Thursday, December 10, 2009

Nashville Wedding Venue Week officially ends today. No, it wasnt an entire week:) but I have some holiday fun planned for Friday so we’ll wrap up the venue features today, leaving the Nashville Zoo last but certainly not least.

Nashville Zoo Showcase:

The Nashville Zoo has new options for Nashville weddings!

I was invited by Amanda Kerr (Catering Sales Manager - 615-445-7825) to attend an open house there a few weeks ago. It was a fun evening. When I arrived, there was such suspense in the air. There was a long walk from parking to the “new” Jungle Terrace Pavilion and I could hardly contain myself, wondering what the venue had to offer.

As we approached the pavilion, I saw a huge message written in lights on the tent. This was the work of Nashville Event Lighting and I thought it was a great touch. If you have an event there - definitely add your monogram or a welcome message for your guests.

{Warning - my pics from the Zoo’s Open House weren’t the best. Not sure what was going on but I knew you’d want to see them anyway.}

When I arrived at the pavilion, there were food stations everywhere. The food was sooo good. I’m a very picky eater - I actually have a kid’s taste buds. If I like the food - everyone should. I started with a tilapia meal (umm-didnt love) but luckily that didnt stop me:). The next station was a carving station with turkey, gravy and a roll. Much better. It was really good. Next up - an asian stir fr. Tasty! Last stop - pulled BBQ chicken. This was the best meal. I had two sandwiches and really didnt want to stop. Who catered it? The Zoo! They have their own in-house catering staff. Love it!

In addition to the delicious food stations, The Bake Shoppe showcased custom animal print bridal cakes to give brides ideas of how they can have an elegant, zoo wedding.

{love this one!}

The Bake Shoppe created an adorable kangaroo bridal shower cake for me a few years ago. If you wanted a sculpted zoo cake - maybe as your groom cake, I am sure they could create one. Dulce Desserts also does some really neat sculpted cakes.

The Enchanted Florist designs the most creative floral / decor elements for Nashville weddings. I expected nothing less for an evening at the zoo.

And, what made the evening more spectacular was that I entered their giveaway and won a free zoo membership!!

Nashville Zoo Wedding Info:

Who has a wedding at the The Nashville Zoo? I think a zoo bride is 1) a bride who is fun and full of whimsy. 2) a bride who loves nature/animals or 3) a bride who has children (maybe second marriage) and wants to ensure the venue can be fun for all ages.

Here’s what you definitely need to know. The Nashville Zoo has 7 spaces and attractions for your wedding, including a cute carousel (for your guests to ride with music and an attendant).

Among the 7 spaces available are: the Pavilion, which can accommodate up to 290 people; Festival Field (1500 ppl); African Savannah (600 ppl); Historic Home (250 ppl).

To give you an idea of rental rates, the Jungle Terrace Pavilion is $3000 for an evening rental and includes the space from 6-11p, round table seating, tables and chairs, basic lighting package, one host, one seucrity guard, set up and clean-up. Can’t believe it includes tables and chairs - makes it super easy.

More Zoo Wedding Inspiration:

Want more inspiration? WeddingNouveau.com is one of my favorite websites for cultural/very unique wedding inspiration. {All of the inspiration boards below are wedding nouveau. Visit her site for tons of inspiration and for all image credits.}

African, exotic and vintage - perfect for a zoo! or…

regal and opulent celebrating the richness of nature {love the Vera Wang gown in bronze!}, or…

outdoor, colorful and cultural - this is my favorite look - fun flair!

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 1:25 am and is filed under Wedding Venues - Ceremony/Reception/Dinners, Daily Scoop. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.