Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo is a wedding venue in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Centrally located between Greenwich and New Haven, Beardsley Zoo is situated on 52 spacious acres in Beardsley Park. Their lush gardens and unique buildings provide a beautiful backdrop for your special day. Your guests can dine and mingle with North and South American animals, providing a truly unforgettable experience. Their experienced staff will work alongside you to design and create your one-of-a-kind wedding and turn your dreams into a reality!
Facilities and Capacity
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo offers a variety of indoor and outdoor event spaces to host any year-round event, large or small! Each space features its own unique ambience in a gorgeous setting, perfect for your ceremony, reception or rehearsal dinner. Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo is also available for engagement parties, bridal showers, rehersal dinners and so much more! Their spectacular spaces include:
Victorian Greenhouse - unique and intimate greenhouse space for 75 seated guests.
The Carousel Building - spacious circular building which features an indoor working carousel and comfortably fits 180 seated guests.
Picnic Grove - beautiful outdoor space for up to 500 guests.
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo offers many wedding-related services as well as providing tables and chairs for your event. Whether you want your wedding to be during the day or at night after zoo hours, their professional rentals and event staff will help make your day exactly as your envisioned it to be. They even provide a preferred vendor list to help make your decisions a little easier. The wedding services they offer include:
Cleanup
Event planning
Event rentals
Preferred vendors
Setup
Wireless internet
Parking
Wheelchair access
History
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo has a proud history of over 90 years as Connecticut’s only zoo. They are an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and participant in the Species Survival Plan (SSP) program, a program dedicated to the preservation of endangered animals and actively developing strategies that will protect species and preserve their wild habitats. All proceeds from your wedding directly support the zoo and its conservation efforts.
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I can’t say enough good things about our wedding experience at the Beardsley Zoo. A major shout out to Lindsay Durkee who is the events coordinator at the zoo and an incredible asset to their staff. She is the self-assured, no-nonsense and straight forward person who helped make this entire day possible. She was incredibly punctual with emails, a delight to talk to and was there for us through the planning phase and day of madness. Can’t say enough good things about her and the rest of our day-of staff.
The Zoo itself is charming, with a multitude of options for both the ceremony and reception areas. We chose to have our ceremony in the green house and had our reception in the carousel building. It was a fantastic choice for us, as the zoo is exceptionally reasonable in its price point, while needed very little as far as decorative assistance. Our pictures were beautiful, our guests loved the experience of being in the zoo and to have the bonus of a carousel to ride on made the experience really unique. (we also had the added benefit of having the lantern festival going on during our event, making our pictures extra special)
If you’re looking for a more off-beat and unique wedding experience, this is it.
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Cassandra Sent on 06/22/2023
5 out of 5 rating
5.0
We couldn't have asked for more!
We had THE BEST time hosting our non-formal reception at The Beardsley Zoo! Lindsay was SO accommodating and helpful from the get-go. She walked us through all our options and helped us pick the best location for our dream party. She was so communicative and helpful all the way leading up to the event. The day of the staff could not have been more helpful and great to work with. We even got to have some fun animal guests come out to greet our guests! I wish I could have a second wedding to do it all again!
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Caitlin Sent on 03/27/2022
5 out of 5 rating
5.0
An absolute cakewalk!
My wedding and planning with the Beardsley zoo team could not have been more delightful! Lindsay the coordinator is absolutely phenomenal, nice, organized and a master leader in making things happen. Our wedding was beautiful and Lindsay and her team had everything the exact way that we wanted everything. I had zero worries because they were so amazing to work with. We love the zoo and are huge animal lovers and nothing made us feel better than being married at one of our favorite places and having the entire process be seamless! I can’t recommend the Beardsley zoo enough!!
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Sam G. Sent on 06/28/2021
5 out of 5 rating
5.0
Fantastic venue
The Beardsley Zoo presented the perfect venue for both our ceremony and our reception. We took advantage of the full suite that the zoo had to offer. We were able to set up and get ready in the Hanson house and use it as a home base while we took pictures in incredible spots throughout the zoo. We had an exclusive Red Panda feeding to follow-up our first look. Our ceremony was in the gazebo by the rose archway and looked amazing. Finally, the reception in the carousel house which was such a fun atmosphere. This was a perfect place to get married and created such a fun and unique experience for all of the guests. The team at the zoo is incredible to work with and extremely responsive. I would strongly recommend this venue to anyone.
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Colleen Sent on 06/23/2021
5 out of 5 rating
5.0
The greenhouse was amazing!
We just had our reception on 6/18/21. It was absolutely the best decision we made to have it in the greenhouse. Everything turned out beautiful; Lindsay and her team did an excellent job making sure our vision came true. The lights and garden truly made the night. We will treasure it forever.
Colleen and Christopher Ruge
China Sent on 10/21/2019
5 out of 5 rating
5.0
Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo
From the very beginning of the process, all the way to the very end, Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo was top notch and a pleasure to work with. Lindsay Durkee the Rentals and Events Manager was PHENOMENAL to work with. Her level of professionalism was through the roof. She was incredibly helpful throughout the entire process. The zoo went above and beyond to make our wedding day as smooth and special as possible!! I highly recommend booking your wedding or any special event at the Beardsley Zoo.
Kristina Sent on 09/03/2019
5 out of 5 rating
5.0
My dreams came true at the zoo!
I can't imagine a better place to get married than at the Beardsley Zoo. From the second we started planning until the second we pulled out of the parking lot at the end of our wedding day, it was just all my dreams come true. The beautiful backdrop and scenery were just amazing. The carousel and antique horses gave the perfect backdrop that people who came still can't stop talking about. And the staff, from those driving golf carts, to running the carousel, to Lindsay leading the crew, it was absolute perfection. I felt like the venue was filled with my best friends who were just as excited as family to make my day special.
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Michael Sent on 11/13/2018
5 out of 5 rating
5.0
Exceeded expectations in every way
We absolutely loved this venue. There are few like it. Many were skeptical when we told them where we were having our wedding but were floored when they saw it in person. There are so many available options for ceremony locations and the reception. Most importantly, we had indoor and outdoor options for each in the case of rain...which it did for us. You would most likely see the venue during the day, and it is beautiful. When it gets dark, the lights get turned down, and you have minimal uplighting, it gets even better. Also, I cannot say enough about Lindsay and her staff. She was there every step of the way, offered suggestions, and overall went above and beyond. We love the idea that we can take our children back to the place we got married in the future.
Elizabeth Sent on 10/18/2018
5 out of 5 rating
5.0
Wonderful! Beautiful unique space with kind helpful staff.
My husband and I had our wedding in the Carousel room at the Beardsley Zoo May 20, 2017. Our wedding was everything we could have hoped it to be, beautiful, magical, and most importantly fun!! Everyone of my friends and family were all at the carousel a minimun 1 time. It was the best watching everyones face while they were riding, they all were so happy! Corey and I were constantly on it throughout the evening! The staff was amazing. Lindsay went above and beyond to help us make our wedding day perfect! She was so easy to communicate with, she always answered my phone calls and emails right away and was flexible with my hours to meet her. The staff the night of the wedding were wonderful as well. They all had big smiles and were welcoming. I still get compliments even a year later from my wedding being the most fun. I recommend the Beardsley Zoo to everyone that tells me they are getting married and I tell them my experience. It truley is a wonderful venue!
Mike Sent on 09/03/2018
5 out of 5 rating
5.0
I cannot say enough about our wedding yesterday. Lindsey was amazing. We have had a dozen plus guests tell us it was the most fun they ever had at a wedding. The kids that came loved being on the carousel all night. Lindsey took cares of everything, and it is something everyone will remember for a forever.
Just as a tip, I recommend getting first look photos around the zoo. It stretched out the day so that it all didn't fly by
Also, do an animal feeding. Being up close to the animals makes a huge difference and you will remember it forever. We fed the anteater and it was amazing.
I know this is not the traditional wedding factory, but that is the best part. You are not shoehorned into options. We were able to decide everything.
We're all about trust. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
One of my more memorable weddings was at the Beardsley Zoo! The couple loved it and we took a ton of pictures all over the zoo. The staff was lovely...and we all had such fun!
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo includes the following items and services for wedding events in its starting site fee:
Bridal Suite
Chairs
Clean Up
Event Planning
Parking
Set Up
Tables
Transportation
The space offered by Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo for wedding events is known for:
Farm/Ranch
Museum
Zoo
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo offers the following indoor/outdoor options for weddings:
Indoor
Uncovered Outdoor
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo offers the following types of wedding events:
Ceremony
Reception
Bridal Shower
Engagement Party
Rehearsal Dinner
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo offers the following services for wedding events:
Clean Up
Event Planner
Event Rentals
Get Ready Rooms
Outside Vendors
Wifi
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo offers the following furniture and decor items for weddings:
Chairs
Tables
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo is recommended by 100% of couples who have used their services. Their overall rating is 5.0, with the same score awarded for quality of service, flexibility, value, professionalism and average response time.
