Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

l hour at the carousel. We can’t say enough about the professionalism, positive energy, and efforts made by everyone to ensure we had the best day ever. They made sure everything was accounted for, that we stayed on schedule, and truly that we had NOTHING to worry about day of. Great communication throughout the entire process, and they were ready to answer any and all questions we had. Huge shoutout to Mary from Aramark and Kira the event coordinator for making sure the day went smooth, and Jersey who was so wonderful at making sure we were fed, had drinks, and enjoyed every part of our reception to its fullest. Our guests had so much fun, and it’s all because of this incredible team, we can’t thank them enough!!

ful to work with and handled everything seamlessly. I did not have any worries and my wedding was spectacular. Kira and Mary are wonderful to work with and wonderful at their job. My husband and I highly recommend weddings at the Zoo!

nor did they even try to apologize or reschedule. If they can’t get a tour right, I definitely wouldn’t trust them to get the wedding right

here was still plenty of room for a dance floor, photobooth, and food stations. The Zoo staff were so communicative and professional (they assign an event coordinator to work with you throughout the planning process and help on wedding day!) and open to our ideas (we rented the zipline for our guests during the reception). Mary from Aramark was also a dream to work with - my partner is a chef and had a million thoughts about how he wanted to do the food and Mary was so patient with us. We ended up doing prime rib and pasta stations with a bunch of appetizers dispersed around the venue and it was perfect. Our guests all raved both about how delicious the food was and how they never had to wait for something to eat (a huge pet peeve of mine at other weddings). We would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

we could have dreamed of! Great communication for us through the whole process (Emma is the best)! All of our guests said it was the most fun and unique wedding they have ever been to! Also who can say they fed a giraffe, rode a zip line, and got multiple photos during the Asian lantern festival for their wedding?!?! Also they set up and tear down everything for you, as well as coordinate and set up times with all of your vendors! Book it, you won’t regret it!

cating with our coordinator was a little rough around the edges because there was some miscommunication, however, it did improve in areas and ultimately we had a new coordinator at the end (due to issues out of our control), which was Cindy, and she really did an amazing job with everything in such little time and really allowed us to have a stress free day. I was very impressed when the night was over and all my stuff was packed up ready to go and I had not one thing to worry about, she also accommodated some things for us to make our lives easier which really made a difference. The food was wonderful, the staff was wonderful, the bartenders were great and super friendly. Our server brought us (bride and groom) drinks on arrival, she also served us appetizers from the cocktail hour that we missed due to taking pictures, so we could actually enjoy what we were paying for which I felt was really thoughtful. I would recommend the zoo, I also thought the price of the venue was pretty reasonable in comparison to other venues in the area. If I do have any suggestions, since wedding planning is usually a first time experience, I definitely learned that I should ask more questions before immediately agreeing to a venue. Granted, venues book up fast so the pressure is definitely on, so here is my advice, ask lots of questions in advance. The zoo has their own catering company that you have to use, which we knew, but there were definitely some unexpected fees in the Aramark contract that we weren’t expecting since we have never done this before. Ask for as much information as you can, with any venue, before you commit. We would have still chosen the zoo for the record if we knew about the additional fees in advance, but we just felt a little blindsided which takes away from the positive experience, we just wanted to make sure we had the venue we wanted and that was our only focus. Additionally, you do have to pay a deposit (half of total) right away and then the remaining balance a couple months later, which seemed very quick to pay in full to us since we paid in early 2022 but our wedding was summer 2023. I’m sure there was a reason for it, so again, just ask questions so you don’t get frustrated with the process. Lastly, the zoo is meaningful to me, so it was important to get married there, we had a very small wedding with our closest friends and family, and everyone had only wonderful things to say about it, which solidified feeling like it was money well spent. It really was a beautiful and memorable day with a great team and an overall very positive experience.

le you choose will fit in here perfectly. Lots of areas to get away and chat during the reception. You also have an event coordinator assigned specifically to your event, and we loved Mia! We chose to have our ceremony on the premises and there are many options for that as well. We actually ending up using the dance floor as an "isle" and it worked out well. One of the reasons we chose this venue was because their indoor options ceremony space options were just as good as outdoor their options. (Being in Cleveland you have to be prepared for any weather at any time.) The carousel was a great add-on for cocktail hour. I wasn't sure if my guests would use it, but many did-multiple times (even older guests)! It made the whole experience much more exciting for everyone. The animal encounter was so cute and my guests were able to take photos with the animals as well. Aramark does the catering and the food was all delicious. And Mary, our Aramark rep was awesome! Everyone was raving about how good it was - even a week later! The "accommodations" were great too - not only is there a "bridal suite" but also a separate "groom's room" and a coat room- which made it feel like a very classy affair. There is also a separate family restroom, so if you're worried about trying to go the bathroom in your wedding dress you will have plenty of space... I really felt like my wedding was a big event by having it at the zoo rather than an ordinary venue. My only caution is that if your dreams are bigger than your budget, be careful because the options here are virtually limitless - but is that really a bad thing? :) Money well spent. Very happy.

zoo's events team is split between the special events group and Aramark catering. Although the special events team worked hard to ensure our special day would take place as planned, there were some major communication issues both on their part and especially on the part of the Aramark catering group. First, we were assured that only weddings or similar special events would take place on our wedding day. Six weeks before, we found out the Asian Lantern Festival was scheduled for the same day. We had to scramble to understand how to prevent wedding crashers, avoid the music and noise, and ensure the lanterns would not be part of our wedding photos. Although we were told all of the Asian Lantern Festival music would be shut off near Stillwater Place, the back patio still had the festival music playing all night. During the initial venue tours, we were also told that the wedding party could feed the giraffes. This message is clearly not communicated to the entire zoo staff, who tried to bar us from feeding the giraffes and caused a major issue once my bridesmaids and I arrived. They insisted we could not feed the giraffes as the other paying guests deserved priority. I'm not exactly sure how much each guest paid for the zoo, but we paid close to $18,000k and we even offered to pay petty cash for the lettuce as well. The staff members at the giraffe enclosure were rude and flustered by the request to feed the giraffes...even though the sales team mentions it as a highlight of hosting a wedding at the zoo. Finally, the Aramark team completely mishandled the alcohol orders; ordering the liquor only a week in advance, neglecting to order standard alcohols like vodka and gin, and most importantly, deciding on the wedding day to completely omit the cocktail hour bar without consulting me, my husband, or our wedding planner, even though their signed contracts and numerous emails clearly mentioned the cocktail hour bar. Our guests were left to enjoy a cocktail hour without the actual cocktails...which put pressure on us to finish up pictures quickly to rectify the situation. We share this information not to complain, but to warn other couples considering a wedding at the zoo. The communication issues and drama disrupted the week before the wedding and the wedding itself. The Aramark team owned no responsibility for their mistakes and tried to blame me. Fortunately, I saved all the paperwork and fought hard to pay what was promised and not the thousands they were trying to overcharge us. If you're considering a wedding at the zoo, make sure you get everything in writing and that you check in with them proactively in the days and weeks leading up to the wedding. Follow up often and overcommunicate. Don't trust that they will get the details right without several concrete reminders. We never imagined being so stressed with the venue on the day of the wedding; it really tainted the whole experience when we should have been able to enjoy the day without drama.

job as well. All of our guests told us what a wonderful time they had and how it was such a cool wedding experience. I would definitely recommend renting the carousel for cocktail hour. I am so happy we decided to have our wedding at Stillwater Place.

il hour at the carousel with the small animal experience. Our guests (and us) took full advantage of the carousel and loved the animals - they are more than worth the extra cost. I brought my own decor and Cindy/team decorated with it better than I could even imagine. They thought of the little things that really made the day feel even more special - they enclosed the carousel when it was chilly, gave my fiancé and I our own plate of apps and brought us our signature drinks right when we sat down. Food was amazing as well! I really cannot recommend Stillwater Place, Cindy and the zoo as a wedding venue enough.

ace was.

eception was made so easy by our event coordinator Alascia and her staff. Alascia is so kind and professional and anticipates your every need. And the food from Aramark got rave reviews! Wish we could do it all over again!!

ents staff (Sam and Alascia) at the zoo was incredibly kind and understanding as everything unfolded. Although we ended up having to do a smaller wedding and couldn’t use the venue at the zoo, I would HIGHLY recommend this venue. You will be taken care of no matter what happens!!

on the patio during the reception. Alascia really made our wedding experience with Cleveland Metroparks Zoo phenomenal. She was easy to get in touch with and provided quick and detailed responses to our seemingly neverending questions. Alascia went above and beyond in helping my maid of honor set up a surprise for us as part of her wedding speech which really meant a lot to us. It was such a relief knowing Alascia and her team were taking such good care of our guests and event! Our day would not have gone so smoothly without them! We are so happy we chose to have our reception at Stillwater Place. We all had an amazingly fun time!

ator was Alascia and she was the absolute best. So attentive, patient, and sweet. She made our day and all the planning leading up to the day so smooth and easy. Both her and the catering team were extremely responsive and accommodating. The venue was beautiful and set up was perfect. I would give more than 5 stars if I could.

he shuttle drivers took us around to some of the animal that were still outside and we got amazing photos from that! Overall, we had an amazing time! The only issues we had were not being told until two days before the wedding that we would have to stay and clean up all the decor, take it with us at the end of our wedding night.. This would have been great to find out prior too and make arrangements instead of having Parents, Bridal Party, Bride and Groom stay to do this. The staff night of didn't seem to be on the same page because when you asked a question no one seemed to know the answer.. (like where to direct people to go for cocktail hour was an issue until our DJ helped with that). Stillwater was gorgeous and I'd definitely recommend it overall!

ck patio and all the little details that make this an elegant and romantic setting. The zoo partners with Aramark catering and the food was fantastic! We loved working with Nicole, our catering manager who delivered on a beautiful dinner and excellent service. With this being a Zoo first and a wedding venue second, we ran into a few logistical issues. Just keep in mind that zoo visitors are also their guests and that you may need to enact a couple backup plans and have a little patience to get everything to work out just right.

ceremony on the deck nextdoor, our cocktail hour on their covered patio, and the reception inside. The whole place is spacious, and has wonderful natural lighting and settings for pictures too. Plus, the zoo offers all kinds of extra details to enhance the day, from a shuttle for your guests to the option of having small animal encounters during the cocktail hour. I would highly recommend this venue, especially for an outdoor or summer wedding!

th and made our day the absolute best!

d exactly what was promised. Would recommend to any future wedding couple. Very happy! Also the food was spectacular. Our guests enjoyed the menu and served promptly.

d professional the Event Planning Staff and the Caterer, (Aramark), were. I give them my highest recommendations

k with! She was detail oriented, she thought of things that we forgot, and I could tell that she took the time to read all the long emails I sent her over our engagement. The zoo staff was very concerned with making our event what we wanted. We ended up having our ceremony on Wade Deck. It looked beautiful. The reception was at Stillwater Place, which is a stunning building. Stillwater Place is building, but it has an outdoor patio with a fire. This was a bit hit among our guests; we received a lot of compliments on how beautiful the venue was. It allowed our guests to either stay in and dance or go outside and chat, where it was quieter. We also opted for a carousel rental during our cocktail hour, and a zoo volunteer came with an owl and an armadillo! Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and the staff we worked with (especially our coordinator Alascia) helped us get the unique, creative, and fun wedding we wanted. I recommend them to anyone.

easy, but our cantorial leader Annice Benamy, my sister, did an exceptional job. Kyle and Ilana, my niece and nephew, sang our song while being walked down the aisle. Thank you everyone from the Baker to the DJ to my best Rosanne for taking on a huge job from me, the flowers. We will never forget "our night."

day! The only thing that I was not a fan of was the fact that our contacts for both the zoo and Aramark (the catering company through the zoo) changed at least two or three times, and sometimes things would fall through. For example, we had a big deposit to be put down that we had no idea about due to miscommunication. That was the biggest problem that comes to mind. But at the end of the day, we had a fantastic time!

he whole planing process was Cindy. She was easy to work with, professional, and willing to help in any way she could. Our day would not have gone as smoothly without her. Our guests made so many comments about how nice the venue was and how delicious the food was. Aramark did a great job with the food, and they were willing to accommodate any dietary restrictions. Overall, I was very happy with our wedding, and I would highly recommend Stillwater Place to future couples!

't know I had. The facility is absolutely beautiful, and it was wonderful to have a back-up indoor location for the wedding in case of bad weather. I worked with Cindy Roebuck and she was great! She ensured the set-up of the name cards, table cards, and our table names and photos went smoothly. She and her team also coordinated the ceremony entrances so that we knew when to leave Stillwater Place to head over to Wade Deck. We paid extra for the guaranteed animal experience during the cocktail hour, with someone from the Education Department because we figured we might as well get the most of the zoo location. Our guests LOVED this part. We had a fennic fox and a barn owl that folks got to take pictures with and hear interesting facts about. We limited our costs at this venue by not having a beef menu option, having donuts rather than cake (to eliminate the cake-cutting fee), cutting out the dessert that comes with the meal (saves $2 per meal), and having a consumption bar. The consumption bar was CLUTCH. If you have a crowd of moderate drinkers, this is the way to go, as opposed to an open bar. Guests don't know the difference, but you save huge amounts if your guests aren't averaging >5 drinks each. Overall, I had the best wedding I could have possibly imagined for myself. I never thought I could afford to get married in such a beautiful place, and the staff helped make up for our DIY/cheap approach to the rest of the wedding (friend officiating, no centerpieces, no decorations, self-made table/name cards and table names with national park photos). I made checklists and thought we'd be running around with our wedding party getting stuff set-up in the hour between our photos and the wedding ceremony, but when we walked into the venue, the team was already hard at work and I just walked around and made sure everything was going well. Such a relief and load off that it was all taken care of. Another bonus - guests can go to the zoo for free on the day!

G! They eliminated so much stress for my family by setting everything up, cleaning everything up, and being super organized! They are relatively new, so they usually check out and try to make any idea you throw at them work. I cannot say enough good things about this venue!

experience!

g our special night - everything from set up to tear down was taken care of. Aulbrie, my wedding coordinator through the zoo, was a lifesaver. They are extremely professional and efficient. I would recommend over and over to check it out!!

coordinators, and catering department at this location! When we were looking for the venue, and we met with Aulbrie, we absolutely fell in love with the ceremony location, and the reception location. They have so many options at the zoo too depending on budget. Aulbrie and Leah were the best coordinators I could have asked for! They were so helpful, and eased my stress with trying to plan out the wedding and keep everything on track. Aramark is the catering, and the food was AMAZING!! Kristin was great to work with, and was always quick to respond to any of my questions I had throughout the planning process. Depending on the amount of people and location you choose within the zoo, I can see it might get a little expensive, but it is worth every penny! The food choices were fantastic, and very reasonably priced in comparison to other locations available. And you won't get a more unique wedding than here!

self was gorgeous, everyone extremely helpful, taking a lot of pressure off of me as the bride. The food was to die for, people raved about it all night. We had a nice fire in a huge stone fireplace on the patio going all night. Most of our guests said it was the best wedding they've ever been to. I highly recommend the zoo and especially the Stillwater Place for anyone looking for a unique wedding venue. I am extremely grateful

on. The event ran smoothly and the staff couldn't be nicer. Excellent experience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

vent as important as your wedding. It is impossibly hard to get ahold of anyone on staff at this venue. My weekdays were filled with my parents, fiance, and myself using lunch breaks to try to get ahold of this venue. They are very unorganized and due to a "computer error" they gave my wedding date away. Like I said, Stillwater Place is the most beautiful venue I have ever seen but if trust and professionalism is important to you, Stillwater Place is not the venue for you.

ot finding her. Then when I began asking about receiving back part of the deposit she quickly answered NO and that I miss read the contract, then ignored my emails. Tells me she has proof in her email box that all that information was sent. I also have proof of everything I received. The communication is horrific and if you miss understand something then it may cost you a lot of money! We lost $700 that "just goes in their budget as unused funds." While im sure my attitude was not great, I have worked in customer service for a long time. Telling a customer that they are wrong then proceeding to mumble under your breath while FINALLY getting you the information makes for a great service. My wedding should be a happy time. If you are a bride on a tight budget less than 30000, DO NOT PICK HERE! If you feel that you want someone responsible DO NOT PICK HERE!!! Paying for a wedding is a scary thing, I was just looking to view the property before putting down a deposit with my fiancé. Now every time I go to the zoo or see signs for all I see feel is distaste and regret for putting down any money at all. We are not even requesting our money back, we would just like it to go in as a donation for the animals. But apparently that is not allowed.

f centerpieces/favors before hand which they set up for us. They allowed a cookie table with homemade cookies. Other vendors required us buy their cookies! Linens and dinnerware were included. Mildly frustrating: We were under the impression that we were allowed in the RainForest at 5:30 for pictures/set-up. When we got there, we were kicked out until 6:30 so they could clean and set-up. We planned for pictures inside and to have time for a break b/f the cocktail hour started. They said it was in our contract that we couldn't come in until 6:30, but that was not accurate. The contract says "The Guest Group is permitted to begin to set up for their event alongside the Zoo's staff once the Zoo and the RainForest close to the public....Between Labor Day and Memorial Day, and Monday through Friday set up can begin at 5pm." Our planner was able to get things resolved, but it delayed and prevented us from the much needed rest before guests arrived. This was 1 out of 3 frustrating moments of the day for us, and it was the 1st real issue we had with the zoo. Luckily it was a nice sunny day in Cleveland, OH for once, so we didn't get rained on while waiting outside. (partly us, partly zoo) mild Frustration 2/3: There is no sound system in the Storm Room which is where dinner is held. Dancing and DJ are set up out in the cafe area. The DJ brought an extra sound system to set up where dinner was held and he set it up right by the door. The Zoo should recommend in the future that he move it more towards the center of the room. Since the room is a half circle, people on the other side of the storm exhibit could not hear any of the toasts! It is a huge regret of mine. Another solution: Do toasts/first dances during cocktail hour before everyone goes in for dinner. Caterer – Aramark is the exclusive caterer for the Zoo. They were among the most reasonably priced provider when compared to other venues and offered a wide array of choices when it came to the Menu. They also offer a tasting experience before finalizing the menu. Quality of the food was good and they offered flexibility in the menu and bar service. Our main contact for the event switched 3 different times during our planning. This caused a few lapses in communication and planning but the issues were quickly addressed when we brought them to attention. Complaint 3/3: We wanted dessert to be served out by the dance floor after dinner. This is where we were going to cut the cake as well. However, the caterer wanted cake to be served where dinner was because they had already put out a dessert fork. I felt pressured to cut our cake in the storm room instead of the cafe area where everyone was. I cut my cake on a dirty dinner table rather than the cake table on which it was set up. I wish I would've been more upfront about my feelings. The RainForest is a unique location for a reception, and requires special considerations for all aspects of the meal. We wouldn't change our venue! We loved it very much and all of our guests were so impressed with how fun it was! Any complaints made here are so people can adjust communication so things can go even more smoothly next time. All in all, everything was great and everyone was really easy to work with!

Zoo. We were especially impressed with all the people that we met. We dealt with Mary for the food, and she was awesome. She took care of everything behind the scenes and made it look easy. Mary and the awesome chefs were willing to work with us and our special request to create a totally vegetarian menu - and they did a great job. We worked with Ann from the Zoo for all the details on the location. She bent over backwards to meet with us several times and answer all of our overly detailed questions. Ann and the Zoo staff did all the behind the scenes work to coordinate with the other vendors and to get the location set up. Again they made it look easy and took all the weight off of our shoulders as far as work and worry. The location itself turned out to be really interesting. We were not looking for a normal (read boring) reception venue. My wife and I met at the local dog park and are animal lovers, so this location seemed like a good bet. And now that we have had our wedding, we are sure that we picked the right location. It was interesting, unique, beautiful, fun, and hip. The layout of the building was the only drawback. The parking was not right next to the building (although not far), and the room was sort of broken up into two levels. But the Zoo staff helped us to figure out how to make it work well. Overall, we were really happy with the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Our guests still talk about what a great time they had at our wedding and at our awesome reception location!