Aldo Leopold Nature Center — Attraction in Monona

Aldo Leopold Nature Center was hands down the best wedding venue choice for us. The venue itself was beautiful and came with unique amenities like access to their trails and use of their NOAA space sphere, along with use of their immersion theater to project personal photos during the reception. The lights in the main atrium and the outdoor deck off the atrium was beautiful and for ceremonies, there were multiple outdoor options to choose from - a choice you didn't have to make until the week of so you can weigh indoor vs outdoor ceremony based on weather and based on how the area looks at the time. An underrated perk is that you get access to the venue for the entire wedding weekend. It was so lovely to do the majority of our set up on Friday afternoon, touch ups and host the event on Saturday, and being able to come back to pack up on Sunday.

Ben, their event coordinator, was seriously fundamental to the success of our event from day one. When I expressed hesitance about having a WI wedding in April and asked about what nature would look like at the time, Ben dug into their archives to forward any pictures he had of outside the nature center at that time of year. When I pinged him almost weekly with different questions, Ben was timely and thorough in his responses. He was intentional in making sure we were set up for success on our day - doing and redoing and redoing venue layouts to align with what we envisioned, making sure that we had the equipment and support we needed for the day, etc. Him and Sarah did so much work during the event itself to make sure it ran smoothly, pulling out clear umbrellas for our guests when an unexpected rain shower came right before our ceremony began.

Aldo Leopold and their events team are an asset to your day - if you are looking for a venue that can do the ceremony + reception in one place, has beautiful outdoors, has unique features beyond your traditional venue, and gives you flexibility to have access the entire weekend, you simply have to choose Aldo. PLUS your partnership provides money for their mission of educating and...

We had our wedding at Aldo Leopold Nature Center, and it was more than we ever could have imagined. We love nature and love supporting youth in the outdoors - the prairie and building were absolutely beautiful and the perfect setting for our outdoor wedding.

We’re so honored to have been married here and so thankful to those who helped make it happen. We want to give special thanks to Ben & Duncan. We had no idea how to plan a wedding, nor any comprehension of how stressful it would end up being. No matter how chaotic and overwhelmed we felt, they were both there with us through every step of the process. Over hundreds of emails, phone calls and in-person visits, your patience and kindness eased every question and doubt we had throughout the planning and event. Without you both, our wedding day would never have been possible.

Thank you for making our wedding day one of the most cherished days of our lives. Aldo Leopold will forever have a special place...

A staff person came outside, stopped me and told me this afternoon that I was not welcome to pass through the property on the outside of the building on my walk with my leashed support animal (dog). The staff person indicated that only service animals are allowed. While I have no doubt that what this person who stopped me told me is true, I felt humiliated as I tried to explain to this person that my 40 lbs dog (Chloe) was not a service animal but she is a support animal as documented by my physician's prescription. As I was turning around to leave, the person said I should talk a walk in Woodland Park. Having celebrated my 69th birthday just yesterday and what with the inclined path at Woodland Park being wet, snowy and likely slippery this afternoon, I did not follow the person's suggestion. The irony of the chilly reception I received given that Aldo Leopold loved being with his dogs in the outdoors did...