Woodland Park Zoo

only a month of emailing the zoo coordinators (which at one point, had to be about half a dozen different people!), we finally realized that we needed our own wedding planner. Our wedding planner was surprised by how high the turn-over was among the people we were in touch with on the zoo's end. Although she had over 10 years of professional experience working as a planner (based in Seattle), she also found it difficult to communicate with the zoo. We were extremely unimpressed by the zoo's professionalism and lack of organization. Even though we had booked the zoo 1 year in advance, as well as the rehearsal date (which had been cleared by one of the zoo staff members as available), they made us change the rehearsal date with less than a month's notice because of an event. We understand that its the zoo, and there are events, but we were shocked that they didn't inform us of it sooner (once again, we had booked the wedding and rehearsal date a year in advance). Half of our entire wedding party and guests were traveling from the east coast, so any changes in scheduling was pretty much impossible on their end (in fact, one of the traveling groomsmen was unable to attend the rehearsal because of the scheduling change). Besides, the overall difficulties in communication, the zoo coordinator's professionalism was also extremely lacking. There were some major decisions that they dictated that lead to a delay in some aspects of the wedding, eg- the escort cards. Our wedding planner had suggested that we have the escort cards available for pickup during the cocktail hour, but the zoo outright refused to accommodate this, which lead to a long delay and line of our wedding guests standing out in the cold to enter the Rainforest Pavilion for the reception. Our biggest recommendation if you plan on getting married here, get a wedding planner.

ay come to life.

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.

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.

ointed 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.

ugh 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!

tail 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!

uld 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!!

lutely 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.

loved it! The only downside is it could get expensive really fast if you're not careful about what services you add. Highly recommend!

nd 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.

ing in a beautiful place with a flexible, competent group of people.

e 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!

ate my requests whenever possible.

rongly recommend you to pick here for your special day. Price is affordable. My guests loved it.