New England Aquarium Reviews
Reviews
4.7 out of 5 rating
4.7 out of 5 rating
69 Reviews
94% recommend it
Awards
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![Haley]()
Haley K. Sent on 09/10/2023Amazing and unique venue and awesome service!
We LOVED our choice to get married at the New England Aquarium for so many reasons. We would recommend to everyone.
Unique locations - location is beautiful and truly so unique. Everyone enjoyed cocktail hour with the fish and penguins and then the harborwalk was beautiful for the ceremony and at night
Catering / Food - Food was delicious and we got many compliments on it
Value - For a wedding in the heart of Boston it's a great value!
Service - The staff from the aquarium / internal catering team (Patina group) were exceptional. they were so responsive and made our dreams come true in many many ways! They are also so flexible (as long as it doesn't endanger the animals!) on the ideas we had
Thank you!! -
Marley H. Sent on 09/12/2023
Magical Wedding on the Boston Harbor
My husband and I got married at the New England Aquarium in Boston, and it was truly magical!
Venue/Location: We wanted a wedding venue that was (1) outside, preferably by the ocean, (2) close to the airport for our many out-of-town guests, and (3) memorable. After months of searching and almost settling on a venue that was beautiful but outside of the city, on a whim, we booked a tour with the Aquarium. I knew instantly that it was the perfect venue. Right on the water with a beautiful backdrop of the harbor, in the heart of Boston, the Aquarium offered the picturesque, convenient, and memorable experience we were looking for. On our wedding day, we lucked out with perfect weather (always a risk with outdoor venues), and in spite of a few congratulatory yells from excited boaters on the harbor, it was everything we’d hoped for and more. Our guests easily navigated to/from the airport, loved the opportunity to explore/sight-see in Boston, and told us over and over how awesome, fun, and special it was to explore the Aquarium.
Food/Event Staff: The Aquarium contracts exclusively with the Patina Restaurant Group for its catering and event services, so please note I am not certain about who on the staff was associated with each group. That said, the food was spectacular, the chef and day-of service staff were highly professional and accommodating, and the planning/coordination team will forever be in our hearts as the most awesome group of people to work with. A few notable examples (of many):
- Only two of our guests (including my mom) are vegan, so we weren’t thrilled about having to choose a vegan meal for the vegetarian option. Amanda and Abigail (primary and secondary points of contact/dream team) worked with the chef to create an entirely vegan meal for the two guests and make a vegan version of some of the passed hors d’oeuvres. My mom was so happy.
- Throughout the planning process, Amanda and Abigail were responsive and supportive. They frequently made useful recommendations, followed up on questions and logistics, and were extremely accommodating to our budget.
- As I was about to walk down the aisle, I suddenly felt worried that my vows never made it from the photographer's camera bag to my MOH. By some miracle, and without anyone else noticing, Amanda worked her magic so that my vows were in my sister's hands by the time I needed them.
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Colleen D. Sent on 03/23/2022
One of a kind venue
The New England aquarium was a unique venue that wow’d all of our guests. Catered by the patina group with excellent food and service, the ambiance and educational exhibits made a special night even more special.
The responsiveness and coordination of the team was extremely efficient, timely and I felt supported the whole way through. I would highly recommend this one of a kind venue! -
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Erika S. Sent on 06/22/2021
Amazing one of a kind wedding experience!
Everything about working with the venue was amazing from communication to execution to environmental conscious decisions I recommend getting married there 100 times over. Also the pantina catering group is phenomenal, food and drinks were incredible. Plus the photos were cooler than coolNew England Aquarium's reply:
Dear Erika,
Thank you for writing this kind review and for letting us host your special day during such challenging times! Best wishes to you both! The New England Aquarium Events Team -
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Katherine T. Sent on 10/29/2019
Wedding ceremony with the penguins
The New England Aquarium isn't the typical wedding venue, and that's why we chose it. Both our ceremony and reception were inside the main gallery. Our ceremony was conducted on the 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 it 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, coat check, 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.) -
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![Christine]()
Christine Sent on 06/24/2019The Best Wedding Venue Ever!
A little over a week ago, I had the most whimsical, magical wedding at the New England Aquarium! I am still getting messages about how much of an incredible time guests had that night! 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!New England Aquarium's reply:
Thank you for taking the time to write this kind review. We are thrilled you selected us to be a part of your wedding and we were so happy to hear that your day was amazing. Best wishes, The New England Aquarium Events Team -
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Brian Sent on 09/30/2018We wish we could give the NEAQ and our coordinator, Tiesha, more than 5 stars. Our wedding day could not have been more perfect and it is largely due to the incredible staff at the Aquarium. We chose the NEAQ because we wanted more of an offbeat location and as we had lots of guests traveling, the Aquarium offered an opportunity to give them a unique experience. Throughout the planning process, Tie was incredible--she was very responsive, very helpful and truly a joy to work with. She and the staff at the Aquarium took care of so many details that we were really able to relax and enjoy our day. It was even better than we ever could have dreamed and we would not have changed a thing! Moreover, our guests raved about everything--from the touch tank (we had it open during cocktail hour), to the food, to the venue itself--and said it was the best wedding that they had ever attended. I cannot recommend the Aquarium as a venue enough!
New England Aquarium's reply:
Thank you for taking the time to write this kind review. We are thrilled you selected us to be a part of your wedding and we were so happy to hear that your day was amazing. Best wishes, The New England Aquarium Events Team -
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Laura Sent on 10/28/2018
Beautiful, fun venue
So happy we chose the Aquarium. The venue was beautiful and so much fun. The staff (especially Tiesha) were all so helpful and accommodating. The day/night of out wedding was seamless 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.New England Aquarium's reply:
Thank you for taking the time to write this kind review. We are thrilled you selected us to be a part of your wedding and we were so happy to hear that your day was amazing. Best wishes, The New England Aquarium Events Team -
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Lyndsay Sent on 06/26/2018Our wedding reception at the New England Aquarium was everything we ever dreamed of and SO MUCH MORE! Our guests cannot stop raving about the unique experience they had! 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. Our 152 guests raved about the exclusivity of having the interior of the aquarium to ourselves for the entire evening. Dinner/dancing was the perfect time (7:45pm) as the sun was setting and all of our guests rushed to the harbor to take gorgeous sunset photos. Our first dance has the backdrop of the harbor and the permanent outdoor tent is a gorgeous staple. Words cannot express how much we LOVED planning our wedding with the NEAQ wedding coordinator, Tiesha. Tiesha was organized, professional, very quick in her response time, and just an absolute joy to work with! Tie listened to our vision the entire time and made it ALL come to life! For the menu tasting, you get to see what the full entrees will look like the day of your wedding and everything we tasted was honestly incredible that all 4 of us had difficulty narrowing down the options because of how much we loved the food. The aquarium (Tie) was also honest with us every step of the way which we genuinely appreciated. Ex: When selecting numbers for passed apps/ appetizer stations, Tie informed us if we had too much food which helped cut costs. We did a Ben & Jerry's ice cream station & it was a HUGE hit. 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.
New England Aquarium's reply:
Thank you for taking the time to write this kind review. We are thrilled you selected us to be a part of your wedding and we were so happy to hear that your day was amazing. Best wishes, The New England Aquarium Events Team -
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Caroline Sent on 01/28/2018Having our wedding at the New England Aquarium (main gallery) was a magical and mind-blowing experience. Beyond the already impressive atmosphere, the aquarium crew made sure that everything ran smoothly, making it perfect to the smallest detail.
We interacted with Sara, their sales manager, who was helpful and responsive, as well as Renee and Tiesha, the catering managers, who were not only really fun to deal with (during the tasting etc), but also went out of their way to make sure everything was always in order, despite a particularly tight deadline. They tried hard to cater to all our personal requests, from creating the specialty cocktails we wanted, to selecting the cutest stuffed toys as favors for the guests.
On the day itself, there was an entire army of staff that transformed the aquarium (within an hour of closing time) into the wedding venue of our dreams. Everything, from the table decorations to the layout and food presentation, turned out exactly as we had specified, yet it was more beautiful than we had even imagined.
The wedding dinner ran like clockwork, without a hitch. Our guests enjoyed themselves tremendously — many claimed it was the best wedding they’d been to, and I am certain it had less to do with us than with the amazing food, service and ambience. Few venues can beat the experience of wining, dining and celebrating alongside the fishes and penguins, and yet they are competitively priced — if you are considering the aquarium, just go for it!
New England Aquarium's reply:
Thank you for taking the time to write this kind review. We are thrilled you selected us to be a part of your wedding and we were so happy to hear that your day was amazing. Best wishes, The New England Aquarium Events Team -
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