Mitchell Park Conservatory "The Domes"

My husband and I will be talking about our wedding day for the rest of our lives and The Domes and Zilli Hospitality Group did not disappoint. We solidified our decision on this venue back in January 2018 for our May 2019 wedding and from start to finish Roxann was incredible. The countless emails and phone calls we had in the beginning to confirm our venue was a big step, not to mention dealing with the nitty gritty details as the date quickly approached. Her colleagues Deanna and Jessica were also fantastic when Roxann was away – as the wedding became closer and closer, Deanna was extremely responsive to emails and very detailed. Being an organized bride, I cannot think of one time I was disappointed with their communication. The Zilli staff on site were so attentive, friendly, and professional as well. Virginia specifically checked in with me multiple times throughout the reception making sure I had food, drinks, and if I needed anything which was a huge benefit. I’d constantly hear stories that brides and grooms never get a chance to eat or take a break – this is no lie. Virginia did a great job making sure this was avoided at all cost. We especially liked how the Zilli staff came into the Desert Dome and provided us with appetizers while we waited for guests to take their seats for the ceremony. We were especially pleased to see Roxann stop by our wedding and stayed for a few hours making sure everything was running smoothly. I know when I first inquired about The Domes she was clear that she differed from the on-site coordinator day of, but still did her diligence to be present. She truly has a passion for event planning and it certainly showed throughout all interactions we had. The only two downfalls we dealt with was the temperature in the Atrium (reception area) and our guest chairs. The Atrium is air-conditioned however with having 140 people in the space, it became HOT and fast. Zilli quickly resolved this by opening the tunnel in the back and main doors up front and it seemed to air out nicely. Lastly, we opted for the premium chivari chairs to dress the space up instead of the standard folding chairs. They looked great and had a cushion (huge plus), however, the staff started taking these away around 10pm when our event ran until 12am. I watched guests get up to migrate to the dance floor and a group of servers rushed in to grab the chairs and put them in the back, leaving their table with nothing. I quickly said something and Zilli put them back out with no issues. The gentleman I spoke with seemed upset his team did this, was very apologetic, and instantly put them back out which I was pleased to see. I understand wanting to keep up with the timeline of the day to prevent more work later in the night, but there is an hour dedicated for Zilli to breakdown from 12am – 1am: seeing as we paid additional for these chairs, we wanted them out for as long as possible. Aside from these two hiccups, everything went incredibly smooth. Not one point throughout the day did I feel stressed or anxious: I was just happy to see my guests enjoying their time here and I myself had a blast with nothing to be worried about! Guests RAVED about the venue as most were from Illinois and/or out of town and had never heard of the space before. The Domes is certainly a unique venue and I highly recommend hosting any event here. Such great picture opportunities, fabulous hospitality team, and overall really cater to your every need. Well done!

We had our company Christmas party at the Domes a few weeks back and it turned out amazing! I was a bit concerned seeing as this was a completely different type of venue for us and sometimes the response time to my questions lagged a bit. Maybe I just was impatient..? Anyway it all turned out great and the food was outstanding - we received many compliments from our guests stating as such. The venue is hands down amazing especially for an evening event. It's a completely different feel/atmosphere at night in The Domes than what you get when you are there visiting during the day. And the light show, oh my goodness! Do not pass this up! And choose the Bohemian Rhapsody song! Had it not been for Roxann, my main contact for planning this party, taking the initiative to choose this song, I and others would have thought the light show to be rather ho-hum. Not so with this song! It was amazing! It really added to everyone's night and their overall enjoyment. Our event manager that night was Jenni and she was great, making sure that we always had enough plates and food available. Overall it was a positive experience and if you are contemplating the Domes and using Zilli Hospitality Group, check them out! You will not be disappointed.

We had both our ceremony and reception at the Domes, and it was phenomenal. Throughout the planning process, I worked with Roxann and her assistant Jessica, and they were wonderful. If I had a question, I could call them or email them, and Roxann would get back to me almost immediately. I never had to wait longer than 24 hours to get a reply to my question (unless it was Monday, her day off, when I would hear back ASAP on Tuesday). Since I was living out of state while planning our wedding, we didn't get many chances to visit the venue. Roxann was so helpful, giving us Skype walk-throughs of the venue and detailing exactly how everything would be set up, and helping us arrange a date with an in-person visit and food tasting when we could get back to Milwaukee. She answered all of my millions of questions, and was always extremely helpful and pleasant no matter how many times I emailed or called! Leading up to the event, Roxann and Jessica sent me detailed diagrams and walked through my event details and helped make sure that everything would be perfect. And it was. The event, on the day of, was amazing. The domes are so beautiful, and getting the chance to take photos in not just a garden, but also a desert and a tropical environment is truly a unique experience you wouldn't be able to get at a different venue. The staff were all extremely helpful, making sure everything was set up to our specifications and ready to go. The food was delicious. Zilli's has the most amazing food, and everything was so tasty. We had a few people with special dietary restrictions, and they were all provided with a separate plate so they they didn't need to worry about checking ingredients in the buffet. And during the reception hour, when the bridal party was taking photos, we were all really glad that the wait staff brought the appetizers in to the party and photographer first thing so we all got to try them. All of the staff were extremely friendly, chatting with guests as they worked. Any time we needed something, there was someone there who could help us get it. If there was one issue with the venue, it was the heat, and that's not something that anyone could change. The domes themselves are not air-conditioned, in order to provide an ideal environment for the flowers, so it was getting close to 90 degrees. Thankfully, we had ceremony programs for our guests, so they were all using them as fans, and once the ceremony was over, everyone moved back into the atrium, which does have AC. In a cooler month (not August), or maybe even on a cloudy day, I'm sure it would be cooler in the domes. Even with the heat, though, our ceremony was wonderful and I'm extremely glad that we chose the Domes for our ceremony and reception. I cannot think of a single thing that went wrong or that I wish the staff at the Domes had done differently. They were attentive and friendly, working hard to make our day special from the very beginning. I would thoroughly recommend the Domes to anyone who is interested in having a wedding in Milwaukee. Their attention to detail was really phenomenal, and they went above and beyond to make our day perfect.

We were absolutely thrilled with our wedding day! It went smoother than we thought possible. We are still awaiting final photos, but based on the sneak peak are positive they will turn out spectacularly! Guests were allowed to roam through all three domes with drinks and appetizers. Several of the guests commented on how nice the displays were. The caterer, Zilli Hospitality Group, was wonderful to work with. The food was exceptional during the tasting, and the same delicious food was served on our wedding day! We could not have been more pleased with the quality of the appetizers and dinner. We opted for buffet, which was a great option for us and our guests. The bar was stocked as promised with no shortages. In particular, we felt Roxann was exceptional. She had a particular eye for detail and made sure that everything was accounted for. Her professionalism really showed when she patiently explained pricings of packages and various options. Also, on the day of the wedding, the chairs inside the Domes were set-up in a spot that we disapproved of. We asked her to have them moved to a different spot. Although there was little time to do so and several chairs needed moving, she made sure to make it happen. We strongly recommend working with Roxann. We also loved our floral arrangements, put together by Katie who works with Adorn. Although we went back and forth on which particular flowers should be in the bouquets, Katie was patient and made helpful suggestions. We sent her images from Pinterest to help guide decisions. She then put together the arrangements, which were delivered on time and looked absolutely stunning!

Even though many of my family members are extremely critical and difficult to please, everyone was happy with this venue choice.

The Domes was a perfect venue for our November wedding! We had our ceremony and reception on-site, using the show dome for the ceremony and the lobby area for the reception. It was AMAZING! We were floored by how gorgeous the venue is, with very minimal decorations (we had little to none) and the show dome fit around 170 people, sitting, very easily. We worked through Zilli, since they are the caterer for the venue and they were absolutley wonderful Angie was a godsend in keeping me sane and ensuring everything flowed smoothly. The only downside we encountered while working with the Domes was the director, Sandy was very rude to my husband and I during the process, including on the day of. She is not flexible and approached me on our wedding day complaining about our wedding party standing outside of the Domes waiting to take pictures, which I was really shocked by (hello, a bride on her wedding day doesn't need that!). I also had a conversation with her a month or so before our wedding regarding coming early (and paying the fee) to take pictures in the Domes on our wedding day and she was very rude. Since there was a wedding rehearsal going on that day, we wouldn't be able to get in at our desired time. Sandy's suggestion was to come at NOON to take out pictures (we had a 6:30pm ceremony start time...), so she wasn't willing to help at all. BUT, don't let that deter you. Just ignore Sandy, work with Angie and your wedding day will be PERFECT!

The domes were beautiful at night. We received alot of compliments on the venue from our out of town guests. Zillis hospitality group provided excellent appetizers and an excellent meal. We worked with Angela and she was excellent. She was friendly and very efficient. All the staff we worked with were excellent. Can not think of one complaint.

The only reason we are giving Zilli 2 stars instead of 1 is because nothing went wrong on the actual day of the wedding - no major gaffes or issues. Let's start with the positives: 1) The package was a decent deal compared to other caterers. For about $80/guest, there were 5 passed appetizers, open bar, salad, dinner, cake service, and late night food. 2) The person who served us was very nice - she made sure to save us each a piece of cake since we had to visit tables right after dinner, and she brought us a sample of all the apps. Very sweet and thoughtful. 3)The tasting was super fun and the food was really good. My parents, husband and I went to the tasting and had a great time. If only the food at the wedding was as good as the tasting... Now for the many negatives. 1) The food was HORRIBLE. Honestly, we were embarrassed by how terrible the food was. Our food was cold! The chicken was disgusting, it was totally dry and completely unedible. The ravioli was undercooked and had barely any sauce and no flavor. We couldn't even eat our food, that is how bad it was! My close friends and family who knew they wouldn't offend us if they honestly told us what they thought about the food all agreed that it was some of the worst food they have ever had at a wedding. The appetizers were also very very bad - the dates were totally overcooked and completely unedible. We had talked up how great the food was going to be to all our friends and family, since the food was so great at the tasting. We felt like frauds. It was so embarrassing. 2) Zilli pitches their catering as a full-service program. They tell you at the tasting that you will have a day-of coordinator who will take care of everything and work directly with you. That is a complete lie. We booked Zilli about 16 months before our wedding. They did not tell us who our on-site "coordinator" would be until a few DAYS before the wedding! And that was only because we asked! The actual day of the wedding, we did not meet this so-called coordinator. He or she never introduced themselves to us (not hard to figure out who we are!). When I had inquired AFTER we signed our contract about what the coordinator would do, it turned out it was pretty much nothing. The way it was sold to us was that this person would basically be the on-site wedding coordinator that day. 3) The customer service during the wedding planning was pretty lukewarm at best. We were pretty chill about the whole wedding planning process and about as non-demanding as you can be. Our Zilli contact was always very responsive via email, which was nice, but not very friendly, especially via phone. 4) The bartenders have no idea what they are doing. It seems like they have hired people to just pour wine into a cup, maybe pour some vodka and soda into a cup. Anything more complicated than that, you will want to look elsewhere. 5) My husband's parents graciously offered to pay the $2000 extra to have wine at the tables during dinner. When my husband and I sat down, we realized that there was no wine on the tables. We had to ask our server to get wine on all the tables. So they put bottles on the tables, and did not open them! After about a half hour, we finally had open bottles of wine on the table. 6) OMG the late night food - disgusting! How hard is it to do some decent pizzas? Overall, we would recommend looking elsewhere for a caterer. Can't believe we spent $16k+ for such garbage.

The Domes was a beautiful venue to host our wedding! It was like a destination wedding for our guests, but still close to home. We had Zilli Hospitality Group provide our catering and coordinating of the event and everything was amazing! Their staff and food were the best I've ever had.

If you're looking for an out of the ordinary wedding venue, the Domes are a great choice! The set up in the lobby for your tables is roomy and with the uplighting you can establish a lovely, elegant effect. We had 125 guests and plenty of room for more. The charm of the Domes is the ability to be able to pull away from the table/dining setting and wander through the three domes throughout the evening. Not only are they beautiful, but it provides wonderful conversational nooks for people to chat. As we had many out of town guests, some of whom were getting together for the first time in over a decade, that space away from the dance floor and music was appreciated. If you pick the Domes, you must go with Zilli Hospitality Group for your catering, but that's not a sacrifice. Zilli did a great job! (See my review of them for details.) We loved our reception in the Domes!

We couldn't be happier about having had our wedding at The Domes. We had an evening wedding and reception there in early February. The Domes have an exclusive contract with Zilli Hospitality Group (who were also fantastic) for catering and bar service. The ceremony took place in the Show Dome and the reception in the lobby area. All three domes were open to our guests for the duration of our reception. We also had a light show set to music in the Show Dome to surprise our guests. I would absolutely recommend this venue to a couple looking for a unique but iconic spot to celebrate! Pros: Easy to work with Rental fee was affordable All domes open to guests during event Staff were great! Discounts for off season Cons: Only able to set up 1 hour in advance of event (can't set up during open hours)

Best venue choice any bride and groom could pick for their wedding day! All of our guests enjoyed the venue!!

Awesome venue and reception space...a big hit with all of our guests!!! Once booked, our options were laid out nicely and decisions were made well in advance so there were no last-minute surprises.

They are worth every penny! My wedding was perfect. They did everything they could to help us. Our pictures ran long so they had to hold dinner and the food was still amazing! We were told it was the best wedding the guests had been to in years! And we had the best wedding food they had ever had! I would definitely do my anything with them again.

The Domes was hands down a fantastic place for our wedding. There were some challenges as it is a unique setting, but once figured out they led to a unique and memorable night for us and our guests! Most of our guests claimed "I've always wanted to get to the Domes" or "I haven't been here since I was little!" and were very excited to have all 3 domes open to only the wedding for the night. We held the dance in the Show Dome which had plenty of space for dancing on the pathway, people to sit on the benches, and observe from the bridge and door area with cocktail tables. There was even an area for our band to set up. We had a light show (the Dome LED lights synchronize to a song) which was a great seque from having dinner in the lobby and getting our guests into the Show Dome for the dance. Our favorite picture from the night was in the Desert Dome at night with all the plants light in the blue night lighting. Amazing backdrop! Zilli Hospitality is the caterer provided with the venue, and they did a fantastic job! Heather was our event planner, who works closely with all weddings at the Domes and is able to assist with any decorating/logistic questions related to the venue. There were a few small issues: Since we did our own centerpieces, I had to delegate a team of friends/familiy to set up prior to 5:00 cocktail hour. Due to it being a public park, my set-up team was not able to access the domes until 4:30, which allowed for only 30 minutes of set up. All vendors were able to arrive at 4:00. Had I realized this sooner, I may have chosen to have the florist do the centerpieces to avoid the stress of only 30mins of set up for my friends/family to do. It worked out though and they got it all done in the very short amount of time! We had wireless mics set up in the lobby for our speeches. Apparently the LED lights make the mic frequency tweak out which led to some static on the mics. It ended up being fine, however, as many people claimed to not have noticed. Overall, I couldn't be happier with our wedding at the Domes. Our guests are still talking about it, and I know it will be a wedding no one will ever forget!

The Domes was an amazing venue. It was unique and beautiful place to have our wedding. At night, the lights illuminated the Domes and helped make for some beautiful pictures. Zilli's was the exclusive caterer and they provided amazing service and worked with us every step of the way. They worked with us on a lot of costs and were able to compromise. Many of our guests complimented us on how great the wedding was there because they were able to walk around the domes and it provided a unique experience. The only problem with the domes is it is a public venue that closes at 5pm, so the timing for set up and guest arrival is limited till after the parks close. The timing make be a little difficult, but it's worth it to have such a beautiful place.

The domes were absolutely beautiful for our wedding. We had dinner in the atrium and danced on the landing of the show dome. Our guests had full access to the other 2 domes as well and they could not stop raving to my husband and I how amazing everything looked. We got married on a cool September day, which is why the show dome temperature was perfect.

Everyone that attended my wedding absolutely loved the reception site. Guests are welcome to walk around and check out the domes all night long which made it such a unique wedding. The lighting is beautiful so there is no need to spend extra money on uplighting. One thing that I was very upset about was the construction of the entry to the Domes. It was supposed to be finished by the middle of May and was still no where near being finished at my July 16th wedding. Zilli (the catering company) was appoligetic and sympathetic about my disappointment but the Domes really didn't care. Zilli added some nice extra's to make up for it so it all worked out! The lighting in the domes was spectacular once the sun went down but in July thats not until late. I can only imagine how wonderful a winter wedding would be there!

Everything looked so beautiful, and everyone loved the location and ability to go in each dome. There was ample space, the only issue is that the air was not working and it got REALLY HOT! The only thing that prevented this from being a 5.

All I have to say is that the flower displays are gorgeous in June! If you want to have a reception in a unique fun and nontraditional way... this is it. It was beautiful. We had 120 people there and it was the perfect size to allow a decent size dance floor and also room for a candy buffet. The staff there was awesome! The only complaint I have is that there was a huge awkward bulldozer in the Arid (Desert) Dome and we could not take pictures there because of it and the front renovations were supposed to be done and they most definitely were not.

I held my wedding ceremony in the tropical dome at the Mitchell Park Conservatory. Needless to say our wedding photos are amazing. Even after paying a large fee to hold the ceremony there, you still have to pay regular admission per person for both the rehersal the day before and the day of the ceremony. They do not block off space for you from the general public, so you will have random people walking around during the ceremony and picture taking. Also note that they do not make any special accomodations for you. Despite having a scheduled 2-hour window for the ceremony, they decided to water everything right before my ceremony (the gardener even said to my husband, "oh, you must be the wedding party.") We had to have someone carry my train down the path rather than me walking alone with my father because everything was so wet. My dress would have looked like a soaked dish towel if we hadn't.

The Domes are awesome; so many of our guests commented on how lovely the evening was and how fun it was to explore all of the beautiful gardens. Having access to all 3 domes really gave the event a unique feel and allowed guests to have a personalized experience; no one was confined to one loud room with the dance floor, and there were plenty of spots for conversation. One downside to the Domes is that the lobby area, where the tables are set up for the reception, has some structural pillars that make visibility a bit of a challenge. People are willing to be flexible, though, and the positives of the venue definitely make it worth it!