Seymour Marine Discovery Center 100 McAllister Way • Santa Cruz • CA 95060

As part of UC Santa Cruz’s 100-acre marine science campus, Seymour Marine Discovery Center is dedicated to public education and conservation of our fragile ocean ecosystem. Their user-friendly approach means that learning has never been so inspiring—or so picturesque.

The first thing you see when you arrive at the Center is a gigantic skeleton of a blue whale, its sleek silhouette arching in the sunlight. A full 87 feet long, “Ms. Blue,” as she’s known, washed ashore in 1979, and has become an awe-inspiring symbol of the majesty and mystery of the underwater world. Ms. Blue’s sinuous beauty takes you by surprise…and further exploration reveals that this place has plenty more unexpected delights.

The complex is comprised of several rustic, wood-planked buildings, with the Seymour Center itself perched on an isolated bluff above an unspoiled stretch of the Santa Cruz coast and Monterey Bay. Nature is at its finest here, with nothing to distract from a vast, ever-changing sky and seascape. Depending on when you visit, you might spy various types of seals, sea lions, southern sea otters, humpback or gray whales, plus dolphins or porpoises. Other local wildlife—such as monarch butterflies, snowy egrets, or nesting barn swallows—perfectly complement the spectacular setting.

Most ceremonies take place on Shipwreck Deck, which adjoins the Exhibit Hall and faces a native meadow and the curving shoreline of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Guests have an up-close look at surrounding coastal prairie and wetlands, alive with soaring hawks, red-winged blackbirds, and the tangy aroma of the sea. A nature trail winds along the cliffs before angling towards the deck. Sage, yellow bush lupine, and wispy beach grass bend in the breeze, while lavender seaside daisies, pale pink buckwheat, and white yarrow dot the fields like confetti. The trail makes a glorious wedding aisle, and as the bride is escorted to her groom, the sound of the surf creates a soothing refrain.

After your picture-postcard “I do"s, explore the grounds with your photographer. Meanwhile, your lucky guests are experiencing a cocktail hour they’ll never forget, inside the Center’s exhibit halls. With one of the display pods transformed into a buffet table, your friends and family take their refreshments and mingle among interactive exhibits. In one hall, they might listen to a telephone conversation with a seal. In another, they can thrill to the touch of sea anemones, purple iridescent starfish or shy hermit crabs. The aquarium showcases a fascinating array of creatures—moon jellies, a monkeyface eel, swell sharks, even an intelligent octopus.

But the fun’s just beginning. Your reception is held in the La Feliz Room and Patio, an indoor/outdoor space with lots of flexibility. The simple room has open-beamed ceilings and large view-filled windows. Though the room dresses up as elegantly as you please, why not go all out with an aquatic theme, decorating it with shell motifs and ocean-inspired accents? Leave the doors open wide to La Feliz Patio, which is good for overflow seating under a myriad of stars.

In order to rent the facility, you’ll need to become a “Friend of the Center,” an easy, low-cost (and tax-deductible) way to support this worthy organization. If your wedding vision includes natural splendor, a fun twist, and a dash of eco-friendliness, then Seymour Marine Discovery Center is the place for you.