Private Events

Make your wedding unforgettable. With sweeping views of Puget Sound, Mount Rainier and the Cascade Mountain Range, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium offers a romantic, picturesque setting for your special day. We can handle big crowds or intimate gatherings with exceptional food and seamless service – and even a celebrity animal guest!

What are you waiting for?

Be the best parent ever and book your kid’s next birthday at the Zoo! Animals, a vintage carousel, a private room and even a special animal ambassador – a kid couldn’t ask for more.

Hold your company event at the Zoo and make memories! Our venues can handle everything from meetings to parties and beyond. Keep scrolling for venues, prices, animal ambassadors and more.

How about a picnic right next to our Red Wolf Woods? You’ll have a howling good time in our brand-new Picnic Pavilion, opening this July.

The Pavilion accommodates up to 200 guests for catered picnics. Located next to the Red Wolf Woods exhibit and new Pacific Seas Aquarium, this area features an open-air structure, permanent picnic tables and a grassy area for extra activities. Surrounded by lush greenery, this area provides a private wooded space for you and your guests.

Available: 11am-6pm

Fee: $400 for 3-6 hours

Menu: Must be catered by Lancer Catering. Download the Picnic Menu.

Animals: Choose from our animal ambassadors on this page (extra fee)

Information: 253-404-3823 or pdzasales@lancercatering.com

Light up your holiday party at Zoolights! A private venue, professional catering, a delicious holiday menu and over 500,000 Zoolights sparkling just outside.

The new, 35,000 square foot state-of-the-art Pacific Seas Aquarium is a spectacular, unique venue with stunning art and mesmerizing marine life. Rent a portion for a more intimate occasion or the entire facility for a large banquet or reception.

• Overall capacity: 400 guests cocktail (entire aquarium)
• Available after hours and during Zoolights
• Rental fee: $4,000 entire building; $1,200 Jelly Gallery; $1,200 Northwest Waters; $2,000 Baja Bay
• Fee includes 4 hours rental time

This versatile 3,000 sq. ft. venue has a private entrance and can be divided into three separate rooms. Rent a portion of the space for a cozier feel or the entire facility for a large banquet or reception.

Capacity: 175 guests (entire facility)
Rental Fee: $400 for 1 room; $800 for 2 rooms combined; $1000 for entire facility

• Fee includes 4 hours rental time (2 rooms or one building)/8 hours (one room)
• Additional: $150 per additional hour

This lush five-acre exhibit complex is the ultimate outdoor event location. Enjoy six romantic exhibit areas complete with two waterfalls, exotic flowers, and a bamboo forest. Two viewing pavilions and the Asian Dayroom provide covered space for buffet stations and seating.

Capacity: 300 guests – entire complex

Rental Fee: $1300 entire area; $500 day-room only

• Fee includes 4 hours rental time
• Animals on exhibit will incur an additional fee
• $150 per additional hour

Available after zoo hours

Spectacular views of Puget Sound and Mount Rainier make this globe-shaped plaza the premier setting for wedding ceremonies and outdoor celebrations.

Rental Fee: $500

• Fee includes 2 hours rental time
• $150 per additional hour

Available after zoo hours

Perfect for intimate gatherings, this alluring aquarium offers a total sensory experience. Transport your guests to the steamy, tropical beaches of the Lagoon exhibit and take in the view at the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Outer Reef and shark exhibits.

Capacity: 85 guests

Rental Fee: $600

• Fee includes: 4 hours rental time
• Additional: $150 per additional hour

Available after zoo hours

For gatherings large and small, the Plaza Cafe will make your event special with big views onto the Pacific Rim Plaza.

Capacity: 80-120 guests

Rental Fee: $600

• Fee includes: 5 hours rental time
• Additional: $150 per additional hour

Available after Zoo hours