Bride and Groom Just Married Coral Reef Gallery Wedding Portrait | Tampa Bay Event Venue The Florida Aquarium | Photographer Lifelong Photography Studios

Elegant Blue Downtown Tampa Wedding | The Florida Aquarium

Log in to Marry Me Tampa Bay to save your favorite vendors, venues, and wedding inspiration.

Need to register? Click here.

Erin and Sean’s downtown Tampa wedding was the ultimate evening that took over the Florida Aquarium. The 130-guest “Squire Soriee” (a nod to the groom’s name) began in the shark tank room and transitioned around the aquarium, ending with an epic rooftop dance party overlooking Tampa at night.

“Our main priority was to create a unique experience for our guests, so the aquarium was the perfect setting. It combined the perfect amount of interesting and elegant between the marine life and the beautiful rooms they have,” the bride gushed. “We used four different locations in the aquarium and took our guests through a true journey of fun: ceremony – shark room, cocktail hour – balcony and touring the aquarium, dinner – banquet room, dancing – rooftop. The rooftop was our favorite location of the rooftop. We wanted a lounge feel, so we brought in light-up furniture, a dance floor, and the most amazing band that had us dancing all night. We used a lot of blues in our decor to match the blues of the aquarium, which worked great because blue is both of our favorite colors.”

Breezin’ Weddings and Breezin’ Entertainment ensured the couple had every detail that would leave a lasting impression by providing planning and interactive experiences for the couple’s guests. The open-air photo booth with a photo guest book, live painter, DJ during the seating dinner, and a live band for dancing all added an extra layer of excitement for the evening. 

“The couple incorporated a live painter into the wedding to capture the most important moment in their lives in art. They chose to paint their ceremony at the Coral Reef. It is also very interactive since the painter moves locations so the guests can see how the painting unfolds,” Anna Shvaykova, Breezin’ Weddings shared.

Lifelong Photography Studio’s expertise in working throughout downtown Tampa helped the couple take advantage of multiple locations, starting with getting-ready portraits at the newly renovated Hotel Flor. The low lighting in the Florida Aquarium made for an especially picturesque moment for the skilled photography team.

The highlight of the evening was the rooftop dance party, where the space was transformed with chairs, light-up furniture, and a striking stage that kept the guests dancing throughout the night.

“Nothing says ‘Squire Soiree’ like a full dance floor; sometimes weddings take a little warming up to get the party started, but not ours,” the bride beamed. “The entire party paraded up to the rooftop from the banquet room, where the band greeted us, and we danced and danced for hours.”

As the bride thought about the most memorable moments of her March celebration, she beamed at the memories of the ceremony and reception.

“When the shark swam above our heads during the ceremony and when the Actual Bank Robbers Sang Erin’s Mom Has Got It Going On instead of ‘Stacy.’ My mom felt so good with everyone singing to her!” Erin reminisced.


Behind the Vows Wedding Day Content Creation Banner

1Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
2Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
3Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
Bride and Groom First Look Black and White Wedding Portrait
Bride and Groom First Look Black and White Wedding Portrait

The Proposal:
Sean and I started Christmas traditions early in our relationship, including getting each other ornaments that describe the year. On Christmas, Sean pulled an ornament from the tree, got down on one knee, and proposed. He had put the ring in a customized silver ring box ornament, and it was absolutely perfect!  

8Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
9Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
10Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
11Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
12Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
13Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
14Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
15Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
16Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
17Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
18Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
19Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
20Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas

What did you look for in a wedding venue?

Our main priority was to create a unique experience for our guests, so the aquarium was the perfect setting. It combined the perfect amount of interesting and elegant between the marine life and the beautiful rooms they have.

We used four different locations in the aquarium and took our guests through a true journey of fun: ceremony – shark room, cocktail hour – balcony and touring the aquarium, dinner – banquet room, dancing – rooftop. The rooftop was our favorite location of the rooftop. We wanted a lounge feel, so we brought in light-up furniture, a dance floor, and the most amazing band that had us dancing all night. We used a lot of blues in our decor to match the blues of the aquarium, which worked great because blue is both of our favorite colors.

21Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
22Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas

How would you describe your theme/wedding design inspiration?
Our main priority was to create a unique experience for our guests, so the aquarium was the perfect setting; it combined the perfect amount of interesting and elegant between the marine life and the beautiful rooms they have. We used four different locations in the aquarium and took our guests through a true journey of fun: ceremony – shark room, cocktail hour – balcony and touring the aquarium, dinner – banquet room, dancing – rooftop). The rooftop was our favorite location of the rooftop, we wanted a lounge feel, so we brought in light-up furniture, a dance floor, and the most amazing band that had us dancing all night.

What were your colors?  
We used a lot of blues in our decor to match the blues of the aquarium, which worked great because blue is both of our favorite colors.

23Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
24Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
25Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
26Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
29Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas

“The couple incorporated a live painter into the wedding to capture the most important moment in their lives in art. They chose to paint their ceremony at the Coral Reef. It is also very interactive since the painter moves locations so the guests can see how the painting unfolds,”- Anna Shvaykova, Breezin’ Weddings

30Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
31Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
32Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas
33Pink and Blue Aquarium Fish Tank Wedding Ideas

Instant Camera Rentals Banner1

Marry Me Tampa Bay Preferred Wedding Pros

Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pros are highly respected by our local wedding community and have been personally vetted by our editor.

Feature Credits

Vendors and venues marked with

are Preferred Marry Me Tampa Bay Wedding Pros and have been personally vetted by our editor.

Ceremony and ReceptionFlorida Aquarium
Florists/DecorNorthside Florist
DJ/Band & Live EntertainmentActual Bank Robbers
Invitations & StationeryMinted

About the Author

Anna Coats

Marry Me Tampa Bay editor Anna Coats created Marry Me Tampa Bay in 2012 to showcase the area’s best local weddings and vendors. She has been featured as a wedding expert on the national talk show Daytime, Fox13, ABC Action News, Great Day Tampa Bay, and Bay News 9 (now Spectrum).

View More Like This

Find Wedding Vendors
& Venues in Tampa Bay

We’ve done the research for you! Find the best Tampa Bay wedding vendors and venues for your wedding.

Search for Venues
Search for Vendors