Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Reviews

We knew we wanted to get married in Tucson for my grandparents and our families out west. When plan A (parents’ backyard followed by restaurant reception) wasn’t working out, we looked around at other more venue-y venues. I grew up going to the Desert Museum on visits to Tucson, so it just popped into my mind. After I showed my fiancé the photos we booked our date right away. We planned the entire wedding from Chicago, and Anthony and Anna made that pretty easy. The Desert Garden was beautiful for our ceremony (57 guests), the animal experience was a huge hit, and the Green Room was great for dinner and our Honky tonk band. Guests raved about the food and the beautiful desert setting, among other things! The space was also really accessible for both my grandparents who use a walker/need some help getting around, and for the kids who had an absolute blast start to finish. Can’t say enough good things about our experience.

There were so many positives to the ASDM. First, it's a beautiful and unique venue. We got married in the desert garden and had the cocktail hour in another section of the garden and the reception on their terraces and in the courtyard of their restaurant. It's spectacular if you want to incorporate the native landscape in to your wedding like we did- it also means less decorating and flowers were needed because it was pretty enough on its own. We also opted to use their AV equipment, which eliminated the need for us to get a DJ and saved us money big time. We also did the live animal demonstrations for our cocktail hour which was a blast. People couldn't stop talking about how cool it was to see all the amazing animals and learn about them and it made for some great photo ops. The docents presenting the animals were incredibly sweet and great to interact with. On that note, Jessica Bright was phenomenal. She was always on top of everything and willing to work with us every step of the way- she even was there at the wedding to make sure it went smoothly. The only downside is that you have to use their caterer for food. The food is delicious but a little pricey, and while at times Courtney was kicking butt to get things done for us, at others she came off as rude or flakey. All in all, wonderful experience and people talk about how it was one of the best weddings they've ever had. And your guests can also get reduced admission at the museum to make it a fun event.

The Sonora Desert Museum was exactly what I was looking for in a venue! I wanted something natural with a striking desert scenery because this was a destination wedding to Arizona. A lot of the options I found very manicured resorts with golf greens that did not scream AZ to me. The Desert museum provided the most beautiful and iconic desert scenery for my wedding. Even though I had the wedding in the middle of summer in Arizona it was not too hot because I set the wedding in the evening to night time.

The staff were all very attentive and quick to remedy and problems that occurred (like random desert rain). All the guests loved the southwest cuisine that was served buffet style. The only complaint I could make is the reception space I chose was a little tight for my wedding of 55 people- Ceremony: Boojum Patio, Reception: Ocotillo Cafe .

If you are looking for a natural and beautiful desert wedding this is the place for you!!

The Desert Museum was the perfect venue for my daughter’s wedding. She wanted a unique desert venue and she got it. Daughter lives in Florida, I live in Puerto Rico so we needed to do all planning via email and phone. Jessica Bright, event coordinator at the museum was very accessible and responsive. She understood all our needs and desires and executed venue set-up with professionalism and grace. When we arrived to Tucson for the first time week of the wedding Jessica made herself available for a venue walk-thru on one day, the Rehearsal on another day and was in attendance watching over things during the entire wedding. The Ceremony, Reception, Food and Dance were great. The signage leading to and around the venue was clear and invaluable to our guest arriving for the wedding. The Desert Museum is such a lovely place and I am very happy for the fabulous memories we now have of the wedding there.

I truly cannot say enough about this place!! The staff became like family to us by then end of the event, everything from the set up, the food, and animal experience we added was more than we could have imagined!!!
From the very beginning of the planning process, Jessica was easy to get a hold of, flexible with visits and an absolute pleasure to work with. She made every desicion we had to make a true pleasure and more than delieverd on her promise to do everything in her power to make us happy and our night memorable!
Almost a month later and people are still talking about the food! Tammy was such a great gal to work with. She helped us make decisions on our
food, handled our tasting wonderfully and ran our event without a hitch! Michelle was great working with our many many last minute guest number changes and got everything to be just as we wanted it. Seriously, most bride and grooms don't get to eat their boring wedding food but my husband and I made a point to sit down and enjoy our AMAZING meal and the portions were huge!!!
I would happily recommend this place to anyone who is looking for something outside of the hotel ballroom weddings and bland chicken cordon blu menus. They will give you a fun and beautiful night you will never forget!!!!!

Absolutely beautiful and perfect! Thank you!

We had our wedding at the Desert Museum in November 2021, and it was amazing! Anthony was very helpful during the planning process, including our site visit and his quick responses to all our emails. We wanted to hold the reception outdoors, which took a little extra work to bring in lighting, but the Museum was flexible with us and helped us create our vision of an entirely outdoor wedding (ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception). The reception ended up being beautiful, with the mountains in the background and string lights overhead. The catering team, led by Anna, provided delicious food which got lots of compliments- especially the mashed potatoes. We had three little animals (an owl, a skunk, and a snake) at our cocktail hour, and highly suggest taking advantage of that experience. Our guests loved learning about the animals, and it was such a fun and unusual experience for a wedding. We are so glad we had our wedding at the Desert Museum- it was perfect.

Jessica was phenomenal. She responded to all of our concerns and gave great input/advice through all of the planning stages. The decor provided by the DM was beautiful. The desert garden area was perfect for cocktail hour and the desert experience for the guests

I know there is no way that my review could possibly do justice to the experience we had working with the Desert Museum for our wedding. Both my husband and I grew up in Tucson and wanted to get married at a venue we could later visit. Having frequented the museum growing up, we knew it would be a naturally beautiful setting (in a non-artificial way, as many places that are just venues can be...). In addition to having several breath-taking locations to choose from, the museum has the added bonus of an animal experience: the opportunity to have desert-dwelling animals for your guests to view up close. Having several non-southwestern guests, it was a wonderful way to add some flair. Definitely do it.

In addition to the site alone, the staff was such a treat to work with. Jessica was extremely accommodating to our needs and really kept us organized and on track, especially in the weeks leading up to the event. She was always happy to chat or show us around when we were in town. We really could not have pulled it off without her! Tammie, who works with catering, was also fantastic to work with. The food was amazing, it all went smoothly, and she even packed us some food to-go since we were so busy running around during dinner.

The only reason I did not rate 5 on the flexibility is that because of the unique nature of the museum (with thousands of species of live plants and animals) there are some restrictions on what you can bring in and how you can decorate. They are super upfront about it, so you will know what limitations exist.

Overall, I would say that if you want a beautiful (unique) venue with a helpful staff that is representative of what the southwest has to offer, give Jessica a call!

The museum had everything we wanted in one location. There was so much natural beauty on the drive to the museum and at the museum itself. Our sunset wedding was beautiful. The event coordinator was knowledgable, experienced, and professional. The catering and restaurant manager was wonderful. The menu selection, reception area and serving staff were awesome. We made a few last minute changes and they were so helpful.

Such an amazing venue! Everything was absolutely beautiful and Anthony was very easy to work with! We were disappointed by some of the additional charges (mostly catering related) and minor rules about decorating, storage, etc but it all worked out just fine. Not being able to get on site or bring decorations in until 330pm the day of the wedding is a little stressful. Honestly though, the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff made me forget all worries. Getting my out-of-town guests to the location was also a bit stressful. Just make sure to work the drive time into your plans (about 30-45 min drive from Tucson; we booked a shuttle). The beauty of the museum and the surrounding Saguaro National Park is well worth it!

The ASDM was fantastic, a great back drop for our day. It was beautiful at sunset and very intimate. It made our day. They were easy to work with, made everything we wished for work. It is the best spot for your day.