Occasions Catering is such a consistent gift in my life! From the first business event that they catered for my company to the celebration of life that they helped me host when I lost my brother to the incredible birthday brunch we created together this August- they are truly amazing! Karla is so organized, responsive and wonderful to work with! She and her team kept everything in motion even, helped the guest feel so taken care of and managed to cover every last detail without breaking a sweat. They are professional, high quality, delightful and a must have partner to make your event a success! I can't say enough about how much I appreciate them! read more

Occasions Catering - Caterers Near Me - Olympia, Washington

This business didn't do anything to earn my business for my wedding next summer. Their prices online are very deceiving. Somehow the taco bar for $13 per person comes out to nearly $4k for 100 people. When I called inquiring about what menu options we were interested in, I made it very clear which ones we wanted and emailed the information as well. It took over a week to receive the quotes, the quotes did not include everything that had been requested. Not to mention, the service charge for each quote was nearly as much as the food itself. I'm all of paying for services and their time, but the quote had the service time until 12am which why in the world would a caterer need to stay that late at a wedding? When I asked questions and inquired about receiving an updated quote, the owner responded in email with "I'm heading out of the office for the day, but will get back to you tomorrow." We never heard from her again. I was skeptical about this catering company to begin with as they had pretty questionable reviews, but after the experience we had, I am really glad we booked elsewhere. I gave them two stars and not one because I never actually tried their food. read more

So I will start from the beginning. Communication was excellent. Karla always responded to my emails quickly and without judgment. No question was too big or small for her. Tasting day came and 4 of us went. The food was DELISH!! We were super excited to hire them to cater my daughters wedding. We chose the pasta bar with Alfredo, marinara and a creamy pesto tomato sauce. It came with bread, garlic butter and salad. We also chose the chicken topper. It was all so good! Wedding day came and OMG ... nothing was the same. The Alfredo sauce was like a buttery milk, like to cook forgot to add the cheese to the sauce. The creamy pesto was just tomato sauce, tan out of ranch for salads and we have HALF the amount of people I had told them we would have. My daughter, the bride, couldn't even eat dinner. I will say that Karla came through and made things right. However, that didn't do anything for the day of. I really hope that what happened to us, does not happen to someone else. read more

We hired Occasions for my daughter's wedding. I can't stress enough how great they were to work with. The planning part was smooth and they communicated and responded to questions promptly. On the day of the wedding, they arrived at the venue on time and dove right it setting up, making sure everything was to our liking, etc. The tables were all set beautifully and both their service staff and bar staff were excellent. Most importantly the food was delicious and got a lot of compliments. We highly recommend them!! read more

We were excited to hire Occasions Catering for a wedding anniversary --a very special event-- but the staff started the food service late, the prime rib was overly cooked and dry, the macaroni and cheese tasted as if it has been cooked the day before (and had very little cheese), drinks we had paid for were never served. It was a bad experience overall at a high price. I hope others don't rely on Occassions Catering for their special events. read more

This experience has been nothing more than painful. At no point have you tried to earn my business you have been focused on your bottom line. It is a disappointment to have interacted with this company. I have already met 3 other caters who are not charging me for food that I may or may not like as well as wanting to take the time to sit down to figure this out. My parents were ready to pay if that's what I had wanted but they were also unimpressed with your quote and communication with me. I'm the youngest and this is the fourth wedding they have helped arrange and they have never seen this lack of professionalism and cold customer approach. Thanks for ruining this experience for me... hopefully others can mend the distrust you have developed. And this review will help others avoid interacting with you. Kate Teefy read more

Worst customer service ever. They do not even deserve one star. As soon as my finance and I told them we had our own linens and table ware, and were not serving alcohol their whole demeanor changed. The first proposal was so ridiculously exspensive I decided to use the picnic tables provided by the venue for the majority of my guests. I asked for a revised proposal to remove 10 tables and to change to a less exspensive chair as I would still need chairs for our ceremony. The event specialist sent me a proposal that changed the company who they contracted with for the table and chair rentals, changed the number of chairs from 75 to 60 and increased the set up and delivery fee from $150 to $320. I do not know how 15 of my guests would have sat down without a chair to sit on. I asked her to fix this as I still need 75 chairs and to use the original company as it was less exspensive. I was promised a revised proposal and it never came. Seven business days and a total of nine days past the day I was originally promised an updated proposal I was finally contacted via email and still with out a revised proposal. The "event specialist " made it perfectly clear in her email that it was my fault there was no revised proposal because I was so busy and had not had time to respond to her last email. I call bologna. She failed to do her job and tried to point the blame. At no time did I ever feel as they wanted or worked to gain my business. Also, FYI they charge you 23% business operations fee and then add sales tax after the business operations fee. Also, they do not break down the per item cost in their proposals. They only include a total cost for that section. Also, they charge you money for each of their food preparation tables. Bottom line is their poor customer service and level of unprofessionalism made me loose all interest in ever hiring Occassions Catering for this event or any I may have in the future. read more

These guys are great with organizing and getting back to us promptly. We had our wedding with Occasions Catering and it was beautiful. Table was setup beautifully and they were on time, everything was as discussed before the event. Food tast was just so good. They deserve 5 stars overall but I took one out becuase of the small issue that I had with them. My only complaint is the servers and the flow of the dining experience. We arranged Soup and Salad delivered to the tables before the buffet and it was a bit of mess. We had total of 8-10 tables with 100 guests and it took so long for them to serve the Soup and Salad to each guest. By the time they were serving table 3-4, all the people who already got their soup and salad finished their portion and waiting to be told to go for buffet. I had to ask my husband to go and ask if it's okay to go for buffet and he asked Carla (the owner) and people started to go. I guess I was expecting Carla to be in the dining hall and advising staffs but she was busy in the kitchen which was a small disappointment. Cake cutting and distribution took a long time too after that. They packed foods for us when leaving and it was great.. we enjoyed them at the hotel. I liked working with these guys and I will call them again if needed. read more

I can't say enough good things about Karla and the team at Occasions Catering. We struggled with what to feed guests at our outdoors, socially distant wedding, and I'm so glad we found Occasions! Karla suggested some elegant picnic box options that could be served at room temperature, and even accommodated a number of special requests. Our guest just loved the food, and some even commented that it was the best wedding food they'd ever had! The thoughtful packaging and well coordinated delivery service was also a huge plus. read more

All the negative reviews are a bit strange to me! We had Occasions cater our wedding and we didn't notice any problems during the reception. I mean, it was a blur for my husband and I, but the food never ran out as far as I know and it tasted great. The service was good, too. And we didn't run out of food at all. I don't think it's up to the catering service to walk a couple through everything the contract says they are and are not doing! If it says in the contract they aren't setting up tables, then don't expect them to. My advice is read the contract before you sign with any company. Karla was so friendly to me during the whole planning and always answered my questions. The final cost ended up being more than we wanted to spend but that was because we added extra rentals like tables. Would totally recommend' read more

My wedding ceremony and reception was at the Heritage Room in April 2018. I was assigned to work with Lauren as the event coordinator that was included in the venue cost. We chose this venue because of the large open room, bridal suite, and catering availability - no fuss was the desired goal. As a DIY planner, I had all of the major details down that I was able to take care of outside of what the venue offered and "coordinated". From the get-go working with Lauren felt like pulling teeth. It seemed like she was asking me questions about the decor, food, etc. at random and without much organization. There were multiple occasions when she would not reply to my e-mails for over a week or more. After trying to reach her via phone, I ended up speaking to the company owner to discuss an expectation of a response. I was informed that the policy for event coordinator responses is within 48 hours. After this, the EC was more prompt on replying in a timely manner. The day of the wedding: - Our EC served lunch in the bridal suite but forgot condiments and left for over 45 minutes to get them from another shop - Wait staff was rude when asked why, very close to the ceremony, all organza chair ties weren't on and plates were missing from table settings (provided by the venue as part of the rental) - It was a VERY rainy day. The EC told the guests that they had free parking close to the venue AFTER several people parked farther away and were saturated on the walk to the room. - The front doors were unlocked prior to the ceremony beginning, which caused a major unplanned interruption during family portraits. This should have been locked until the ceremony began. - The bar (open) ran out of two types of alcohol within 30 minutes after opening. We had a small guest count and a large number of the guests did not imbibe. - We were asked questions about the flow of our reception on the fly, as they came. There was no communication with the EC prior to this about what the timing of the reception would be, so we did not expect for the lead server to repeatedly come up to us and inquire about what "our vision is" or "what time to do X" - The "midnight snack box" was a small bottle of water, 2 pieces of cheese, and a large amount of mixed nuts.... All weddings have hiccups. A large part of the hiccups (among other things...) experienced were clearly due to a lack of organization, professionalism, and communication. I would not plan another event at The Heritage Room and will definitely not recommend it to anyone else. read more

We had planned on using occasions and renting the heritage room for our wedding, but frankly, we did not receive the communication or service we expected. They didn't even get a price for catering to us until weeks after we had met with them and the price for the room was not solidly communicated and ended up being more than we expected. Catering prices were outrageous and we finally just decided to back out and find something better. I would not recommend them. Im sure they are very busy people but I expected a little more interest in our business since they wanted so much money. read more

We used Occassions for my daughters wedding. They were very prompt in getting back to us on any questions we had. Their food was excellent, our compliments to the chefs and cooks. We also were close in the amount ordered, only a little left over. I have one suggestion for others using Occassions. If you are involved in the wedding/reception be sure you give the lead of any instructions you feel needs to be done. We purchased enough champagne for every table if the guest when ask would like champagne or sparkling cider. I found later they went around and only offered what was in hand. Our guests shouldn't have had to ask for champagne, both should have been offered. If I had known this wouldn't be done I would have instructed the lead to do so. Very disappointed only 3 bottles of champagne was served out of 125 people, and at some tables no offer of champagne, guests should not have to ASK. As the Mother of the Bride, on the day of the celebration I wouldn't be thinking to have to do this. All in all it was beautiful! read more

They took my money for services not provided. They employers are totally misleading and the owner is rude. Don't do business with this company. Very unfriendly and misrepresented business practice. They don't deserve even one star. read more

I had my wedding reception at The Heritage Room and had Occasions cater the event. They were fabulous at handling all my emails and responding quickly. Brianna was my contact, and she could not be more accommodating. She did so many adjustments based on my crazy bride requests, and was very clear when I asked about prices and the breakdown of different costs. They organized the event so smoothly, and the room was set up beautifully. The servers were awesome, and I could not have asked for a better space and caterer (especially for the price). I had many guests tell me how much they loved the food, coffee service, and servers. They were very affordable compared to similar menus in the area, and using Occasions as the caterer for The Heritage Room meant they cleaned up after for no additional charge. My only complaint were the bartenders. They put out a tip jar without asking me, and I found out later it's because they don't get any of the gratuity that you pay Occasions. As I understand that, it would have been nice to know ahead of time so I could have paid them their tips and not had a tacky tip jar at my wedding - I did not want my guests to have to pull out their wallets! They also were quite rude to some of my guests and cut them off for coming up to get drinks more than 3 times in 1 hour. While this seems like a great rule, many of the guests were getting drinks for other people (I never once got my own drink), plus the wine glasses were more like 4oz glasses. I know they didn't want to be liable for anyone over consuming, but seriously... it's a wedding, and if someone was acting drunk that is one thing - some of the guests that were cut off had only had two drinks. Even though I was put off by the bartenders, everything else was absolutely perfect, and I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to do a wedding or any event for that matter. read more

After an unfortunate incident with another local caterer, we decided on working with occasions for the day of our wedding. They were very prompt with returning emails and answering any questions that we had. We starting working with a gal named Victoria who unfortunately a few weeks before the wedding left the company, but our wedding was taken over by Karla who helped with all of the last minute preparations. Day of: Awesome. The staff helped my bridal party set up the ceremony space as well as the reception space. Things looked beautiful. Food was delicious, but if you are getting the pasta menu with meat topper I suggest you get extra meat. We ended up with a lot of food left over but the meat was gone faster than anything. The staff were prompt with helping to pick up but didn't butt their was into things. Offered amazing help but kept themselves on the sidelines. When in came time to do our cake we had an issue getting the ribbon off. The head chef of the night, can't remember his name, came to our rescue and was able to removed the glued piece of burlap with a trusty pair of scissors. As we didn't have a formal departure that motioned everyone it was time to go, the staff was wonderful and waited until my family mentioned that it was time to start cleaning up. A few days later I received an email from Karla asking how things went. I appreciated that communication knowing that I wasn't just lost in the mix once my wedding was over. read more

I had a terrible experience with this company. The first time I met the owner of the company, she made me cry. With a several thousand dollar bill, and a contract locked in at that point, I was forced to continue with the catering. The coffee service had no creamer, the food was barely warm and tasted akin to airline food, no plates were laid out for service, linens weren't boxed, and the staff only seemed to be concerned with getting in and out rather than providing the customer service they were hired for. At one point I walked into the borrowed venue space and found some of the caterers eating the food I had purchased. I have never paid so much money to be completely disrespected, or for such poor quality service and food. So, word of warning to all you would be brides out there, if you're looking for concession stand food, sour servers and need a little help feeling terrible about yourself, Occasions will be happy to accommodate for the low low price of 4,000 dollars. read more

Occasions catered my daughter's wedding reception at Historic 1625 Tacoma Place in Tacoma last Friday. Everything went fantastic and our nearly 200 guests raved that it was the best food they had ever had at a wedding (flank steak and NW salmon). So thankful for making this such a wonderful day for my daughter and new son-in-law! read more

They did such a fantastic job at our wedding last Saturday. Karla made the process a breeze and she answered every question I had thoroughly and her responses were all quick. I am so pleased with their service I would recommend them to all brides. Thank you Karla and staff! read more

absolutely wonderful catering business. embody all qualities you'd expect in a top notch caterer. would recommend to my family and friends. pick Occasions, you wont be disappointed. thanks for doing your part to ensure a perfect wedding day for Matthew and I!!! read more

Occasions catering is totally misleading on the service they promise. My wife and I had a stressful time during our wedding ceremony. We could not fully enjoy our wedding due to us having to keep an eye and do the caterers job for them... My wife's friends are the ones who set up the tables not the caterers. They literally did nothing for the amount we paid! Everything was so uncoordinated! Nothing was done on time.. Food was an hour late which had our guests all starving and asking when food was going to be served.. When food was finally served they gave everyone the smallest portions and then ran out.. This was so ridiculous as we didn't even have all guests show up.. Only 4 people got seconds and that was only because they were skimping the food. The chicken breast literally was the size of a chicken nugget. No one should be having to go through this during their wedding day.. They are so unprofessional when we called to explain our horrible experience it took over a week to hear back a response. Which was only an email. Everytime we called we had some excuse that the manager was out and would eventually get back to us. This isn't a rant. These are facts to save the next couple from the headache... read more

I LOVED working with Occasions! The food was amazing, the staff was professional, courteous, accommodating and so polite! They catered two events of mine, one work event and my wedding. People are STILL talking about the food! (The mashed potato martini bar was a hit!) I'm writing this from the point of the bride-They make it really easy for the planner/bride (in this case), as they take most of the work off your plate so you can focus on the many other parts of the plan. I also wanted two items that were not on their menu. A chocolate/caramel fondue (which they provided) and a specialty item from a local restaurant, which they allowed us to bring that in on our own (which I found most caterers were not as open to this idea). Bottom line, they wanted what WE wanted, and they did whatever it took to make that happen. Brianna, our catering manager was a saint, and I would recommend her and this company in a heartbeat. You wont be disappointed in the slightest! The only thing I would recommend is that you read your contract/proposal carefully in case of accounting errors. But that goes for ANY company...catering or not. (becaause NONE of us ever make a mistake when it comes to math lol) At the end of the day, I couldn't have been more pleased and my guests had rave reviews. They even stocked our room full of food since we (bride/groom) didn't have much of a chance to eat. We didn't miss a thing from our menu, and THANK GOD. Because it was delicious!! read more