The aquarium was the venue I chose from the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium, and it was worth every penny! They were very accommodating to my guests when it came to the catering due to dietary restrictions. All of the staff was so kind and professional! They got my dream shot under their giraffe, Lewis! I am forever grateful to everyone working here for making my special day unforgettable!

We do not know where to even start! We have waited 20 years to get married so we wanted a very special, unique wedding that would not be forgotten easily, and wow did they deliver! Caroline and NIcole as well as their assistants, was so amazing from start to finish. We could not have asked for better or kinder. You can tell they love what they do! From the time we stepped into the park the day of our wedding, we were treated like queens. Everything was about making our night the one that we dreamed of. And we were blown away by the kindness they showed to us. It has been a week since our wedding, and we still have people calling us raving about our wedding! If you are on the fence at all, Do it you will not be sorry!

I cannot recommend the staff and venue at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium enough. My wife and I‘s first date was at the zoo and when we were looking for a venue we wanted to see if they hosted weddings, which they did! From the beginning Caroline and Nicole were fantastic. They walked us through each of the venue options at the zoo. It has three, an outdoor tent venue and two indoor venues, The Water’s Edge and the actual aquarium. And since we were getting married in March we chose an indoor venue, the actual aquarium. We decided to do both our ceremony and reception there.

They had a list of preferred vendors to choose from which was so helpful, but all catering was done in house. They walked us step by step through their catering and day of options. One thing I loved is that they provided a day of coordinator the wedding, Caroline herself! But Caroline was also there the entire planning time, about a year before to help us plan. Nicole, who was in charge of catering also walked us through all of our food choices. They did not provide a tasting but the reviews on the food were so good that we were excited to choose. There were a plethora of options! We told them that we wanted an entire vegetarian menu and they were able to accommodate that. And the food was amazing. Everything was delicious, and everybody said that they had more than enough to eat. They were also able to accommodate a few special allergies and diet on very short notice.

They were also really accommodating with our traditions. My mom is Haitian and so the dessert table was very important. They let us bring in whatever we wanted for that table. They also let my mom customize it however she wanted. They also helped us match colors and decor, and they worked with us to create a unique day of schedule. They answered emails and phone calls whenever we had them, and the planning was so simple. The even accommodated zoom calls with my parents who live in a different part of the state and couldn’t make it out for every meeting. We kept them posted with any changes and they kept track of everything.

We also had a nice window of time to drop things off for the wedding, and we had a full meeting two days before to explain every single item and what we wanted to do with them. And they set it up perfectly! Because the aquarium is open to guests we were not able to have an actual rehearsal but the meeting where we set up everything was so thorough that we felt that the day would go smoothly. Caroline Took us through the day step-by-step and told us exactly where everything would be, where we would stand, and how we would move from part to part. They also were able to accommodate a room for my new wife and I to have some moments alone which was wonderful. And they were available for anything we needed during the wedding and reception.

The day of was smooth and amazing. We were driven around the zoo in golf carts when we arrived and were able to shoot with our photographer at any outdoor place in the zoo. It was really cold and snowy that day but Caroline and her crew took us around wherever we wanted to go for photos. They also took extra trips to take our family, who was there early, to the venue. And once the actually event started we had a shuttle that ran continuously.

We are so happy we chose the aquarium venue. It was like getting married in a rainforest. So it was nice and warm on a very cold day. We really didn’t have to do any decorating at all, other than centerpieces, because of all the lush greenery, and Nicole and Caroline were able to walk us through exactly where we’re the best spots we should set up certain parts of the day such as the ceremony and the dance floor.

We also really liked that there were a lot of other things to do at the aquarium besides dancing during the reception. Because it was an aquarium, guests were able to walk around the venue and look at the exhibits. We have a lot of introverted friends so this was appreciated. It also allowed for people to take a little time away from the action when they got overwhelmed. They also have ambassador animals. We had a tenrec, a bearded dragon, a blue tongued skink, and python visit our wedding during the cocktail hour.

I had heard horror stories from my friends about things not going right at their wedding or them not knowing exactly what was going to happen. We didn’t have this problem at all. The zoo and the entire staff were so kind, informative, accepting and and understanding that I wish I could get married again just to have another wedding there. I recommend this venue to anyone looking for somewhere unique to have your wedding. And I want to thank Caroline and Nicole and the whole staff at the zoo for making the day beautiful amazing and low stress.

Our wedding was amazing! There was not one part of the night that wasn't amazing
A week after, we are still getting compliments about every aspect of it.

I am so thankful for Caroline and team, it was truly magical night! I didn't feel like I had to stress or worry about a single thing once I came through the front gates. Everything was taken care of and I could finally relax and enjoy myself. Everything was spectacular. I've received so many compliments about the venue, as well as the food. The food was absolutely delicious! The docents were truly lovely and adding a magical touch to the night as well. Your organization and assistance took a huge weight of my shoulders during the planning process. It was absolutely invaluable, and I truly feel I wouldn't have been able to realize my vision without them. It was everything I could've hoped for and then some.

Caroline and Samantha were fantastic to work with! They were very timely in answering the millions of questions that I had. If I had to do my wedding all over again, I would still pick the PPG Aquarium all over! They set up and take down all of the tables and decorations. And they do it all beautifully! All of the guests had so much fun looking at the exhibits and playing in the touch tank. Bonus was the shuttle that took us and the guests to and from the aquarium. I couldn't have asked for a better night, and a better group of people to work with to create my dream!

I love animals so when my fiance and I decided to have our reception at the zoo, I was ecstatic! I knew it would be beautiful, but was still blown away when we arrived! The zoo staff were amazing to work with. They made sure the evening went smoothly and checked on us throughout the evening. The food was out of this world! Some of the staff even came up to us just to congratulate us! They kept everything so organized and stress free! Thank you so much to all the staff at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium for helping to make our reception one of the best nights of our lives! :)

Sincerely,
Leeanne and Kevin Jones

Gabby,Caroline, JJ and Calvin were amazing to work with! Their team made the process of planning this wedding reception enjoyable and stress-free!

After coordinating numerous weddings, their staff was by far one of the nicest and most accommodating I have ever worked with! On top of everything else the food was DELICIOUS! Several guests kept remarking on how excellent everything tasted.

I will definitely recommend the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium to future clients!

Thank you Again!
Tracy Cook

This venue was the perfect choice for our wedding reception! The staff was extremely helpful, patient, and flexible, and took great care of everything on the evening of the reception!

The Pittsburgh Zoo was the perfect choice to host a wedding reception. Dave, Gabby, and the rest of the Pittsburgh Zoo staff were so accommodating and incredible to work with from our very first meeting all the way through planning to even days after the reception. We could go on and on about every little detail of how each staff member made our day absolutely perfect! They were extremely helpful and quick at getting responses back to us and we can really say that they made us feel as if we were the only wedding in the world. We felt so special and it is because of their excellent professional skills. They made wedding planning fun and easy. I would highly recommend this vendor to any couple who is thinking about booking with them. It was affordable in comparison to other local vendors.---We had our wedding in the garden tent and choose to go with food stations in stead of a sit down dinner. Our guest loved every minute and complemented how wonderful everything was. They did everything we asked from set up to clean up and we did not have to worry about anything. I honestly can not say one negative thing about this vendor or our wedding reception at the Pittsburgh Zoo. Thank you for making our day magical!