Woodland Park Zoo

The staff at Woodland Park Zoo were amazing from start to finish, all our questions and special requests they were more than happy to work with us and help make our dream wedding day come to life.

We used the rose garden for our wedding last week. WOW was it beautiful!!!! My husband and I have dreamed of getting married in that garden for almost as long as we've known each other. The staff were so wonderful and helpful. Everything was completely seamless, and I can't imagine a more beautiful setting to get married. It was truly magical. The only downside is that no food is allowed in the garden. I would have loved to do even a small reception there as well.

such a great place ! Lancer catering was amazing and they turned the rainforest Pavillion into something so beautiful!

Beautiful venue! We were married in the Rose Garden and had our reception in the Zoomazium. Great location to have both the ceremony and reception close together but with different scenery. The team there was great and helped us out with a last minute change when we realized we needed to start the ceremony sooner than planned. There are quite a few restrictions as this is a Zoo by day (such as start time, rehearsal time/days, decor limitations, noise restrictions, etc) but they are helpful to their best ability. My biggest negative was that we had planned a 6:00ish ceremony in the Rose Garden, followed by a Champagne toast in the same garden while we waited for the reception at 7:00 inside the Zoo. We were not allowed in the Zoo before 7:00 so we obviously needed to be in the Rose Garden (paid for until 8:00) However, before 6:45 (15 minutes after the ceremony ended) while we were enjoying our champagne toast and taking photos, the AV guy came with his truck and started taking down all the speakers and loading up his truck in the middle of the garden! He even unplugged my phone that was hooked up to the AV playing music and my bridesmaids had to go searching in the bushes for it. Unfortunately I was off to the side taking pictures otherwise I would have put a stop to it right away, but I didn't notice until he was loading up the second speaker so it was pointless. We ended up heading to the reception early and luckily they let us in right before 7:00. Looking back I really wish I had noticed sooner because it made it awkward for our guests since they didn't know if we were being hurried out or if they could continue to enjoy our cocktail hour in the garden. We still had over an hour blocked for the garden. Infuriating. Other than that, they were nice and easy to work with. I did have to work with 3 coordinators and 2 catering directors (kept switching me every couple of months to a new one). Luckily I had such a small wedding it wasn't a big deal. However if I had had more details to go over it probably would have been more annoying. All in all, the wedding was simple and beautiful just like we wanted.

We tasked our wedding planner with finding us an outdoor ceremony space with indoor reception space in the same venue that could handle upwards of 200 guests. We are so glad she pointed us towards the zoo. It was an absolutely beautiful setting and nice to have everything in one space. We had an evening wedding (the zoo doesn't close till 6) which meant it was quite dark when our guests were leaving with no good lighting at the zoo. I know some of our guests struggled a bit due to the lack of lighting so something for future brides to know. We took our wedding photos all over the zoo with some of the different animals which should make for some great photos! The event staff was very easy to work with and handled all of our requests without difficulty.

The Woodland Park Zoo is a beautiful and unique venue and I loved that some of my fees go to helping the animals. However, the coordinator that I worked with changed half way through my engagement period and even though the person who took over was nice, I had to work through all the details with her again. I also really didn't like the fact that I had to use Lancer Catering, I had a bad experience with them and almost didn't go with the zoo because of my initial interaction with the caterer. The only other thing about the zoo was that we paid to have cocktail hour with the Jaguars and the Jaguars never came out where we could see them. I guess that's why they say don't work with animals!

We got married at the Jaguar Cove, this is a very small space but very worth the money! We had about 75 guests and were able to have 60 chairs for the ceremony, tables for the cocktail reception, a place for the cupcakes, guest table, buffet line and even a dance floor. The Jaguar Cove itself is beautiful so we did not need any extra decorations or flowers. The lighting after 9pm was very dark, one draw back, we had the space until 11pm but we had to leave by 10pm because it was too dark to see anything. If we had planned for this and put up some lighting it would have been perfect. We are so happy with our choice to marry here and would highly recommend it to anyone. The staff was amazing, helpful and very friendly!

My partner and I had our ceremony in the Rose Garden followed by a reception in the Rainforest Pavilion. From the beginning of the planning process to the day of the wedding, we could not have been happier with this venue. Every single person we worked with was incredibly responsive, professional, thorough, detailed, invested, and helpful. The Rose Garden was a gorgeous place for a ceremony (we got married there in late June). Zoo staff put up signs all around the area to help direct guests both to that area and also to the Pavilion afterwards. The Pavilion was transformed into a BEAUTIFUL space in the evening--with its many windows and open feel, it really provided the atmosphere we wanted. Staff from the zoo met with us a handful of times before the wedding to walk through the details, and they were happy to meet with all our other vendors to give them tours and work out details. When using the zoo's venue, you automatically work with Lancer Catering. The catering staff were similarly AMAZING. They helped us create a custom buffet, and the food was delicious (after our tasting meeting, my partner and I just couldn't wait for the wedding in order to eat the wonderful food!). Their chef is creative and willing to make suggestions or changes based on your preferences. We don't have enough good things to say about working with the zoo. They were affordable and truly worth every penny. We will honestly miss working with the many wonderful people there!!

We had our ceremony in the Beech Grove...beautiful, intimate, and it was set up for us beautifully!

I held my wedding at the Woodland Park zoo in mid-march. We held our ceremony and reception in the Zoomazium and had a short cocktail hour in the jaguar cove. Both venues were absolutely gorgeous and perfect for the small wedding we had. the staff at the zoo was very nice and helpful about trying to achieve what we wanted to do and was full of useful suggestions for vendors in the area to use. We also used their catering service and their food was delicous and they are willing to work with your dietary needs to adapt their different menu option to give your your ideal meal.

We loved this venue for our reception! It was so convenient (everything was set up and prepared for us, and the location was great for us). Everything looked great and the guests loved it! The only downside is it could get expensive really fast if you're not careful about what services you add. Highly recommend!

We had our July 2011 ceremony in the Rose Garden and our reception at the Rainforest Pavilion. We were incredibly pleased with the helpful, friendly, competent staff from the Zoo and associated catering company (Lancer). The garden was such a perfect setting for our ceremony and we hardly needed any additional flowers because we were surrounded by rose blooms and evergreens. The garden technically remains open to the public but the few people who wandered around beforehand were very respectful and staff kindly requested for people to come back or keep their distance during the ceremony. The Rainforest Pavilion may not look like much during the day, but the staff do a wonderful job of transforming it by night. We loved the open feel of the pavilion (lots of windows) and the size was perfect (we had about 115 guests). The food was really good (did not have the vaguely bland buffet taste wedding food sometimes does) and the bartenders generous. This is not a cheap venue, but it is very affordable compared to most other venues especially given the quality of food, drink, and service. They even let us bring in our own wine (a sentimental family favorite) for a flat corkage fee. Overall - we were perfectly happy with our choice.

Woodland Park Zoo Rose Garden and their team came through for us when we were facing last minute wedding chaos. I was so glad to work with them (thanks Katie!) and to have our wedding in a beautiful place with a flexible, competent group of people.

When we first told guests that the reception would be at the zoo, some of them imagined monkeys and tigers running wild. However, upon entering the RFP, everyone, including us, were stunned by how gorgeous, elegant, and fancy everything looked and felt. We were told by the majority of our guests that it was the most beautiful reception they've ever been to!! All the money for the venue go towards maintaining the zoo and the animals, and it was unexpectedly cheaper than most other venues for how elegant it is!

The Rose Garden was beautiful and the Jaguar Cove was fantastic! I have never seen the jaguar out and so active, it was great! The staff were very helpful and were able to accommodate my requests whenever possible.

It was absolutely gorgeous!It was on August 21. Roses are all open. Smell was so sweet. Also, connector from the zoo name Carol was very nice and helpful plus thoughtful. I will strongly recommend you to pick here for your special day. Price is affordable. My guests loved it.