Brookfield Zoo

elated activities throughout your wedding day. We were able to have a private giraffe feeding, utilize part of the carousel, schedule an animal ambassador to visit our cocktail hour, and basically spend the entire day at the zoo. There are other fun options too, like riding the Ferris wheel or spending time with the penguins. If you’re an avid animal lover, the zoo is a fantastic choice. They have a list of preferred vendors and invited us to a vendor showcase early in the planning process, which made it easy to find great options. The zoo provides its own catering, and we were genuinely shocked by how good the food was. The quality and variety of the menu went above and beyond what most venues offer. We could recommend it on the food alone, five stars to the chef. The only downside is that certain location options can change based on animal behavior or health, which is completely understandable but something to be aware of. Also, this venue is a bit pricier than more traditional spaces. That said, Jennifer and her team did a wonderful job helping us bring everything together and making our day extra special. We would absolutely recommend it.

no one contacted us for 2 months. We left emails and voicemails and no one got back to us until my husband finally freaked out until he talked to a manager. They offered nothing to make up for their disorganization. In contrast a very similar thing happened with our rehearsal dinner space and they upgraded our event to have free signature cocktails and added on several foods because they realized what a big error it was. Next we were put in contact with Millie who made it clear from the beginning that she would not be taking one step out of her way to make the day special. The reason weddings are so expensive tends to be because they go out of their way to make sure the day is memorable. Millie was constantly dismissive of my concerns which should have been a red flag. Day of the event the zoo staff refused to let us in at the contracted time. When I brought this up they denied that they agreed to that time. Luckily we had it in writing. Lesson learned: GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING. Then they refused to set up the event space until 5:30 for a 6:00 ceremony, leaving my planners and DOC to rush. Luckily they flipped out enough that the zoo staff finally agreed to set up early. Lesson learned: hire a separate DOC. Their people are a mess. They instructed us to wait in the admin building for next steps before the ceremony and then went incommunicado. Because we were worried to leave all of our family pictures ended up taking place inside this ugly building instead of any of the beautiful spots at the zoo because of their utter lack or communication. They didn’t provide enough power sources for the ceremony so we only had one mic and it was kind of a mess. Once again Millie did absolutely nothing to try to fix this, just threw up her hands and left. Because of the chaos in set up with timing our unity ceremony wasn’t even set up so we couldn’t do it during the ceremony. They had the space for our cocktail hour locked up so we couldn’t see the wallaby’s which was the thing I had been MOST excited for. When I asked Millie she threw up her hands and refused to help. I later asked her boss and he said had she just asked it would have been opened so she didn’t even try. Honestly I’m not sure why she even showed up that day. She mostly served to be rude to the people I hired to help that day. My DOC asked to be allowed to take down the handmade arch that my husband crafted. The zoo staff took it upon themselves to take it down by breaking it into pieces. They refuse to accept responsibility for this and are blaming my DOC who I know well and know would not have done it. The zoo has accepted some responsibility for the disaster and refunded some money, but significantly less than I (and a lawyer I inquired with) believe they should have. At this point though I’m tired of fighting about it. All in all, if you get everything in writing and go in knowing their team is disorganized and poor at communicating I’d say go for it. If you want a smooth day I’d try the Lincoln zoo Insread.

ur wedding the best. Our first contact, Kate, was pleasant but difficult to get a hold of. Weeks before the wedding, Kate was no longer working for SSA/Brookfield Zoo and our new contact was Tim. We were worried since the wedding date was close but Tim quickly alleviated concerns. Tim was professional, quick to respond, and made the process run smoothly. Wedding day, we were chauffeured by Zoo staff in a golf cart and treated like celebrities. Pre-wedding photos included feeding the giraffes and Lucia the porcupine. When preparing for our ceremony we were hit with unexpected pouring rain. Tim and team got umbrellas for our guests, brought trams up to keep our guests covered, and handed out towels. Tim was even outside mopping up the puddles while letting himself get soaked in the process - he’s so kind! Afterwards we had cocktails in the bear exhibit and reception at the swan gazebo. We received so many compliments from guests on the beautiful venue and incredible food. Thank you Brookfield Zoo for making our wedding so memorable!

not happen. They worked with is immediately to reschedule and try to make a different day our special day instead. So we waited a year. Our big day came...with even more challenges. There was a tornado warning that morning and the zoo flooded in various spots forcing our reception and cocktail locations to chnge for our safety. Our coordinator, Caitlyn, was so upset she could not give us what we had been planning for 2 years. It really moved us to see how much she cared about our day. They were able to still make the day memorable and amazing. When Tyler took over that night for the reception, he was so attentive and did everything he could to make the day amazing as well. The food and servers were the best I have ever had at any wedding. I cannot thank Brookfield Zoo's staff enough for giving my husband and I even more amazing memories.