So, we went to see the zoo today.
So cold!
It took two buses to get to the other side of the city, but the driver was lovely and helped us to find our stops and directed us to the right places.
Neither Sam or myself had been to Dartmoor Zoo since we were young kids, so we weren't sure what to expect.
Part of me was impressed, part of me was disappointed.
We entered through the visitor's entrance, like any other customer and our guests would. The lady on the gate was very helpful and directed us up to the restaurant.
The walk was steep and cold, an the enclosures on the way were almost empty, beside the top ones with goats and emus.
There was a fair amount of debris just dumped over the site, which I am hoping is due to the rebuild of a few enclosures.
The restaurant was huge and bright, with school - type tables and the keepers having their meetings.
Naomi (the restaurant manager) met us about twenty minutes later (she was having a meeting when we arrived) along with her apprentice, who's name I did not catch.
I did not find either particularly welcoming, or that either understood how much they had to sell this venue to us.
They gave us a poorly constructed 'wedding pack' which they quickly explained, and then proceeded to show us how the room would look when dressed for a wedding.
The restaurant would make a lovely reception, as the tables will be transformed into circular tables that can hold around 13 guests, and all of the restaurant props will be put away. The problem was, there were no toilet seats in the ladies toilets! This is just not acceptable to me.
We were then shown the 'gallery', which has a multitude of uses at the moment, from school lectures to ceremonies. This room, for me, was hideous. With strip fluorescent lighting and horrible checked flooring.
We were next taken to the house, a beautiful building, but unfortunately, of the owner of the zoo is 'home' visitors are not allowed inside. I was disappointed that Naomi had not arranged for us to see the house beforehand when she knew that we were coming so far to see it.
As we were sprinting around to keep up with Naomi and the girl, Naomi asked how long we had been together. To our response, she seemed unimpressed and not at all supportive as you would expect your 'coordinator' to be.
We were then instructed to take a look around and consider our photo opportunities and come back to the restaurant if we had any venues. This is not what I expected, I thought it would make better sense to be shown around, with pointers for the best views, lights and quirky settings. Not to be told to go and have a look ourselves.
Sam already has his heart set on this venue, so I am going to need to bring up these issues with the owner, as they will not resolve themselves.
I know I am one very fussy bride to be, as I like things done in a very particular way, but there are some things I will not cut corners on.
See below for all the pics I took up at the zoo, but remember, it was very cold, and iPhones do not have the best cameras.
I have also photographed the 'wedding pack' supplied.
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