Santa Barbara Zoo 500 Ninos Dr • Santa Barbara • CA 93103

Your Santa Barbara Zoo site fee includes guest parking in the zoo's lot, two zoo staff members on the grounds, security for up to 500 guests, and a golf cart driven by zoo staff for anyone who has trouble walking to your event site. Events by Rincon, the zoo's exclusive event partner, assigns you a planner who builds your timeline, coordinates your vendors, runs the rehearsal and serves as your day-of coordinator. Catering, bar service, rentals, lighting, setup and cleanup all come through Rincon and are priced by guest count. You'll book your own DJ, florist, photographer and videographer, plus a day-of insurance policy.

Yes, your whole celebration can stay at Santa Barbara Zoo. Ceremonies take place in the Palm Garden, a sunken grassy courtyard ringed by palms, or up on the Hilltop, which looks out over the Pacific coastline and the Santa Barbara mountains. Cocktails follow on the Lower Hilltop, and your reception can be set up on the Upper Hilltop or in the open-air Discovery Pavilion.

Food, drinks and rentals at Santa Barbara Zoo come exclusively through Events by Rincon, which also handles lighting, staffing, setup and cleanup. You'll bring your own DJ, florist, photographer and videographer, and your Rincon planner sends them timelines and floor plans and coordinates their arrival times, so everyone's on the same page.

At Santa Barbara Zoo, the evening site fee runs $6,500–$8,500, depending on the day, time, season and space, and catering through Events by Rincon starts at $38 per person. There's no food and beverage minimum and no minimum guest count, but there is a minimum labor charge based on 100 guests; for a buffet dinner, labor is $45 per person, so the minimum is $4,500. A 20% service charge goes directly to your event team, sales tax applies to most charges, and a day-of insurance policy typically runs $125–$175. Planning something small? Elopements for up to 50 guests start at $1,500.

Evening events at Santa Barbara Zoo run from 5pm to 10pm year-round, and your group can enter as early as 4pm. Events by Rincon's two main bar packages are unlimited and open for the full five-hour event, with tableside wine service during dinner. Amplified music is allowed indoors and outdoors, and you can add hours to your event and bar package if you'd like more time.

Santa Barbara Zoo gives your guests something no ballroom can: nearly 30 acres of gardens with ocean views and more than 150 animal species. You can add an up-close animal encounter, a giraffe feeding or a private ride on the zoo train just for your guests. Events by Rincon plans and runs the whole day, from the first call to cleanup. And because the zoo is a private nonprofit, revenue from private events supports its conservation and education programs.

Yes. Santa Barbara Zoo offers elopements for up to 50 guests starting at $1,500, and weddings of up to 100 guests at the Discovery Pavilion also start at $1,500. The Discovery Pavilion is an open-air space surrounded by gardens and coastal views, with a flexible layout for a seated dinner or a standing reception.