We had such an amazing experience at Chester zoo for our wedding day. We chose to get married at the oakfield as we liked how much character it had, rather than the other venue. Overall, the staff were amazing, a special shout out to Jess (our wedding planner) who made our wedding so special and helped with everything we wanted! The staff on the day made it! They were so full of life and everyone loved them, especially the bar staff! The venue itself is amazing, we had access to the oakfield all day, and was even allowed around the zoo at night to take photos, which were an unreal experience and felt so special to us! Overall I would 1000% recommend this venue! It’s so unique and you get some much included for the price. The day went seamlessly with no issues, that I know of! We will forever remember this special day! Thank you to all the staff x

Chester Zoo provides the ultimate wedding package with a sustainable edge. The venue is absolutely stunning, the staff are wonderful, and the food was delicious!  We cannot recommend The Square at Chester Zoo enough.

The Square is a unique wedding venue with so much character. Designed and built with sustainability in mind, our guests were left speechless at the building and its charm. They particularly loved the claw marks on the original brick from the lions! Not only is the building beautiful, but the zoo grounds are so well-kept that you have numerous photo locations.  

A member of staff kindly took us and our photographer around the zoo in the evening for dusk/sunset photos, which was magical and a whole experience in itself. If you do this, please be aware that buildings are closed and most of the animals will be settling down for the night, so prioritise these shots in the day when the zoo is open. For example, the penguins will unlikely be in the water, so the best photo opportunity will be during the day.

In terms of the wedding schedule, we wanted to make sure our guests got as much time in the zoo as possible. We got married at 12 pm, had our drinks reception at 1 pm and then had the wedding breakfast at 4 pm. Every single person at our wedding left the venue to explore the zoo and had an amazing time. The zoo is the perfect location for family-friendly weddings.

Both of us are vegetarian and decided to make it a fully vegetarian and nut free wedding. We chose the classic package, which included a 3-course meal, tea & coffee, evening buffet, plus alcohol. We added breakfast for the bridal party, and chef very kindly put together a bespoke bread station for the drinks reception, which included bread, olive oil/balsamic dip and olives. The food was exceptional, and the portion sizes were very generous! We had so much positive feedback and I think a lot of people see vegetarian food in a new light now.

The team were all so kind, courteous and professional. Every single task was executed to perfection - from meticulously steaming the table linen, to delicately laying out the doughnuts we ordered from Krispy Kreme on the dessert table, to fluffing my dress before I walked down the aisle. The team even noticed that we hadn’t eaten any of the evening buffet and kindly put together a big doggy bag for us to take home. The bar staff were fantastic and had great humour, we thoroughly enjoyed the baby Guinness shots. Big shout out to the security team, who were so lovely and helpful. We cannot thank Jess, Natasha, chef and the whole team for everything they did for us on the day. We couldn’t have asked for a better day.

Not only did we have such a wonderful day, but knowing that the profits from our wedding went towards conservation and education just makes it even better.

We such an amazing day celebrating our wedding at Chester Zoo. We chose the square as our venue and with the good weather were able to get married outside in the courtyard which was such a highlight.

We had the ranger tour which we would highly recommend, was such a lovely addition to our day and our guests all throughly enjoyed every moment.

Our coordinator Jessica was so helpful and attentive to our needs. She took over mid way through planning with our original coordinator being Frankie who again was so helpful. Could not fault her service, we had regular meetings and constant communication through email.

During the day we had some hiccups which has been feedback to the venue, there was another wedding taking place at the oakfield which we feel added pressure and stress to the staff however our evening staff were incredible, so friendly and make all our troubles melt away. Sarah who was our main contact during the evening couldn’t do enough for us.

The food was wonderful and chef was very accommodating to all needs, as a coeliac this filled me with so much relief.

We enjoyed every moment of our day and would highly recommend everyone considering Chester Zoo to just book it! All costs go straight back into the Zoo which helps with conservation something we think is so important and are extremely grateful to have been able to play a small part.

Thankyou so much to Chester Zoo for being our venue

Love Mr & Mrs Harlow🤍

We had our wedding at Chester Zoo and it was absolutely perfect! From start to finish, the experience was seamless thanks to the fantastic wedding co-ordinator who kept in regular contact and provided updates every step of the way. On the day itself, she made sure everything ran smoothly – she was truly amazing.

The food was incredible, with delicious options for everyone, including lovely vegan and vegetarian dishes that our guests are still talking about. All the staff were so helpful, friendly, and professional – we honestly can’t fault a thing.

Chester Zoo is a unique and beautiful venue, and we feel so lucky to have celebrated our special day there. We would 100% recommend it to anyone looking for a memorable and unique wedding venue.

What a perfect venue for a wedding. So unique and so perfect in every way.
Rachel was the best listening to any questions and always being on hand when we needed she is a credit to Chester zoo events and the girls we where handed over to for the actual day were on top of everything.

Throughout the planning process, our contacts at the zoo were very knowledgeable, organised and responsive. Any questions were swiftly answered. They kept regular contact with vendors we hired for the day, too.

We had a number of meetings where we went through the plans for the day, which were then emailed to us swiftly, with any changes reflected.

We met the chef when tasting the menu and he was able to answer any queries without any issues.

On the day itself, everyone was on the ball. Organisation was amazing. Service staff were brilliant. DJ was great.

Let's hope I don't have ton get married again, but if I would, I'd choose the square at Chester zoo again without a doubt.

Our wedding was on 15/8/2024 - we met with the Wedding Co-Ordinator regularly

One thing which we couldnt choose was the DJ - despite informing them that the DJ makes or breaks the wedding atmosphere the answer was it was part of the price and we could have our own but we had to pay extra - the DJ was awful - empty dancefloor at 10:30pm and so I had to go over and speak to him - our guests thought he was very lazy

Also we were told that the venue would be closed to general public from 4pm and at 4:30 we still had general public walking through with pushchairs and children running around

the vegan meal was awful - we had fish and chips which were fabulous but the vegan meal was so tiny (smaller than their starter) so I had to ask for fries to be cooked and would pay for this - we didnt try the vegan meal as we eat meat however choose a vegan meal to try

we put a complaint in and they said they would take my comments on board - apparently at 12am at night guests are apparently meant to walk through the zoo to make their own way 'drunk' to the gates - which is dangerous - the agreement was initially there would be staff but then IO spent ythe evening trying to find staff

Not worth the money

An absolutely gorgeous venue and staff who could not be happier to help! In particular, Frankie, our coordinator, was very accommodating to our wants and always happy to assist. The location is extremely beautiful and I recommend adding the ranger walk!

The Oakfield was a beautiful venue for our wedding at Chester Zoo! The building was absolutely lovely and created the perfect atmosphere to celebrate our big day. From the cozy intimate library room for our ceremony, to the charming bar and dance floor, to the indoor-outdoor feeling garden room for the reception, this space was truly phenomenal. And a huge thank you to all the staff at The Oakfield for everything they did to make the day so special. Our guests were completely blown away by the food, and are still saying how it’s the best food they’ve ever had at a wedding! Magda was fantastic on the day making sure everything ran smoothly and all of our guests were catered for. Ellen went above and beyond to help coordinate every detail and request for the day, and I can not thank her enough for all of her hard work! We highly recommend having your wedding at The Oakfield at Chester Zoo!

Getting married at Chester Zoo was a dream come true for us! But we had no idea just how magical it would all be. We were completely blown away by the beauty of the Oakfield - especially at Christmas! The building just seemed to come alive! Everywhere was so perfectly decorated and every little detail was thought about. From the minute we started planning we were put so at ease by the team who were there to help us every step of the way; we cannot thank them enough. The Oakfield staff made our day so relaxed and were there to cater for everyone’s needs all through the day; nothing was ever too much. Our wedding was everything we ever wanted and more, we wouldn't have changed a single thing and I cannot recommend Chester Zoo & The Oakfield enough. A truly magical day we will never forget. We look forward to returning to The Oakfield in the years to come to relive the perfect memories we made on our special day!