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Rosamond Gifford Zoo Reviews

Rosamond Gifford Zoo

Rosamond Gifford Zoo

Syracuse, NY
5.0 out of 5 rating, 21 Reviews
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Reviews

5.0 out of 5 rating
21 Reviews
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90% Recommended by couples

Awards

21
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2019 Winner
  • K
    Kaitlyn Sent on 06/22/2023
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    Wonderful!

    Everyone at the zoo was wonderful when it came to planning our wedding reception. The catering team at the zoo does so much to make your wedding day extra special!
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    Lilian M. Sent on 11/10/2021
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    Best day ever!

    I cannot say enough good things about having our wedding ceremony and reception at the zoo! Stephanie is so wonderful to work with! She is kind, responsive, and detail-oriented! She made sure everything went according to plan. So many people asked me - you're really having your wedding at a zoo? They were surprised to hear that the zoo has a beautiful banquet hall and excellent onsite catering service. It was so much fun having cocktail hour with the animals in the indoor zoo. The outdoor zoo fountain provided a stunning backdrop for our family photos. I also really appreciated how flexible they were about changing the date/plans during COVID. Thank you to the entire zoo team for giving us the best day ever!
  • Diana
    Diana Sent on 12/04/2019
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    Great place for a wedding!

    Brittany was amazing and really helped us with every step of the way. She made planning our wedding reception at the zoo super easy and stress free! She not only made the space look beautiful and exactly how we wanted for our big day, but she also worked well with all of our vendors to make every moment happen seamlessly. The banquet room is a perfect space, it's simple and the perfect backdrop to make your own! We chose up-lighting to really make the space beautiful and dance floor ready! Our guests enjoyed walking around the zoo during cocktail hour, and it's a great place for not only kids but adults to have fun in! Dinner was delicious and the open bar made everyone happy all night long. Both of our families had a blast mingling on the outdoor patio after dinner too. Overall the Rosamond Gifford Zoo is an amazing place to hold a wedding celebration! It's unique and beautiful and we would recommend this venue to everyone! Plus you're helping the zoo fund animal care and conservation efforts, which is another way having your wedding there is so special! (Photos by WeddingsbyRay - Ray Alvarez, check him out too! He's awesome!)
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  • S
    Samantha G. Sent on 12/10/2019
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    Enthusiastically Recommend!

    My husband and I had two goals when searching for our wedding venue. First, we wanted a venue that was unique, somewhat unexpected, and would excite our guests. Second, we needed a venue that was affordable, as we would be cash-flowing our entire wedding. We were so excited to find that the Rosamond Gifford Zoo met both of these criteria.

    Brittany, the event manager for the zoo, was incredibly professional and overall a delight to work with throughout the entire process. Brittany was so organized, made sure we stayed on track with our planning, and helped fully execute, alongside her incredible staff, our vision for the wedding day. She is genuinely one of the sweetest people I have ever met and can't recommend her or her team enough.

    The Rosamond Gifford Zoo offers two settings for wedding ceremonies. One is an outdoor patio adjacent to the banquet hall; when lit up and flowers are in bloom, it is a beautiful place for a ceremony. This patio accommodates smaller wedding ceremonies; it is also a lovely place to escape the festivities of the reception and is lovely at night with string lights. My husband and I had our ceremony in the main zoo area to accommodate our larger guest list. This main area is in front of a fountain. We opted for minimal decorations outside, to enhance the intrinsic uniqueness of the venue. Both of these areas provide ample opportunities for photographs; there are also several animal exhibits that serve as unique backdrops (for example, the penguins outside; a cave indoors). Outside of the zoo, there are many locations in the city of Syracuse with great places to take photographs that are within a 10-minute drive (Franklin Square, Thornden Park, Burnet Park).

    The cocktail hour is outside; guests have the option to walk through the indoor zoo exhibits (our guests loved being able to do this!). Couples can also choose, for an additional fee, to allow guests to access the entire outdoor zoo, as well.

    For the reception, the layout of the banquet room is spacious enough to accommodate many different tables (guest tables, cake table, gift tables, etc) but it is also cozy so that no one feels like they are far away from the action (dances, speeches). I especially loved that the dance floor was set up in the middle of the banquet room, so everyone had a good view of it. The food at the zoo is superb and I wish it was a restaurant where I could go back to enjoy it over and over again. Many of my guests raved about the food after the wedding.

    In conclusion, I enthusiastically recommend the Rosamond Gifford Zoo for your wedding. Guests will appreciate the uniqueness of the venue, there are beautiful spaces throughout the zoo and in the surrounding area for photo opportunities, the food is excellent, and the staff know how to plan and execute a well-run event. You can also return to the zoo, as a guest, for years to come to look back on your special day - not many venues gives you that same opportunity. The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is an excellent choice for a wedding venue!
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    Bailey Sent on 09/17/2018
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    Brittany and Alyssa were amazing to work with! Brittany responded very quickly to any questions that came up over the year prior to our wedding. They were very friendly and easy to work with. The food was excellent; all the guests constantly told us how delicious it was! The venue was perfect for what we were looking for. It suited us perfectly and had great areas for good photos. I would highly recommend the zoo to anyone!
  • Maggie
    Maggie Sent on 09/11/2018
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    The Zoo was amazing. The food was excellent, the environment was perfect. The staff worked really hard to make our vision of the room a reality. Brittany was great to work with. And we came in under budget! I can't recommend it highly enough.
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    Angela Sent on 08/19/2018
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    This is a beautiful place to get married! The patio was stunning, the courtyard impressive (thanks for supplying a beautiful sunset), the inner zoo and Wagon the Eurasian Eagle Owl brought happiness, and the banquet room looked gorgeous Brittany and her team were amazing to work with and the food was delicious. We are so very happy we chose Rosamond Gifford Zoo. Fabulous!
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    Jeff Sent on 08/04/2018
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    From start to finish, the event coordinators at the zoo were extremely friendly, professional, and helpful with us planning our big day. To be honest, when we first considered the zoo, I had hesitations, with it being a non-traditional location. However, when we visited and met with Julie and Brittany, I immediately felt comfortable with them, and the ceremony/reception spaces at the zoo are amazing. Our wedding was on the small side (approx. 65 guests) and we were able to have our ceremony on the patio/garden area off of the reception hall which was beautiful. The event managers were so helpful with little decisions and details throughout the entire planning process, and they even had a list of preferred vendors (DJ, photographer, etc) who have done a great job at the zoo before. This made our decision making process very easy as we already had a list of companies to choose from. Additionally, the zoo has their own internal catering service which handles the bar, hors d'oeuvres, and dinner service. When we went in for the tasting, we were completely blown away with the quality of the food. The fact that we did not have to go and try several different caterers made our lives even easier! On the big day, the buffet was excellent, and all of our food came out exactly as we had hoped.
    On our wedding day, Brittany (event manager) was around all day long and available with any questions. She personally oversaw our vendors setting up and made sure that our tables decor and signage was all exactly how we wanted it. In the moments leading up to the ceremony, Brittany and her staff were all present and made sure that our guests had everything that they needed. After the ceremony, and for the remainder of the night, we could not have asked for more from the zoo staff who were all friendly and helpful! I'm out of characters but could list more compliments, everything was perfect!
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    Amanda Sent on 08/07/2018
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    It was so much fun see everyones expression of wow your getting married at the zoo. But not only that it was beautiful new ballroom and patio ceremony area. The catering was so much more than the food they were like having a wedding planner. I didn’t have to lift a finger. The food was so delishious. I wish I could go there as for a date night dinner. Truly made our wedding a fairytale
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    M Sent on 09/23/2017
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    The zoo was an amazing wedding venue! From the beautiful outdoor ceremony space, to the reception food, setup, and outdoor patio, the entire day was truly the "best day ever." Julie and Brittany went above and beyond, were continuously available and profession through the entire almost 2 year planning process. I seriously can't say enough about it all. I sincerely recommend this venue! Plus, the in house catering through Catering At The Zoo is wonderful. Ps- rent the indoor zoo if you use this venue. Our guests loved it!
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    Megan Sent on 09/17/2016
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    I loved absolutely everything about my ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. Melissa was there every step of the way! It was perfect from beginning to end!
  • User2696983 Sent on 07/22/2016
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    We had our rehearsal dinner here and it was amazing! We got to walk around some of the zoo and tons of fun. The food was great as well!
  • Jessica
    Jessica Sent on 07/04/2015
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    There is only one way to describe our wedding at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo - Perfect. The venue is gorgeous (and affordable!), the staff were friendly & attentive and the food was excellent. The event manager was present the whole night to make sure everything went smoothly. I have been to several wedding and have never seen a buffet service go so quickly and smoothly. Several of my guests told me it was the best wedding they have ever been to!

    On a side note, we rented the indoor zoo for our guests to wander around while the bridal party took pictures. It was such a great add-on and was so affordable. Thank you to everyone at the zoo that made my wedding perfect!
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    Jessica Sent on 10/05/2013
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    Alicia, Jim and their team at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo helped give us the wedding of my dreams. The lions were even roaring when we said our vows, the whole experience was beyond words. Alicia was there through every step of the process, always willing to answer my questions and help me with any small detail I needed. Several months before we were able to go and do a tasting of some of the menu options to determine what we wanted to offer to our guests, everything we tried was delicious and meeting the chef was an added bonus. They accommodated food allergies and special beer requests without a problem, they were truly there to make the experience everything we wanted. The night of the wedding Jim and the staff were amazing, we received nothing but compliments on both how amazing the food was and the service. Highly recommend the Rosamond Gifford Zoo as a wedding venue, it’s very reasonably priced, and everything about the experience was stellar -best of all its non for profit, so all the proceeds go back to the animals :)
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    Alicia Sent on 08/20/2012
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    My husband and I could not have asked for a better wedding experience. Catering at the zoo provided everything we hoped for; friendly and knowledgable staff, great food and very accommodating management. The elephant demonstration was a fun addition to our wedding. We would recommend catering at the zoo as a great venue for any occasion.
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    Maureen Sent on 12/16/2011
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    Jim and Alicia were amazing to work with. They met with us multiple times before hand to run through all the details and they answered so many e-mails as well. The day of Alicia took care of everything. All the little details I was freaking out over I handed to her and she made the day perfect. The room looked beautiful, the food was perfect and the ceremony in the court yard was unforgettable. No left hungry and everyone is still talking about what a unique and beautiful wedding it was.
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    Kimberly Sent on 09/27/2019
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    Fantastic food, beautiful photos, awesome planner.

    Not only was it a fun, unique, and beautiful wedding-- but Brittany was the most amazing planner I've ever worked with. I cannot recommend this place enough. The prices are reasonable, the location is great, and the food was wonderful. It's so fun to get to take pictures with animals. We only paid for the front part of the zoo, but it was definitely more than enough! Great for pictures!!
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    Sarah Sent on 08/01/2011
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    This vendor was AWESOME! The prices were reasonable and Alicia was an amazing help. All the staff was helpful and accommodating throughout the whole process.... from beginning to the end! Alicia was able to answer any of the questions I had and helped everyone the day of the wedding ceremony. The pictures came out awesome because we were able to have some unique shots that the zoo offered.
  • Emily
    Emily Sent on 02/25/2020
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    Great, unique Venue

    Overall the entire experience at the zoo was amazing. Such a unique venue. Brittany was amazing at walking us through the whole process. We arrived slightly early due to the weather and they were able to accommodate us. The whole night ran smoothly. I would not recommend paying for a zoo animal to come, it only stayed for 20 minutes and wasn’t a big hit. The indoor zoo however, during cocktail hour was a great investment. I was also disappointed that they charged for soft drinks at the bar when we payed ahead of time for them. Food was out of this world good and everything ran smoothly. Overall the experience was amazing.
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    Charlene Sent on 09/18/2017
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    The Catering at the Zoo team blew it out of the water. The only couple points I took off were for the couple of blips in communication along the way, but everything worked out fine in the end. Julie and Brittany were amazing, as were the waitstaff and bartenders. Absolutely do not hire a day of coordinator because these guys will take care of everything. They even set up everything so my family didn't have to lift a finger. We can't thank the CAZ staff enough. I wish we brought more to tip the staff because we had no idea how many people were helping us pull this off and how hard everyone worked! Everyone is still talking about what a cool venue it was and how much fun they had. Contrary to the other review, our guests LOVED the indoor zoo. It was open the whole cocktail hour for our guests, not sure what happened for the other folks. :(
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    Rachel Sent on 06/11/2017
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    Wow! We had such a great wedding here! They only lost a few points because they had a new events planner take over and my emails and phone calls went unanswered for a bit until Julie got back to me. She was so great. The venue was wonderful, Julie was so flexible and the place looked great!

    One word to the wise, DO NOT WASTE MONEY ON THE Indoor ZOO! We paid for the zoo to be open till 8 but then they closed it at 630 when our stuff started. Not something we thought of when we paid for everything and we're we're a bit disappointed by that.
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