Elmwood Park Zoo
All-inclusive venue
The venue takes care of it all - food and beverage, rentals, the works!
Full wedding (ceremony and reception) pricing
Starting at $15,270 for off-peak dates, and $16,470 for peak dates
Guest capacity
Up to 150 seated guests
Discounted Months
Offered for Full Zoo Buyout or Individual Rental Locations: A 10% discount is offered in March & April. A 15% discount is offered November-February. A 20% Discount is offered in July & August.
About this venue
When you plan your next event at Elmwood Park Zoo, not only do you treat your guests to a highly interactive experience at the most unique event venue in the Greater Philadelphia area, but you also support an important nonprofit organization. The zoo is centrally located in Montgomery County and is easily accessible to guests from Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Philadelphia Counties. From intimate affairs with your closest loved ones, to all-out bashes with every far-flung friend and relative, Elmwood Park Zoo is your choice for the most unique and exciting wedding venue.
Our event spaces
Centennial Plaza
Ceremony Location
Our new Centennial Plaza features beautiful landscaping and a fountain adorned with a brass white tailed deer. This space is our premiere ceremony location!
Guest capacity
Up to 150 Seated
Up to 200 Standing
Ideal for
Wedding ceremony
GLT Plaza
Ceremony Location
This new ceremony location has your guests surrounding you along with our Golden Lion Tamarins. Behind you is our centennial clock to capture the time when you say "I Do"
Guest capacity
Up to 150 Seated
Up to 200 Standing
Ideal for
Wedding ceremony
Pond
Ceremony Location
An outdoor ceremony location overlooking our beautiful fountain and vintage carousel.
Guest capacity
Up to 150 Seated
Up to 150 Standing
Ideal for
Wedding ceremony
Zoo Bowl Theatre
Ceremony Location
A spacious outdoor venue with seating for up to 150 guests. The theater is a perfect location for your beautifully intimate ceremony.
Guest capacity
Up to 150 Seated
Up to 200 Standing
Ideal for
Wedding ceremony
Trail Of The Jaguar
Cocktail Hour Location
Our state-of-the-art exhibit will immerse guests in the southwestern habitat of these majestic big cats. Your guests will enjoy being so close to our family of jaguars, and they’ll delight at being surrounded by some of the other various animals that hail from the region, including Montezuma quail, Colorado river toads, and a gorgeous ocelot. Trail of the Jaguar can accommodate small receptions cocktail hours, and much more.
Guest capacity
Up to 60 Seated
Up to 100 Standing
Ideal for
Cocktail hour
Guests often feel this space is
“Surprised and delighted”
Zoo Brew Beer Garden
Cocktail Hour Location
EPZ’s in-house bar and beer garden is located just across from the bison feeding deck. It’s ideal for cocktails, appetizers, or action stations. Your guests will enjoy a taste of our craft beers on tap, as well as the relaxing views sounds of the Stony Creek.
Guest capacity
Up to 60 Seated
Up to 150 Standing
Ideal for
Cocktail hour
Guests often feel this space is
“Warm and cozy”
Canopy Gardens Hall
Reception Location
Our beautiful premier indoor event space can seat up to 150 guests, complete with a dance floor and room for catering services. The space features a full stone accent wall, along with wood-accented flooring and ceilings, making for an elegant lodge-like feel. It also has retractable, floor-to-ceiling glass doors along the garden side of the pavilion, giving the option of open access to the adjacent patio and garden area.
Guest capacity
Up to 150 Seated
Up to 200 Standing
Ideal for
Wedding reception
Guests often feel this space is
“Warm and cozy”
Centennial Plaza
Ceremony Location
Our new Centennial Plaza features beautiful landscaping and a fountain adorned with a brass white tailed deer. This space is our premiere ceremony location!
Guest capacity
Up to 150 Seated
Up to 200 Standing
Ideal for
Wedding ceremony
GLT Plaza
Ceremony Location
This new ceremony location has your guests surrounding you along with our Golden Lion Tamarins. Behind you is our centennial clock to capture the time when you say "I Do"
Guest capacity
Up to 150 Seated
Up to 200 Standing
Ideal for
Wedding ceremony
Pond
Ceremony Location
An outdoor ceremony location overlooking our beautiful fountain and vintage carousel.
Guest capacity
Up to 150 Seated
Up to 150 Standing
Ideal for
Wedding ceremony
Zoo Bowl Theatre
Ceremony Location
A spacious outdoor venue with seating for up to 150 guests. The theater is a perfect location for your beautifully intimate ceremony.
Guest capacity
Up to 150 Seated
Up to 200 Standing
Ideal for
Wedding ceremony
Trail Of The Jaguar
Cocktail Hour Location
Our state-of-the-art exhibit will immerse guests in the southwestern habitat of these majestic big cats. Your guests will enjoy being so close to our family of jaguars, and they’ll delight at being surrounded by some of the other various animals that hail from the region, including Montezuma quail, Colorado river toads, and a gorgeous ocelot. Trail of the Jaguar can accommodate small receptions cocktail hours, and much more.
Guest capacity
Up to 60 Seated
Up to 100 Standing
Ideal for
Cocktail hour
Guests often feel this space is
“Surprised and delighted”
Zoo Brew Beer Garden
Cocktail Hour Location
EPZ’s in-house bar and beer garden is located just across from the bison feeding deck. It’s ideal for cocktails, appetizers, or action stations. Your guests will enjoy a taste of our craft beers on tap, as well as the relaxing views sounds of the Stony Creek.
Guest capacity
Up to 60 Seated
Up to 150 Standing
Ideal for
Cocktail hour
Guests often feel this space is
“Warm and cozy”
Canopy Gardens Hall
Reception Location
Our beautiful premier indoor event space can seat up to 150 guests, complete with a dance floor and room for catering services. The space features a full stone accent wall, along with wood-accented flooring and ceilings, making for an elegant lodge-like feel. It also has retractable, floor-to-ceiling glass doors along the garden side of the pavilion, giving the option of open access to the adjacent patio and garden area.
Guest capacity
Up to 150 Seated
Up to 200 Standing
Ideal for
Wedding reception
Guests often feel this space is
“Warm and cozy”
Available services that can be provided by Elmwood Park Zoo
Services & amenities
- Bar services
- Catering services
- Clean up
- Dance floor
- Dressing room / Bridal Suite
- Event coordinator
- Event rentals
- Event staff
- Liability insurance
- Service staff
- Set up
- Wedding cake services
- Wheelchair accessible
- Wifi
Transportation & access
- Self parking - free
- Wheelchair accessible
Rentals
- Barware
- China
- Flatware
- Linens
- Standard Chairs
Reviews
Write a review4.9 out of 5
15 reviews
Have your wedding at the zoo, you know you want to
I cannot say enough good things about the Elmwood Park Zoo! My husband and I started our venue search knowing we were never going to have our wedding in a standard banquet hall or venue space. It was always going to be outside or somewhere unique. We fell in love with the zoo after touring it. The space is beautiful and well sized for the amount of people at our reception (75). Our guests absolutely loved it as well and still talk about it months afterwards. Torry was amazing in her communication and in helping me make decisions on the day of (yes, it rained…but let me tell you it did not matter one bit. If this is what you are afraid of, take the risk- their backup rain plan worked perfectly for us!) 10/10 for uniqueness, our guests got to walk the zoo, I love our carousel wedding photos (and our porcupine wedding photo!), and we even got to feed giraffes in our fancy clothes! The food and drinks were great, too….get that s'mores station, you know you want to!
The best place to get married
We could not recommend the Elmwood Park Zoo enough. This was the perfect venue for our wedding. Our guests absolutely loved how unique it was and they still talk about how cool it was to be able to see all the animals. We even got to have some of them feed the giraffes! The staff here are amazing at what they do. They were so helpful and friendly through the whole process to the day of our wedding. The ceremony and reception space were beautiful. They have so many different ways you can add on to your experience and we were really able to still make it our own with personal decorations as well. If you want a truly memorable, unique and beautiful wedding.. the Elmwood Park Zoo is the way to go.
Ten out of Ten!
Such an incredible experience! We're still getting compliments months after the wedding. Everyone had a blast with the animals; from the giraffe feeding, to the skunk ambassador, to the jaguar at the cocktail hour. But the non-animal aspects were just as fantastic! Staff was beyond supportive, they truly went above and beyond to make sure things went well and that we were relaxed and happy. The food and drinks were incredible (I hear - I didn't get the chance to enjoy much myself!), staff was all out of this world, the ceremony location was perfect, the reception hall is beautiful all lit up, and all of our photos look gorgeous with the zoo as a backdrop. From the booking the date to cementing the details, to the tasting night, to the vendor list and partnered cake bakery, they made planning our wedding (the parts that they were responsible for, at least!) seamless. Ten out of ten!
Five stars are not enough!
I was initially worried that getting married at the zoo would mean I would not have a traditional wedding coordinator and would largely be on my own for the planning - I could not have been more wrong! The staff truly went above and beyond to ensure everything was perfect! They were so easy to work with and incredibly accommodating and kind. They all seemed to genuinely care about making sure we were all happy with everything and that everything ran smoothly. Even when the weather forecast looked scary, they came up with a brilliant plan to ensure I still had the wedding I had dreamt of! Every guest (even those used to attending weddings at country clubs and five-star-hotels!) RAVED about the experience. Everyone said it was one of the best weddings they have ever been to, and it was truly a unique experience. One thing I especially appreciated was how they worked to ensure everyone was cared for - from my elderly MIL who needed assistance getting around (she had a personal golf cart chauffeur!) to my infant niece who needed a quiet place to nurse and nap! I was a little nervous about the food - we were not able to attend the tasting, and zoos are not known for the best cuisines, but again, I was very happy to be wrong! All of the food was excellent!! They also went above and beyond to ensure that allergies were accommodated! The renovations happening did not interfere at all with the wedding, and it was really cool to have my guests get to see where the money was going - not just to a country club, but to animal care, conservancy and education! I cannot wait to see the plans for the expansion unfold! If you want a unique wedding experience with five-star service, I cannot recommend Elmwood Park Zoo highly enough.
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