Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Reviews

My wife Hayley and I loved our wedding at Water’s Edge!

We live in Huntington, WV, but we decided to get married in Columbus because we had so many guests traveling from different parts of the country. We also knew we wanted an outdoor venue. Using this criteria, the Columbus Zoo was one of the first places I found, and it was perfect for us because of our love for animals and Hayley’s family’s longtime experience working with zoos in Nebraska.

We were so excited for so long leading up to the big day, and it still exceeded our expectations! The scenery was gorgeous, the food was delicious and the animal encounters were so much fun! Kaylie and the staff were always quick to respond if we had any questions, but they also laid out everything so clearly that there was rarely if ever any confusion. We’re very happy we decided to get married at the Columbus Zoo and will treasure our memories of our wedding day there forever!

I would highly recommend having your wedding at the zoo!

I absolutely loved having my wedding at waters edge .

Could not have chosen a better team. I gave a theme, minimal input, and breakfast for the chefs and they had a blast. This reflected in their work. It was all anyone talked about for weeks. We wanted a fun and relaxed reception. We did a beach theme. They help coordinate so much including setting up and working with our vendors. The coordinator really kept us on track and did so much behind the scenes. The animals were fantastic. As bride and groom we were able to take private pictures with the animals too. Our friends even rented the carousel out. Everyone loved this. We choose the Water's Edge pavilion. The best for animal lovers and water. Such a great breeze off the water and the one walls of the building can open up for air. But it was also great to close in case we had rain. It was just magical. I cannot beat those pictures/view and the time we had together.

When my husband and I started looking for a venue for our wedding, we wanted something that would be memorable not only for us, but for our guests as well. We found that with the Columbus Zoo. However, we also found a staff of hard working individuals dedicated to helping us create the most amazing day of our lives. It was so much fun and far exceeded all of our expectations! Kaylie, you are AMAZING!

Beautiful, one-of-a-kind venue with responsive staff, delicious food and very reasonable prices for the quality of event! All our guests loved all the Zoo had to offer

Getting married at the Africa Center was hands down the best decision my fiancé and I ever made. We wanted a non traditional venue and the Columbus zoo is a place we both love visiting. The zoo actually has 3 venue locations but the views from the Africa Center, literally overlooking the Africa exhibit next to where you can feed giraffes, were unbelievable. As cool as the outside ceremony space was, the inside was exactly what you need from an event space. Some people, my parents specifically, admitted they didn’t expect the “zoo to be so nice”. Once you step inside, the linens and everything felt like a normal wedding venue. We actually had a pretty small wedding and the room felt a little empty with the number of tables we used (I think 11 total) but just meant we had more space for dancing.
Kaylie, our event coordinator, absolutely made the wedding planning a BREEZE. She went above and beyond, I probably talked to her more via email every day than my fiancé. She answered every random question that I had, about timelines, set up, anything. And on the day, she helped coordinate all the vendors arrivals so I didn’t have to talk to anyone.
If the scenery doesn’t sell you, the animal encounters will. My husband and I got one on one time with the enrichment animals before they went in with the rest of the guests during cocktail hour. They STOLE THE SHOW. All of our guests had so much fun, which is all we could have asked for. Best day ever is an understatement and it was all thanks to the event staff at the Columbus zoo❤️

We had our wedding at the Africa Event Center and people have not stopped talking about what a cool venue it was! Food was delicious and staff were very accommodating on our big day. We added the giraffe feeding, and everyone loved getting up close and personal to them. 100% would recommend!

My wedding at the Zoo was AMAZING. I cannot recommend the Africa Event Center enough. Our guests could not stop talking about how much fun the event was! The staff was so helpful, especially Lindsey. She genuinely was the sole reason I was able to stay sane in the weeks leading up to the wedding. She was extremely organized and detail-oriented, to the point where I was not AT ALL worried about how the wedding would turn out. I would 100% recommend a Zoo wedding to anyone and everyone!

Amanda Januzzi went above and beyond for us, answering all our crazy emails and questions throughout the planning process. She really helped us plan our wedding from day one. The venue was gorgeous at the Heart of Africa, and I really appreciate that their per person costs include the bar in with it. The food was good, the service was excellent, and the staff members that we got to meet throughout the planning process were wonderful.

We had the best experience at the zoo with Amanda and Brooke! I could not have imagined a better wedding experience. The Africa event center is absolutely stunning. The food and alcohol which come from venue is amazing! The selection of food is incredible and the catering Team was just as great to work with. We have gotten so many compliments about the entire process from family and friends.

Amanda and Brooke made our venue/food/drink planning the easiest part of the wedding. They were there every step of the way, and if we ever had any questions was only a call or text away. There are words that just can’t describe these two and the tremendous amounts of help they gave us to make our day perfect. They saved us some appetizers while we were being pulled everywhere to take pictures and were always asking not only us but our families if there was anything that they needed these two have huge hearts and truely love what they do! Thank you Amanda and Brooke.

We got married at the Africa event center and The venue speaks for itself. It was stunning in all aspects and people cannot stop raving about it. The promotional animals were awesome and kept our guests entertained while my wife and I ran around To take pictures throughout the zoo. Make sure you pay the extra money for the giraffe feeding, again everyone is raving about it. Our day was perfect thanks to Amanda, Brooke, and the entire Zoo crew!

Our wedding at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was nothing short of WONDERFUL! Let me bullet point a few of our favorite parts ( I LOVE bullet points) !

- First... we need to make a BIG shout out to the Columbus Zoo Wedding Coordinator- Amanda Januzzi. We are BEYOND grateful to have had Amanda as our wedding coordinator. Amanda is probably one of the kindest, most personable and professional people we have had the privilege to work with. She makes your special day her number one priority. Your wedding is in GREAT hands with her!

- We were blessed/fortunate to have our ceremony and reception at the African Event Center...it was BEAUTIFUL! The giraffes not only added an essence of fun but the Savannah is absolutely gorgeous. It was the number one thing our guests stated they loved about our wedding ceremony. I don’t want to brag.... but our ceremony pictures are AWESOME thanks to the adorable giraffes!

- ANIMALS- My husband (that’s so much fun to say) asked me to be his girlfriend at the zoo, and he proposed to me at the zoo as well.... we have a few sentimental spots at the zoo.... and Amanda knew we wanted pictures in those area. While walking to the polar bears from the African Event Center, the zoo staff asked and allowed us to RIDE ON A CAMEL! I have wedding pictures on a camel!!!!!! We were also able to get amazing pictures with the polar bears, flamingos, giraffes, a baby kangaroo, a fox and an ADORABLE Penguin named Halibut. Our guests also enjoyed meeting, petting and holding the baby kangaroo and Halibut.

-FOOD - Yum! Many of our guests told us the next day how delicious our food was! One guest even stated, “Wedding food is usually ok...but yours was seriously good!”. Julie and Brooke were also amazing to work with and they were even willing to create a kids buffet for the little Whippersnappers we invited :)!

Our wedding was absolutely magical, wonderful and memorable at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium!

We held our ceremony and reception at the African Event Center. The venue was absolutely amazing and so incredibly unique. We received countless compliments on how beautiful the space was, how fun our wedding was, and how delicious the food was! Our guests were able to feed giraffes and interact with the baby animals during cocktail hour. There is no was to describe how gorgeous and special it is to have giraffes walking around in the background while you're getting married. It tied the entire event together perfectly!

In addition to the venue being perfect, the team we worked with was stellar. Amanda and Alyssa are professional, organized, and accommodating. We had a few unique requests, which they happily managed. We planned our wedding from across the country and they helped ensure that we didn't skip a beat in the planning process. Additionally, they were very fun to work with - I enjoyed every interaction we had with the two of them!

I can't say enough about this venue. Your guests will be blown away and your planning process will be seamless!

My fiance and I had both our ceremony and reception at the Africa Event Center venue and it was a FANTASTIC experience. First of all, the venue itself was just amazing. From anywhere in the venue you could see the beautiful giraffes out on the Savannah walking around which made for incredible pictures and atmosphere. We decided to pay for the giraffe feeding which was so worth it! Also, as a part of the venue, they bring in animal guests during cocktail hour and while they couldn't promise us any specific animals (the well being of the animals is the top priority as it should be!) we got lucky and they brought out a baby bobcat and a baby clouded leopard! They also brought out a penguin, a small fox (which I got to hold!!), and a super cute little owl! My fiance and I got to go out to see and take pictures with the animals before they were brought into the venue for the rest of our guests. Our guests were entertained all night and they kept talking about how it was one of the coolest weddings they had ever been to. On top of the venue itself being fantastic, the staff and service was also great! I worked with both Alyssa and Amanda and they were very helpful and responsive. They were really flexible with getting us in for a rehearsal the night before while they were setting up for another event. They have a great selection of different colored linens and allowed us to bring in a lot of our own decorations. They have a set caterer (Nourish) and we got the buffet which was delicious - they even had a server who put together a plate for me and my fiance and brought it to our table for us to make sure we didn't spill anything on ourselves! The champagne for the toast was great quality and so was the bar. This venue was certainly worth every penny and gave both us and our guests an extremely memorable and unique experience.

Amazing venue, staff and food. Hands down the best place to get married in Ohio. Sara and Alyssa were very accommodating at made our wedding planning a breeze. Highly recommend and definitely worth the cost. Thanks for making our special day better than we could have imagined!

My husband and I recently got married at the Columbus zoo on September 24, 2016. We got married on the boardwalk portion and it was absolutely stunning and wonderful! I heard from multiple wedding guests and it was the most beautiful and fun wedding they have ever been to. The exotic animal cocktail hour made it so unique and the guests could not get enough! They brought a baby clouded leopard, bearcat, penguin, and a baby kangaroo. It also makes for cool pictures! The staff is so amazing and made the experience so much better. They have this down to a science. They can predict the flow of the evening and how to make it best and easiest for us and the guests! I didn't even have to go up to any of them all night because they were keeping everything flowing so nicely! You will be amazed when you talk to them about how much easier they will make your lives! If you choose this venue, you need to add on the smores bar and late night snack attack (soft pretzels and cheese, cookies, and flavored popcorn). Our guests absolutely loved that and couldn't stop talking about it. They all raved over the food and how amazing it was. Let's face it, a lot of wedding venues have ok food. The food at the zoo was absolutely amazing! We had chicken and short braised ribs but they have such a big selection to choose from! We picked multiple appetizers for cocktail hour but everyone told me the bacon wrapped shrimp was so amazing. If I could go back and change anything about this day, I wouldn't change a single thing. As our wedding guests said, it was the most beautiful and fun wedding and that is all thanks to the zoo!

Do your research. First, we studied lots of Columbus-area venues on line. We narrowed down the list to six possibilities and visited all 6 in a two-day period. While the other five were beautiful, the Africa Event Center was a standout. The animals brought an element of fun and surprise without being too cutesy or juvenile. With it's glittering chandeliers, beautiful linens, new upholstered seating, and sparkling tableware the effect was elegant yet inviting. Our two event planners were a true pleasure to work with; not missing one detail. The food was definitely NOT the typical wedding fare. Our guests commented that it was some of the best food they've had in Columbus. Even during the reception, the wait staff were so professional and anxious to lend a hand with whatever we needed. It was truly an effortless event on our part and beyond our highest hopes. Absolutely outstanding!

Sara and Alyssa were incredibly fantastic to work with! They were so proactive and timely with all of their responses of the questions I had for our upcoming wedding! Throughout the planning process, I never felt uncomfortable or unsure about anything!! I can't thank Sara and Alyssa enough for all of the support and encouragement they provided!! Leading up to our wedding day, they reached out to my vendors with information so I didn't have to be the one relaying the details for day of! Our wedding went off without a hitch!! It was so perfect and so wonderful that I couldn't have imagined anyone else playing the part that Sara and Alyssa filled!!! The catering staff were wonderful and helpful and so pleasant!!! I advise everyone who is looking to have their wedding at the Zoo to give them the business because you won't be disappointed!!! Thank you again for such a perfect wedding day that will always be remembered, for myself and my husband, as well as the guests that attended!!!

I cannot say enough nice things about the wedding staff at The Columbus Zoo. They are organized. They are professional. There are no hidden fees. The day of the rehearsal and the day of the wedding, they went far, far above and beyond what I expected. They wedding went off flawlessly. The food was AMAZING. As my daughter lives out of town, I (the MOB) did almost all the planning. I have worked in event planning, so I can honestly say that you don't often find such efficiency and professionalism. They made entire experience uncomplicated. Many, many guests told me, the bride etc that was by far the best wedding they'd ever attended, and it was! I can recommend them 100% with no hesitation.

This is probably the best place in all of Ohio to get married. Our guests were constantly entertained and amazed with all the animals. The Africa Event Cetner is absolutely gorgeous and the food and staff were phenomenal. I wish I could do it all over again!

The Zoo was the perfect place for our wedding! The venue and the animals during cocktail hour blew our guests away and made for perfect photos. Everyone on staff was responsive, quick to offer feedback, and flexible to meet what we were hoping to achieve. They went above and beyond in holding a personal tasting for us and creating an appetizer off the menu. Everyone we interacted with was professional and delivered an exceptional level of customer service. We can't say enough good things!

The team at the Zoo was very flexible and time and how they could help out. They answered all the questions that we had a d made our day go off without any problems. We had a few animals there for the cocktail hour and our guests loved it. That is all that they can still talk about for our wedding. It was great location, we chose the boardwalk because in April, Africa does not have the animals out and we did not want to change our date. The only thing that I would really like to change was the amount of time that we actually had to set up, we were only allowed in there a few hours before the event and that was really not much time do the decorating that we wanted... but its the zoo how much do you really have to decorate?

Everyone at the zoo was fantastic! They were able to work around my busy schedule for meetings and we're all very helpful and responded quickly to emails. It felt like I was planing my wedding with my best friends! I love Sara and Alyssa! The amount of food and services you revive for the price can't be beat! All of my guest raved about the food!