The very first images of a brand-new luxury wedding venue opening its doors at Chester Zoo have finally been released.
After the UK’s largest charity zoo announced back in July 2022 that it would be venturing into the events scene with the opening of one of the North West‘s most unique wedding venues this year, the jaw-dropping first images of the luxury 200-capacity space, known as The Square, have officially been revealed to the public.
The Square is set to open following a three-year project to restore a Grade II-listed stable block, which has stood at the heart of the zoo since it opened in 1931.
The original structures were once home to some of the zoo’s first animals including lions, bears and chimpanzees – but now, the historic building offers a unique setting for weddings, with couples able to tie the knot surrounded by 27,000 animals.
First images of Chester Zoo’s stunning new luxury wedding venue released / Credit: Chester Zoo
When wedding bells aren’t ringing though, the venue can also be booked exclusively for meetings and corporate events.
ADVERTISEMENT
Featuring a whole host of preserved original features that Chester Zoo says “tell the story of its remarkable history”, the building boasts an impressive gated entrance, a large private courtyard, exposed brick walls, vaulted rafters, and large windows overlooking newly created gardens, while many of the patterns and textures used throughout draw inspiration from some of the endangered species the zoo is working to protect.
Conservationists say income generated by every occasion held at the new venue will contribute to the zoo’s charitable efforts to prevent extinction.
ADVERTISEMENT
It’s also hoped the venue will go on to stage important global summits on wildlife conservation.
The Square is set to open in 2023 / Credit: Chester Zoo
“There’s nothing else quite like this stunning new venue anywhere in the UK,” admitted Chester Zoo’s CEO Jamie Christon.
“It’s an incredible building that’s stood at the heart of the zoo for approaching a century and, through careful restoration, it’s now been brought to life to create a one-of-a-kind space which not only embodies the zoo’s rich history and character, but offers modern luxuries and comforts.
ADVERTISEMENT
“And what’s more, who wouldn’t want to get married or have a company away day surrounded by 27,000 animals?
“Most importantly, each and every occasion that takes place at The Square will contribute to our charitable mission to prevent extinction, helping us to secure a brighter future for wildlife worldwide.
“That’s what makes our new venue incredibly special and we can’t wait to start welcoming people to it.”
The Grade II-listed space can accommodate up to 380 guests / Credit: Chester Zoo
The Square can accommodate 200 guests inside its main room, The Atrium, while three other reception and breakout rooms take the total capacity of the building to 380.
Each of the rooms can be used independently or in combination, giving the building the flexibility to be able to host any type of event, large or small.
Find out more and enquire about booking on the Chester Zoo website here.
Featured Image – Chester Zoo
Trending
Manchester ranked among the worst UK cities for throwing away food at Christmas
Emily Sergeant
A new survey has ranked Manchester among the worst cities in the UK when it comes to throwing away leftover food at Christmas.
If there’s one thing we know for certain, it’s that a lot of food gets consumed during Christmas time, but unfortunately, what then comes along with that, is a lot of food getting thrown away too – with a new study revealing that British families are expected to bin nearly £300 million worth of festive food this year alone.
And sadly, Manchester has been named one of the top festive food waste hotspots.
Ahead of the festive season, leading electricals retailer, AO.com, is on a mission to help Brits cut back on their food waste, as 54% of Mancs have admitted to chucking out leftovers.
The survey found that, on average, a British family spends £136 on their Christmas food shopping, but 11% of that goes to waste.
This equates to a whopping £292,822,360 in Christmas food waste in total this year.
With almost 78% of survey respondents saying they would prefer to have their meals at home during the Christmas period, rather than dining out, the research uncovered that a quarter of Brits often throw away their Brussels sprouts, while one in 10 even admitted to binning everyone’s festive favourite, pigs in blankets.
Manchester has ranked among the worst UK cities for throwing away food at Christmas / Credit: Freepik | Flickr
Other northern cities ranking alongside Manchester in the not-so-coveted list of highest festive food waste offenders include Newcastle and Sheffield.
The capitals of London, Edinburgh, and Belfast also feature.
The news that Manchester has been named a festive food waste capital comes after a shocking study, also by AO, revealed back in August that Mancs throw away more than £1,000 of ‘freezable’ food every year too.
Featured Image – gpointstudio (via Freepik)
Trending
Tyson Fury says he hasn’t spoken to his wife in ‘three months’ whilst preparing for Usyk rematch
Danny Jones
Tyson Fury says hasn’t spoken to his wife Paris for three whole months while preparing for the much-anticipated Oleksandr Usyk rematch.
The Manc fighter is set to face the Ukrainian counterpart in the ‘Undisputed’ sequel, simply dubbed Fury vs Usyk 2, which will result in one unified heavyweight champion of the world.
Usyk’s victory over the Wythenshawe-born boxer back in May saw him take that title for the first time since 1999 (the only man to have done so in the four-belt era) but with the rematch nearly upon us, Fury could be set to steal that title away from him.
With that in mind, the pressure has clearly been on ever since he lost the first bout and, according to Tyson himself, he hasn’t spoken to his wife Paris Fury for virtually a quarter of a year as part of his immensely strict training camp.
Speaking to TNT Sports ahead of the match this weekend, he claimed: “I haven’t spoke to Paris in three months – not a word. [I’ve] not spoke to anyone, I haven’t been on my phone.”
Explaining that he simply removed all distractions to get his head in the right space ahead of the title decider, ‘The Gypsy King’ has been known to isolate himself from the rest of the world before a big fight in the past, but cutting contact with your spouse of 10 years and partner for nearly two decades is wild.
The 36-year-old went on to detail that in order to give himself the best shot at winning, he couldn’t keep switching between “beast mode to dad mode to wife mode” and so on.
In separate interviews with other outlets ahead of the highly-awaited rematch, Fury has made various other big claims about what boxing fans can expect from his own performance, including an admission that he needs to be “more focused this time and not do as much showboating” in the ring.
Nevertheless, he also assured the media that he isn’t a quitter and has promised he will not just “f*** up” his 37-year-old opponent but “retire” him. Usyk, on the other hand, has warned he will be a different challenge than the last time the two faced each other, predicting a knockout victory too.
Having downed Tyson more than once the last time around, he’s understandably confident of his chances.
Bold words from the pair of them, indeed, but this is all just part and parcel of the usual pre-fight build-up; all we really know is that Usyk won the previous face-off and Fury is the one with the point to prove.
While younger brother Tommy Fury recently had to pull out of his scheduled fight against Darren Till, during which tensions seriously boiled over during the first press conference, it looks as though there is no risk of more cancellations and any more ‘will they won’t they?’ antics between these two at least.
The rematch, or ‘Fury vs Usyk 2: Undisputed’ to give use its full title (the latest in Saudi Arabia’s growing fight scene and live sports programming as part of Riyadh Season) takes place this Saturday, 21 December, with the two set to clash once again from 10:25 GMT.
Who do you think will emerge victorious from this one and, more importantly, when do you think we’ll see the third and ‘final’ fight when they inevitably demand a trilogy?…
Emily Sergeant -
3rd May 2023 
