Seymour Marine Discovery Center Reviews
Reviews
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Ren Sent on 06/23/2026
Ming & Ren's Special Day
The Seymour Marine Discovery Center was the perfect venue for our wedding. Finding a place that so beautifully showcases the California coastline felt like a gift, and it delivered beyond our expectations. We had guests travelling from across the United States, Canada and Australia, so being able to show off the coastline was a highlight!
Emily and the events team were absolutely wonderful. They worked seamlessly with our coordinator and vendors to ensure everything ran without any issues, turning our dreams into reality with such care and professionalism.
The outdoor deck was a breathtaking setting for our ceremony. The ocean views as we said our vows were simply unforgettable, and our guests couldn't stop commenting on the scenery.
The touch tank was a highlight, creating joy and laughs as our guests connected over the experience of exploring the aquarium together.
If you're looking for a venue that combines natural beauty, a unique atmosphere, and a dedicated team, then this venue is a must. The Seymour Marine Discovery Center added something magical to our special day. -
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M & Sent on 05/24/2026Incredible Venue!
We had our wedding welcome dinner at Seymour Center on a Friday evening and it was absolutely perfect! The space is gorgeous and so much fun. We had about 100 attendees, including over 40 kids, and the Seymour Discovery Center Exhibits gave everyone something to be excited about. The events team was super friendly and easy to work with, and it was great that the space came with tables and chairs. It was an extra bonus that our guests were able to visit the exhibits on the day of the event - a perfect way to welcome all of our loved ones to Santa Cruz. And the sunset view from the cliff path is unparalleled! -
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Emily Sent on 05/15/2026Great venue!
We are so happy we booked the Seymour Center for our wedding. The venue is beautiful and the Seymour Center Team are incredibly kind and helpful. -
Andrea Sent on 10/27/2025
Perfect combination of fun and beauty!
The best decision we made for our wedding was the venue. My wife and I are both nerds about sea creatures and tide pools, which made this venue perfect for us. Also, the coastal view and the sunset at this location is simply unbeatable! -
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Allison Sent on 03/25/2025Best wedding ever!
All of our guests said that our wedding was the best one they had ever attended!
The Seymour Marine Discovery Center was incredibly quick to respond to all of my questions. The events team was professional throughout the whole process and were even my personal hype team on the day of! The sea cliffs for our ceremony were perfect and everyone enjoyed the private touch tank experience for cocktail hour. Overall an amazing venue for an affordable cost!Seymour Marine Discovery Center's reply:
I'm so happy that we could help you have a wonderful wedding. You're both so sweet and it was a pleasure working with you! -
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Kelsey Sent on 08/17/2024Stunning Ocean Views and Unique Venue - Some Flexibility Required
The Seymour Center was a fantastic venue for our wedding – it had the perfect mix of stunning ocean views for our outdoor ceremony and a unique indoor reception space featuring marine exhibits. We were lucky that between booking and the time of our wedding they renovated the La Feliz reception room and replaced the older blue carpet with a beautiful hardwood floor – a dramatically superior improvement! Important things to note: Since this center is for public education, the arrangement of the exhibit hall space can change after you book (be flexible on reception set-up) and you can’t set up for your wedding until after it closes to the public at 4pm. This would likely not be a good venue for those wanting elaborate ceremony decorations or reception set-up because of this time crunch. This rule also makes it absolutely crucial to hire vendors who are familiar with the space and its cleaning rules. However, I would’ve liked a better area for guests to mingle and wait out of the way other than the parking lot in front of the center. It would be nice if they offered a ‘buy-out’ option so that we could close it even an hour earlier to allow more time for set-up, especially since there was less than 5 people in the center during that final hour. In addition, several significant features were separate costs outside of the packages such as reception lighting, storing items at the venue in advance, and a ‘get-ready’ room – so budget accordingly. Emily and her team are very kind and accommodating with answering all of our questions throughout planning and we were able to coordinate around these constrictions with their help. Our wedding day went incredibly smoothly and we had such a positive experience, and you truly cannot beat hearing ocean waves as you walk down the aisle to your wedding. Would highly recommend the Seymour Center if you are looking for a memorable and unique venue!
Photos: By Katie & Morgan HallasSeymour Marine Discovery Center's reply:
You and Obed were lovely to work with! Thank you so much for the feedback about the buy out option. That's a great idea and something we'll look to include for future couples. I'm glad to hear you had a lovely day! -
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Emy H. Sent on 03/31/2024The Perfect Day
The Seymour Center helped make our wedding day so special! We had our wedding in the La Feliz room with ocean views! I believe it is so worth the price, especially knowing that the money goes back into the education programs and exhibits at the center. Clay helped us on the day of the wedding and they were so incredibly kind and thoughtful. They made sure everything ran smoothly and just made the whole day more special. Also huge thank you to Emily for helping us book the venue and kindly answering the hundreds of questions I had. I can go on and on about how great the venue and workers all were. I’m forever grateful.Seymour Marine Discovery Center's reply:
You were so great to work with! My whole team was impressed with how quickly you put together such a beautiful wedding. We loved working with you and are so glad your wedding was everything you wanted. -
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![Skye]()
Skye Sent on 10/30/2023Beautiful venue and a good cause
We could not have asked for a more perfect location for our wedding day! The view is breathtaking, there are tons of exhibits for guests to look at during the reception, and plenty of space to hold all your guests for the ceremony and reception. Communication was always clear with the Seymour Center staff and they were super helpful whenever we had a question. Tables and chairs were provided by the venue and we had access to a kitchen right next to the reception room. I cannot put into words how perfect this location is! Added bonus: all the funds you put into this venue go straight to their education programs which furthers their amazing marine education opportunities for the whole community. -
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Jennifer Sent on 10/20/2023
Beautiful and Unique Wedding Venue
We are so incredibly lucky we were able to get married at the Seymour Discovery Center. The venue is such a unique and beautiful place. After visiting the Seymour Center for 5 minutes, we knew this was where we wanted to get married. The ceremony took place on the breathtaking bluffs overlooking the ocean. At our rehearsal, we saw dolphins swim along the coast. We utilized the exhibit hall, class room, and all of our guests enjoyed the opportunity to see the fish and sea life. The resources, preferred vendors, and information provided by the Seymour Center staff made planning our wedding easy. Everyone was friendly and professional to work with throughout the planning process. The only challenge is the hours the Center is open to the public, I wish we could have at least set up or started the ceremony outdoors earlier. We are still grateful the money for the venue goes to education and research rather than the very pricey wedding industry! We love the Seymour Center and can't wait to bring our kids there one day. It is a magical place to have a wedding. -
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Erin Sent on 01/05/2023Phenomenal beachy wedding
We had the BEST WEDDING EVER (according to all of our guests). The unique experience of an indoor/outdoor beach wedding without the sand, and having a touch pool exhibit available for the younger (and adult) kids was just so wonderful. Everyone we needed to communicate with through the UC was extremely friendly and over the top accommodating. We just cannot praise this beautiful venue enough!! -
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![Kelle]()
Kelle Sent on 05/10/2022Perfect coastal wedding venue with an exhibit hall to explore!
As two marine biologists, there couldn't have been a more fitting venue to host our wedding reception than the Seymour Marine Discovery Center! The venue sits on the bluffs, overlooking Monterey Bay with a beautiful section of coastal trails for guests to explore. We had access to the two outdoor patios, the large conference room with a wall of ocean facing windows, as well as the full exhibit hall and it made for quite the party!
Emily, the event coordinator, was great to work with, very responsive and helpful with all of our many, many questions. We were able to have two docents work at the touch tank in the exhibit hall, and it was absolutely the most fun and unique part of the experience, really fun for both the kids and adults. With all of the exhibits to peruse, we were able to do minimal decorations. For the views and the perfect sized setting, there isn't a better location for such an affordable price.
We are also very happy that the cost of the venue actually goes towards funding the outreach and education center. I grew up visiting the Seymour center in elementary school, and it was awesome to have our party at such a unique and memorable site, and end up with some wedding photos in front of a blue whale skeleton! SO awesome!
We did a *VERY* DIY wedding, and there are a few things to think about when planning. The Seymour center can recommend someone (Sarah at A Paper Flower Wedding) to do lighting in the Feliz Room, which looked great and I would highly recommend going for it. For the dance area, we purchased our own uplights, which was an added task that our crew of friends helped set up, but were great to set the mood. The sound system in the center was not functional at the time of our wedding and we ended up having one set up, there were a few snafus with set up, although I don't think anyone noticed, and the dance music sounded great.
The Feliz room has beautiful windows out onto the bay and the patio also has a great view, but if you have seating outside on the Feliz room patio, it might be hard for guests to hear if speeches are going on inside. We had enough space in the room to have everyone sit inside, and I'm really glad that worked out. I would also note that on the Monterey Bay, you can't be too sure what the weather will be, and while it was perfectly beautiful out, it was quite windy. We had our ceremony in a redwood grove earlier in the day so it didn't matter at all. Luckily we also didn't have any fog roll in, although I would honestly guess it would be very pretty in the fog as well. Wish we could do it all over again!
Photo credits:
All of the photos from our wedding are thanks to our epic photographer: Austin Greene Photography (austingreenephotography.…), check him out on Instagram @austinanywhere.
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Amy Sent on 11/25/2015GREAT views at a very affordable price. Get an ocean view without getting sand on my wedding dress - and guests get to learn about marine life. We love the Seymour Center! -
Viviana Sent on 11/23/2025
Wonderful for the price
Above all else, it was definitely worth the price and turned out beyond beautiful. We struggled a bit with the professionalism of a couple of the workers who mentioned how they were using Chat GBT to communicate with us, which felt a little immature but they were all friendly and it felt very low stakes. The day of was beyond amazing and we felt so lucky to have had it in such a beautiful place. Our dream was always to have a seaside wedding surrounded by science and nature. It was perfect. -
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Angel Sent on 06/01/2014Location, location, location!! Their is no better location than Seymour for something different and breath taking views! We got married on the shipwreck, where you can stroll in along the bluffs overlooking the gorgeous Monterey Bay. Our cocktail hour was in the exhibit hall so guests could see the aquarium and displays while strolling with their drinks. Our dinner and dancing was in the La Feliz room which was intimate with lovely floor to ceiling windows. The facility is part of UCSC and their event staff are student positions. It was challenging to reach staff, their response were delayed and often we received different answers depending on who we spoke with. It was frustrating and things changed right up to the night before the event. If you are patient and have nerves of steel this location is worth it!
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