Detroit Zoo Wedding

Rachel and Ian said I do with a fun and playful wedding day at the Detroit Zoo! Can you think of anything more amazing than marrying the love of your life as whimsical sea otters float by? Pretty magical, right?! There are a few wedding venues within the Detroit Zoo and Rachel and Ian selected the Arctic Ring of Life. This area of the zoo houses two rescued sea otters, named Monte and Finn. Each of these adorable little guys made their way to the Detroit Zoo from the California Coast, and now they pop by and say hello to couples who tie the knot with views of their habitat, just like Rachel and Ian did!

In addition to the prime location of their wedding ceremony & reception space at the Detroit Zoo, Rachel and Ian added fun-loving elements to their day as a nod to the zoo’s residents. Upon welcome, guests were escorted to their tables by bronzed animal statues that dutifully held their seating cards. Remember those little boxes of animal crackers from your childhood days? Rachel and Ian ordered those nostalgic treats for their guests but had the boxes customized with their names and wedding date. So, so adorable!

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But, by far, the best part about having a wedding at the Detroit Zoo has to be the photo ops! If a visit to the Zoo brings back the memories of your childhood days and animals make your heart soar, just think of how amazing it would be to have a friendly Giraffe or a stealthy Zerbra in the backdrop of your wedding portraits! And yes, I 100% worked with Rachel and Ian on their wedding day to bring some of that whimsy and nostalgia to their photos. Together with their best man and maid of honor, we greeted a few of the zoo's friendly residents.

Aside from having the ability to visit the Detroit Zoo’s residents on your wedding day, their grounds are an idyllic setting for classic wedding day portraits. Tons and tons of lush greenery, and the iconic ‘Bear Fountain’. And, because I always love a dash of rock n’ roll vibes, I also took Rachel and Ian to the Griffin Claw Brewery stand located at the Zoo. The Brewery has a crazy colorful new mural featuring some of the animals in their wildlife-saving conservation programs. As if that wasn’t a good enough reason to check out this photo op, the bride also works for Griffin Claw! There was no way I was going to pass up grabbing a few shots of my bride and groom, on their wedding day, in front of this awesome backdrop!

To see every amazing detail of Rachel and Ian’s wedding day at the Detroit Zoo (including a quick hello from one of the sea otters!) scroll through the photos below.