Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Reviews

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.

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!

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!

I would highly recommend having your wedding at the zoo!

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!

I absolutely loved having my wedding at waters edge .

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!

This is an absolutely wonderful and unforgettable venue for a wedding. The contacts at the zoo are so easy to work with and incredibly accommodating - they certainly made planning my wedding a breeze. The venue takes care of many services as well: linens, food, the bar, seating, etc., so those were things I did not have to worry about at all. I loved the outside setting for the ceremony and cocktail hour, as well as the addition of the animals. It made for an incredibly entertaining and unique evening that no one will ever forget. I highly, highly recommend the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium for your event!

All-in-all, the Columbus Zoo was a great venue and we had an amazing wedding and reception there. The staff was all friendly and helpful and was in frequent communication prior to the event. We had our wedding at the waterfront pavilion area of the zoo, with the ceremony held on the Boardwalk over the river, and the reception held in the pavilions on the boardwalk. One of the unique things about the zoo is that they will bring out several animals for the guests to interact with. For our wedding, there was a lemur, an albino kangaroo, an owl, and a penguin. You can also rent out a carousel for you and your guests, and/or golf-carts that employees while use to bring your guests to and from the main gate to the wedding area. Definitely a memorable and fun venue.

We absolutely LOVED having our wedding at the zoo. From the moment we walked in we knew that's where it was going to be. When booking we loved that everything was one price per person. It made it so much easier on us. They also offered discounted rates for kids and non-drinkers. Amanda and Alyssa, who we worked with, were completely amazing! They were there for every little detail and they ecspecially came through on wedding day! The staff at the zoo was completely amazing as well. They carried our plates to our seats, were professional, and literally had everything cleaned up so no one in our bridal party hardly had to lift a finger. The food is amazing, bar was excellent with amazing beer, wine and liquor choices as well.
On top of all of that you have the amazing feature that you're at the zoo. Our guest kept gushing about how cool and stunning our venue is. They loved that when they were eating dinner they could look up and see he giraffes playing. On top of being able to access the patio and watch them all night. I would recommended getting married at the zoo for anyone. It was such an unique and amazing experience we'll never forget!

Our team at the Columbus Zoo that helped plan and execute our wedding were beyond excellent. We planned our wedding in about three months and Kaylie could not have made the process any l less stressful. We never like we were being pushed to make any decisions we didn't want. It was truly a day planned for us, not for a sales line. The event staff was extraordinary and we received nothing but compliments on their service and the quality of the food. We are beyond appreciative of the team we had at the Columbus zoo from start to finish and would highly recommend for any event you are planning!

My son and daughter-in-law were married at Water's Edge in October 2019 and the wedding was nothing short of awesome. Many guests commented how wonderful the venue was and truly enjoyed the animals.

Amazing wedding at Water's Edge Boardwalk in the Columbus Zoo. We were told by so many of our guests that it was the best wedding they had ever attended. We loved having our own time with the zoo animals that were brought to us for pictures prior to being taken to our guests. Staff did an amazing job!

Be extremely specific about which animals you would like at your wedding.

Everything was wonderful, the reception was absolutely amazing! A few things that I would recommend. The day of the wedding, I was a little stressed bc we couldn't get into the venue until 2pm (which wouldn't work for me because that's when our pictures started). So we had to rely on family to set stuff up, this wasn't a huge deal...but I would just be really transparent about that with brides. Also, when we picked animals for the animal encounter...we were told that no animals could be guaranteed (which we totally understand)- but on the wedding day, the zookeepers brought a few animals that were "just picture animals", according to the zoo keeper. This was never mentioned to us. We were told that the animals we chose would be walked through the reception for our guests to see. In the end, only two animals were shown to our guests, which was different that what we had all agreed on (3 animals). I didn't know that some animals were just for pictures, or else I would have chosen others..bc we really wanted our guests to experience that as well. Again, because a bride pays for this experience, I just think it's really important to be very transparent about this experience. Otherwise, Sara and Alyssa were incredibly accommodating and helpful throughout the planning process.

Wedding during covid. Amanda the coordinator amazing. Beautiful venue. Tastings were cancelled. Limited catering menu. Venue needs to let vendors in more than one hour ahead of ceremony. Tables not set up in time. Also, ran out of certain alcoholic bevs early after paying for 4.5 hours of open bar.

Overall, the venue was good. The catering staff was SUPER helpful, and the food was excellent. The giraffe feeding was a total bust, as none of the giraffes came over to eat. I WOULDN'T recommend that portion. Also, the staff was super late in bringing the animals for cocktail hour and our guests only got to see two of the four animals they brought before leaving... Also a total bummer.

My sister had her wedding at the zoo in 2019 and it was amazing. I had told her about the venue and knew that it was where I wanted to have my wedding reception.
Unfortunately, the zoo switched event vendors in the month before our reception and a lot of balls were dropped in the transition. Despite paying for the top package of bar service, they ran out of most drinks during the Cocktail Hour. They also did not provide the Champagne at the Head Table that was supposed to be part of the package. The bartenders refused to allow my new husband and myself to get a drink during dinner.
Overall, the experience was still good and everyone had a wonderful time but it was definitely no where near the level of excellence that I had experienced in previous events at the Africa Event Center. The lack of attention to detail and delivery of what we paid for was disappointing.

The zoo did an amazing job with animals and food. The wedding planner on the other hand was hard to get ahold of and stressed my wife out constantly. We were told one thing and then it would change a few days later. They need to realize that they do a lot of weddings but the couple getting married have not. Overall the zoo was amazing and our families had a blast

I cannot stress enough to brides/grooms considering this venue to BEWARE. THEY OVER PROMISE AND UNDER DELIVER! The customer service is mediocre at best. Alyssa was slow to respond to questions in the early stages of planning and later when it got closer to the event date, developed an unprofessional attitude. The day of our reception, the zoo had booked another event before ours. The staff told us the first event was to end at 1PM but guests didn’t leave until after 2PM. The catering team was so understaffed that 12 friends/family members ended up missing our ceremony because the zoo was so overwhelmed. My florist told me after the wedding, “after over 500 wedding, it was the most chaotic set-up I have ever been a part of.” That’s not all unfortunately. The zoo staff broke a piece of artwork we had specially made for the day during their frantic, messy set-up. On top of that, I had linens and overlays ordered costing over $2000. When they were put on the tables by the zoo staff, they were wrinkled and wet. I called the linen company after the wedding to find out their side of things, and they were appalled at how the zoo had taken care of them and how they looked (I sent them a picture) – they even suggested that the zoo may have used them for another event. When we asked the zoo about it later, they, of course, denied everything. Last but certainly not least, the zoo claims to be a “top wedding venue” yet, they don’t even have a proper room to store wedding materials. We had purchased dripless candles for 12 candelabra centerpieces and when we arrived to drop our stuff off, they told us they had a utility room we could put our stuff in. The utility room had no air-conditioning and was 90+ degrees. Needless to say, the candles melted in their “storage room” and when they were put out the day of the wedding, they were ruined and hot wax dripped all over the guest tables. You can only imagine the mess! Do NOT book this venue if you want a stress free event.