in mind that for the safety of the animals, there are strict rules for vendors and around décor. Overall, we highly recommend the NEA if you are looking for a highly memorable, unique, and fun venue for a special event!

tive, they knew all the vendors across Boston, and they were always there to help us brainstorm and prepare. My wife and I don't live in Boston. However, that didn't matter as everyone was so attentive and detail focused! Food: They designed a custom menu based on our taste (lamb, pasta, tagine). Our guests told us it was the best food they ever had at a wedding (I may be biased, but I agree). Event: We had a cocktail party with penguins and fish. Our guests LOVED it! The tent at the water was perfect. Everyone had access to the water, and if people wanted to they could sneak back at any time and watch the penguins cuddle as they fell asleep. Seriously...if you are even the tiniest bit nerd or love animals, stop your venue hunt and contact the New England Aquarium!

phenomenal to work with and answered all of our questions in a timely manner and made sure we were comfortable with each detail the aquarium had to offer. A few months before our wedding, Abigail had moved on to another job and we were nervous about the transition to a new coordinator but we were blown away again. Renee was fantastic, helping us with every little thing. The day and night of was a bit rocky with how many DIY stuff we brought but we managed. The rain plan was last minute but the staff and Renee were great and made everything go smoothly. The food was absolutely amazing and we keep hearing about it from all of our friends and family. Thank you to everyone at the aquarium who made our day great!

reated a gorgeous backdrop! Our guests are still talking about what a fun and unique experience our wedding was! The staff was phenomenal from booking the date to service throughout the night I have nothing but praise! I also haven’t stopped hearing about how amazing the food was. Our wedding was a dream come true and I would not have had my wedding anywhere else!

ible back tent with wonderful harbor views. I can't wait to come back again!!