Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium Reviews
Reviews
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![Hillary]()
Hillary Sent on 04/27/2024Aquarium wedding!
Our guests were so excited to go to an aquarium wedding. We ended up doing our ceremony on the beach because we wanted it outdoors and we were not crazy about the Chickee Hut area. (Mote is in the process of building a new aquarium, so not sure where future weddings will be held.) The outdoor courtyard was perfect for the reception! It was covered, so we knew we could be outdoors rain or shine, and there was tons of space. We opened the indoor gallery for cocktail hour and our guests loved the exhibits. The rental rate is very fair and with a few restrictions on caterers, you can hire whatever vendors you want. We did rent a dance floor to make dancing easier. The volunteers staffing the exhibits were wonderful. Annabel was great to work with. I'm not sure what the future of weddings at Mote will look like given the new building, but we are so glad we chose Mote. -
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![Paige]()
Paige Sent on 01/30/2024Beautiful and Unique
Veronica and Annabel were beyond helpful on helping us plan the perfect Florida wedding! We were able to showcase the beautiful venue and have it match my dreams- with so many of our guests commenting on how much fun they had interacting with the aquarium and city. Planning a destination wedding (I'm local to Seattle) is hard, and the team here made it easy to accomplish. Veronica allowed us to tour multiple times as I came up with our vision and even helped recommend vendors that could pull off everything we wanted! -
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![Casey]()
Casey Sent on 01/13/2024Best place to have a beach wedding with a nautical theme!!
I have been visiting Mote since I was a little kid and my husband I recently got married at Mote. I had always wanted a beach wedding and the Chickee Hut was such a beautiful and perfect spot for our ceremony. It was also very accessible for our guest, some of who are handicapable. Both Veronica and Annabelle were super friendly and very easy to work with! The entire process working with them and our other vendors was seamless! If we were to ever renew our vows, I would come back to Mote in a heartbeat!!! -
![Krystle]()
Krystle Sent on 10/01/2023Chickee Hut is perfect for intimate group
My husband and I were thrilled with the Chickee Hut venue at Mote. Its casual, relaxed atmosphere was the perfect Florida experience we wanted for our guests. Beautiful lawn and waterfront, easy setup for catering/bartending, and the Mote events team kept in frequent communication and were flexible with our timeline and logistical needs. I would rent this venue again for other functions. -
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![Audrey]()
Audrey Sent on 05/02/2023Unique tropical venue
We were looking for a place to hold a rehearsal dinner. We realized our guest list was large and we would need a caterer and a venue because the restaurants we checked didn’t have a large enough room to accommodate us. We couldn’t have been happier with our Mote Marine experience. We would definitely recommend it. -
![Kate]()
Kate Sent on 11/14/2022Dream Wedding
We don't have the word to express how lovely this venue was to work with before and during the wedding. Veronica was easy to reach and extremely attentive. We used both outdoor and indoor locations and it was a total dream. Guests have been raving about this location since! -
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![Rhonda]()
Rhonda Sent on 10/25/2022Excellent location, Veronica was a pleasure to work with.
From the moment we toured until “game” day Veronica was a joy to work with and we couldn’t be happier about our selection to have Mote as our rehearsal dinner venue. Everything was perfect and I highly recommend! -
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![ROXANA]()
Roxana Sent on 05/02/2022Wedding at Mote!
We held our daughters wedding at the Mote aquarium Laboratory. I don’t have enough words of praises for this venue! Veronica was incredibly helpful and helped ease my wedding planning stress and anxiety! She catered to all of our needs! Made it happen! Our guests were impressed by the view and overall how beautiful it was! Just a perfect setting for the ambiance that our daughter and new son in law wanted! I would highly recommend this venue and please work with Veronica! She’s amazing! ☺️ -
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![Kailey]()
Kailey Sent on 01/14/2022Our wedding reception
Planning a wedding during Covid definitely had it’s challenges, but Mote did a great job with keeping communication open, working with us, and in the end still providing the best venue one could ever hope for!! I volunteered through Mote for sea turtle watch and especially now with having had our reception there, it will forever be a special place for us. Giving our guests room to roam a bit, see sharks and marine life, and have open air, was key to a beautiful, fun and Covid free wedding! The court yard fit our guests so well and looked beautiful with our colors (seriously big thanks to Nellie’s Catering for coordinating that!)! Mote even provided a volunteer to answer questions and ensure safety of marine life (big must for me!!). It was superbly the best. Seriously. Big love to Mote.
Picture credit goes to the amazing Makenna Smith Photography. -
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![Jordan]()
Jordan Sent on 03/09/2020Wonderful Wedding-Courtyard Shark Tank
Allison, Michal and team were very nice in helping us have a memorable wedding in front of the shark tank. Our guests loved being able to touch and look at the marine life. The volunteers were kind and informative. Great experience. Also made for awesome pictures. -
![Bob]()
Bob T. Sent on 12/13/2019The Chickee Hut
The staff was awesome they responded to us and helped us through the process for our big day. The caterer was amazing. -
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![Kayson]()
Kayson Sent on 11/14/2019It was a great and amazing experience
It was great and beautiful scenery and would recommend it to others. -
![Julie]()
Julie Sent on 11/05/2019McDaniel Wedding
The entire crew at Mote Marine was amazing to work with! Allison was so understanding and accommodating to the last minute changes due to weather. I would highly recommend them and the views and scenery are perfect! We would definitely use them again! -
![Lynn]()
Lynn Sent on 10/25/2019Out of the Blue Event
Chaired Out of the Blue Fundraiser for NAMI. Mote was a great venue! Accommodating in every way. The Band had space to expand, people danced comfortably on the dance floor. The caterer, Simply Gourmet was outstanding and also had great space to set up the buffet. Guests enjoyed the sea life exhibits, which was an added plus. I highly recommend Mote Marine. Wonderful Staff to with. And while our Florida temperatures are hot, we had a great Gulf Breeze pass though in the evening which made the covered area feel air conditioned. Phone calls, emails and FB posts keep arriving to say how wonderful our event was. Beautiful venue for any type of Party or Reception! Thank you again Mote for helping us create a Spectacular Event!
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![Christine]()
Christine Sent on 10/15/2019Unique and Fun
If you are looking for a fun and unique wedding venue,Mote, is the way to go! We had the wedding and reception in the Aquarium and Courtyard and it was simply AMAZING! The staff went out of their way to make sure we had a perfect wedding! We got married in front of the shark tank and all of our guests LOVED being able to use the touch tanks!
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![Andi]()
Andi Sent on 10/15/2019Beautiful, unique, unforgettable
Having our wedding at the Mote was the best decision we could have made! Everything was absolutely perfect. We had our cocktail hour in the aquarium so guests could check out the different exhibits, and the reception was in the courtyard and it looked absolutely stunning! We received so many compliments on our venue and all of our guests raved about how wonderful everything was. There were interactive "touch tanks" open during the whole reception which was really neat for the guests to be able to check out, especially the little ones. We also felt great that we were contributing to a good cause by paying for our reception to be there. The Mote does so many wonderful things for the community, we were more than happy to have it there! Now my husband and I cannot wait to go back to the Mote to go through the aquarium and reminisicne on the best day of our lives! -
![Yuliza]()
Yuliza Sent on 03/22/2019Mr. & Mrs. Kolb Wedding
We had our wedding at the Chikki hut and it was AMAZING!!! The price was super affordable and our family had such a great time! Christina was phenomenal! She took is to the best spots to take beautiful pictures! We also went with John from the Deep Sea Diner for catering services, also amazing! The overall experience was the wedding of our dreams! Definitely recommend!! -
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![Hanne]()
Hanne Sent on 01/09/2019Sea-loped at the Mote!
We “sea-loped” at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, with just two friends (one of whom was our officiant) and my parents. We got married in front of a tank full of happy smiling (really!) bonnethead sharks and it was *perfect*. Afterward we had the whole aquarium to ourselves for a while — what a treat! The Mote was helpful and so easy to work with. We all had a fantastic time, the wedding was so much fun, and I’m so glad we did it exactly the way we did. -
![Kathleen]()
Kathleen Sent on 01/02/2019Exceptional venue with a spectacular view!
Our wedding day at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in the Keating Building was pure paradise!!!! Not only is the location gorgeous, the staff was exceptional in making sure our day ran smoothly and exceeding our expectations! We also hired the chef from the Deep Sea Diner, which is located in the aquarium, and the food was delicious and beautiful! I can't say enough how happy that our vision for our day was met with professionalism and perfection!
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![Lynne]()
Lynne Sent on 11/09/2016My husband and I just got married here on November 5th. Part of the reason we booked this venue is because we're both super passionate about the ocean and protecting it. We were delighted to hear that our fees go towards education & conservation instead of some CEO's 3rd vacation home. The location is absolutely beautiful and they're incredibly eco-conscious and we loved that. We initially started working with Paula Clarke who was such a wonderful woman to work with. She decided to retire and we were nervous about who would be her replacement. Once we met Allison and found out she had previously worked for our caterer, all the nerves were calmed. Allison was awesome to work with and super helpful. I definitely recommend using Mote Marine as your wedding locale! Thank you Mote for all that you do for the ocean and everything you did for us on our wedding day! <3 -
Emily Sent on 05/30/2023
Dream Wedding
Everything at Mote was just perfect! The New Pass Room was gorgeous and the staff was wonderful to work with. It was my dream wedding and I wouldn't have wanted it any place else. -
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