Weddings at the Toledo Zoo

If you are an animal lover, the Toledo Zoo is the perfect wedding venue for you! We absolutely love our zoo here and having weddings there makes it even more special. With both ceremony and reception locations, the zoo is an especially unique all in one venue that caters to you.

All You Need to Know about Getting Married at The Toledo Zoo

Getting Ready

You may be thinking, where in the world am I supposed to get ready at the zoo? Trust us, you don’t have to go to the public bathrooms to get into your wedding dress! There are a few different spaces available for both brides and grooms to get ready for their big day. One of the suites is inside the aquarium (with your own private viewing of the little jellyfish display) and provides amazing lighting perfect for your MUA and hairstylist to get you all glammed up. There are also a few rooms in the museum of natural history!

Ceremonies at the Zoo

We love when couples have their ceremonies at the zoo because each of the locations are so unique and picture perfect! One of our personal favorites is the gardens, especially during the summer months with all the lush greenery and floral blooms. Couples can also have their ceremony in the Malawi Event Center or surrounded by your favorite sea creatures in the aquarium! Your options at the zoo are unlike any other venue!

Party Animals

Party the night away in one of the unique reception locations at the zoo. The Malawi Center can hold up to 500 people (calling all large wedding guest counts!!) and has a floor to ceiling aquarium that makes for a stunning backdrop for your head table. Also who doesn’t want to feed giraffes during cocktail hour?!

The Great Hall is a show stopper for those wanting to embrace a little more history. Holding up to 150-180 people, it’s a little more intimate and we love that cocktail hour is in the newly renovated Museum of Natural History. This hall is great for those wanting a live band for their entertainment with the stage and lots of room for the dancefloor.

Lastly, the Aquarium is the most intimate, seating 80 people. You’ll love this exotic experience for your guests surrounded by various fish tanks, petting stingrays during cocktail hour while sharks watch your every move.

Photography Perks

We absolutely love getting to photograph different areas of the zoo with your wedding party and couples photos. As mentioned before, the landscaping and reflection pond in The Gardens are absolutely gorgeous while the two-story tropical greenhouse provides lush greenery for pictures year-round. Not to mention, you have free-range of all the great exhibits at the zoo! Meaning you can take pictures in front of your favorite red panda, Kodak bear or gorilla!