An exotic wedding venue for the wild at heart.
It is one thing to see photos of the view and the spaces at Taronga Zoo online, but to truly understand how beautiful it is, you have to come see it in person.
Why did you decide to offer weddings at Taronga Zoo? With such a beautiful, unique location, hosting weddings at Taronga Zoo was an obvious choice! But it isn’t just about the amazing view and the location—Taronga Zoo has been a part of Sydney for over 100 years so people feel a connection with it.
What sort of services do you offer? We are proud to offer ceremony spaces as well as reception venues, world class catering by our talented in house team of chefs and audio-visual systems. We can also provide day-of wedding collateral design, in-house printing and a professional bridal attendant to ensure everything goes smoothly on your big day. In addition to this, we are uniquely positioned to offer extra experiences on top of our wedding packages, such as photo opportunities in the grounds of the zoo, or the chance to wow your guests with an up-close animal encounter.
Describe the ceremony and reception locations you have on offer. Our ceremony space is located in the grounds of Taronga Zoo, and is commonly known as the Bird Show Amphitheatre. Once guests are seated in the amphitheatre style seating, which curves around the ceremony space, they are wowed with the amazing view that overlooks Sydney Harbour, the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. The bride enters from the top and floats down the steps through the guests to the ceremony space, which faces out over the view.
We have two reception venues on site; the first and larger of the two being the Harbourview Ballroom, which seats 250 guests, or 350 people in a cocktail setting. Set atop the hill of Taronga zoo, it features floor to ceiling windows that span the length of the room, opening up the open concept space to the spectacular view of Sydney Harbour. Guests get to watch one of the most beautiful sunsets in the world while they dine and dance the night away.
The second reception venue, the Harbourview Terrace, very closely mimics the shape and layout of the Ballroom, but offers a slightly smaller space with a capacity of 150 seated guests, or 180 cocktail guests. This room offers the same stunning view of the harbour, and also includes floor to ceiling windows across the width of the room.
What other unique experiences do you offer with weddings? Depending on the time of day and how you are planning on arriving at the venue, the bridal party or guests can take the sky safari cable car ride from the ferry wharf up to the top entrance of the zoo as an added experience. The sky safari floats above a number of Taronga Zoo’s exhibits such as the Asian Elephants, and looks out over the water for a beautiful view of the city skyline.
What are the catering options that you have available? We pride ourselves on our extensive catering offering to all our weddings and events. You can choose from a simple buffet setting, host a beautiful three to five course sit down dinner, or a fancy cocktail style wedding. We offer three different package levels to all guests ranging from our classic package to our diamond package, while also offering a selection of beverage packages to suit your needs. If you want to add an additional food course to your menu, or to bring your own beverages, we can adapt our packages to suit your requirements.
What types of couples are attracted to a “zoo” wedding? We get all sorts of couples. Some couples are attracted to the amazing view of the city, while others are interested in supporting wildlife conservation and are absolute animal lovers. Some people are looking for a venue that is outside the busy city where they can escape, and others have an affinity for Taronga Zoo because it means something to them.
[Feature image by Fiona & Bobby Photography]
