Wedding guests just complete animals
Forget the wedding singer – cheetahs, meerkats, lemurs and lions are ready to entertain on your special day.
Wellington Zoo has launched a ‘‘pop-up’’ wedding package, allowing couples to tie the knot in an express service near their favourite wild animals.
Instead of a sour ex or an uninvited aunt turning up as the wedding crasher, the bride and groom could be greeted by a friendly dingo.
‘‘The concept is it’s 1.5 hours, you enjoy, you get married, you have bubbles and canapes with your families and friends, and then you depart,’’ Wellington Zoo venues manager Carol Harley said.
‘‘The whole point of the pop-up is it’s affordable and it’s stylish, but also the fact we have some unique locations within the zoo for couples to get married.’’
The first pop-up wedding-booker was a red panda fan, who has chosen to get married in front of the furry Himalayan animals’ enclosure.
The Chimp Lawn, Penguin Point or the Asia Precinct – featuring malaysian sun bears and a sumatran tiger – are other options.
Prices start at $4400 for a 11⁄ hour wedding with 30 guests, and includes photos, drinks and canapes. Getting close to a lion, a lemur, a meerkat, or a cheetah costs an extra $95 to $150 a person.
Marika and Sam Hughes were married at Wellington Zoo in January, and said the wedding produced some surprise guests.
The couple booked an animal experience but didn’t know what they were getting until the day.
‘‘We didn’t know for sure what was going to happen, we thought maybe the tuatara or the birds or the skinks were going to come out,’’ Marika said.
Their wedding crasher turned to be a dingo.
There was a bit of noise from the primates in attendance, but it all added to the fun. ‘‘We had some very happy lemurs. ‘‘They were really loud, actually, but it was good, it was something everyone laughed about.’’