New England Aquarium

My wife and I got married on August 9, 2025 at the New England Aquarium.

The venue was everything we could ask for. The ceremony took place outdoors beyond the Aquarium overlooking 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.

My partner and I got married at the New England Aquarium on 5/31/25, and it was everything we expected and wanted for our wedding day. We wholeheartedly recommend this venue to anyone 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.

Outstanding venue for a wedding! The coordinator Amanda and staff on site were extremely accommodating and made everything stress free. Our guests raved about the experience and many said it was the best wedding they ever attended. They especially liked the food and the cocktail reception amongst the exhibits. The tent on the harbor was beautiful. Overall it was an incredible experience for everyone.

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.

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!!

My wedding at the New England Aquarium was a dream!!! The team there worked so hard to make my vision become a reality. Amanda and Krystal are miracle workers. By the last few weeks, 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!!!

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!

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 cool

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.)

We cannot say enough good things about our experience with NEAQ!!! We adored the venue, and many of our guests complimented us on how unique our wedding was and how fun it was to be 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)