Where do I even begin? There were a lot of concerns that were brought up to the caterer's attention a few weeks back. To this date, there wasn't even a response or acknowledgement these issues.
1. The timing on the food service was completely off. It took a bit of time for the lobsters to be served. The sautéed sausages and peppers were late. It was served as the guests were finishing up their lobsters. As discussed in a meeting we had back in May 2014. The salad, pasta and sausage & peppers were to be at the table just after the chowder was served and long before the main course. The saving grace was that since it was a feasting table, guests were able to interact with each other and not know how you failed at the food service delivery. A few of our guests though, since they do not eat seafood, decided to just stand next to the bar and drink because they thought that we were only serving lobsters. It is hard to understand how this could happen when the distance between the kitchen and the feasting table was even made closer compared to its original location.
2. Some of the bread bowls with the chowder were only half filled (mine was an example).
3. Most of the water mugs did not have water - it only had lemon slices. Our guests had to ask for water.
4. There was not enough staff to handle the dinner. Our wedding planner, had to work the dinner. He and his family were invited guests. I made it clear to him that he was to enjoy the celebration with us. Not having enough help is a poor excuse. They knew the layout of the property and the type of seating and service.
5. Since it was a feasting table, the wines should have been at the table as discussed, they failed to staff the event appropriately. Our guests had to get up and get wine at the bar. Again, I am not sure how this was overlooked.
6. The Champagne Toast - not sure what happened there. I had to ask a second time.
7. The cupcakes were served on the deck and the guests were told about it - right before the champagne toast. So some guests missed the toast (These were from guests comments), since they went up to the deck.
8. The Bibs. I just do not understand how that could be missed. I paid good money for those because they were custom-made for the wedding and it's really disappointing that this was totally messed up. It's money down the drain. And of course, they were never returned to us. I was informed later that them saw them last next to the fridge, but then again, we were never told of that. So not only that they were never used...they also ended up disappearing. Believe it or not, those bibs had some sentimental value. It was actually handed to them personally. I would have felt a little better if they were at least returned to us. We have worked with caterers for over 25 years in the hospitality industry - and they would always give back any personal items that they think need to be returned.
9. The Brunch. The contract states a bartender, 2 servers, the caterer and her assistant were the "servers" (so we were also paying the owner as a server?). There was no Bartender. We ended up making our own drinks and had to set the bar area up ourselves. One of out guests even stepped in to help when he got there. There was a charge for ice on the contract. We bought the ice. I was expecting the brunch station to be at least "manned" but it wasn't. I went into the house a few times and saw them both on their phones (texting or emailing...).
For the cost of the catering contract, it wasn't really worth it - especially with the fact that we even provided a lot of the ingredients - lobsters, ice, roasted pig, non-alcoholic mixers, sodas, water, wine, beer, alcoholic, etc. The service and the attention to detail was the most important to us and had the most weight in our eyes, but it just wasn't there. We have worked with reputable caterers in the past for about the same price or even less but received a much better value and service. In all cases, the caterer (or on site contact) would always check with clients to see if everything was OK, if there is anything else that we need and update us of any hiccups. In this case, I had to find out from our wedding planner and not from her. While our wedding planner was the main coordinator - the dinner part was her show - we hired her and paid good money for very poor service.
Even the post event correspondence was unprofessional. We did receive a refund check for the Bartender's Fee with a "Post It" stating so. There was not even an ounce of apology on that "note".
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