Ocean - themed Wedding?

Question
Okay, first tell me if I'm crazy.  I am getting married next August, and I was wondering if there are any ways I can use brightly colored anemones, urchins, corals, etc. as central elements of my reception decor.  My fiance proposed on the beach, and we'd love to have a brightly-colored ocean themed wedding, even though we live in the Midwest, over a thousand miles from any beach.

We both love animals and would never want to do anything to harm the creatures we use.  If we use properly salinated water in our table centerpieces, would salt-water fish and other animals be able to live in a container without normal aquarium fixtures for a few hours (maybe up to 12?).  My father is a high school biology teacher.  He has a salt-water aquarium and the filters, but has not used them in many years.  He says he would be willing to take care of some of the fish after the wedding, and his students would love it!  My fiance's uncle has also kept sea anemones as pets in the past, and we are thinking of asking him if he would like to care for some of our fish, as well.

What do you think?  Would it be possible to have anemones or other aquatic animals at our wedding?  If so, which animals would you recommend, where would be the best place to purchase them, and what precautions would we need to take in order to best care for them during and after that night?

Answer
Hi Kay,
I hate to say it but it's probably not something you could do and have any of the animals survive. The water quality and shock of being moved 3 or 4 times would add way too much stress to the animals. They just dont move well. Corals, Anemones and Urchins are very delicate marine animals that have very specific water quality needs and just dont withstand that kind of activity. In order for them to survive you would have to have a cycled, stabilized environment for each centerpiece, with much mechanical flow and filtration for each one, and each one would need to be moved as a complete system, then there's the expense. Most of the Corals, Anemones and Urchins you are probably thinking of are quite expensive for just a small 2 or 3 inch fragment/specimen. You may be better off looking at booking one of the great aquarium displays in the midwest as the setting for your wedding or reception. I wont say its not possible, but I will say it would be be very expensive and detrimental to the animals. Depending on your location I do know of a company that does aquatic themed parties with 4 huge aquariums out of Kansas City, but I really dont endorse them or their activities as they lose around 98% of their animals after each function. Sorry I cant be more help or have an easy answer for a way to do this.