Short version - not the experience I wanted for my daughter's wedding day. Bottom line - we paid…read moreapproximately $149 per person for a buffet meal where the food was on par with tepid, bland hospital fare. THANKFULLY, We we had great planners, a great DJ, and loving family and friends who made the entire event fun and light.
If you decide to hire this company, here's some food for thought:
1) Executed Change orders are a MUST - and it's just good business hygiene
-Make a spreadsheet of exactly is provided in the package you buy.
-If you make "upgrade" selections, get the cost in writing, get an explicit change order (cost and quantity; even no-cost changes such as changes to the schedule / when food is to be served) signed by you and PC Catering Events and track as a line item in your spreadsheet.
Working with young brides and families can be challenging - it's an emotional time and things can get lost in translation. You would think a wedding catering event company that's been around for 30+ years would know this. Being rigid up front is far preferred to being inflexible on the day of the wedding when unexpected time changes come up at the last minute. (Our event ran ahead of schedule, but because of the serving time on the catering contract, we had a 40 minute gap until they would serve our food (it was not yet warm when we needed it). Thank goodness the DJ got us up and dancing for 40 minutes while we waited. When the food was served, it was warm, but not hot.)
2) If you don't receive the final invoice from PC Catering Events by the T minus 3 week date, send an email requesting it (with a read confirmation receipt - or better yet, certified mail). We started reaching out to PC in late March / Early April and got no response until I called a number I found on google on 4/12 and Kevin picked up the phone. If they tell you they already sent the final invoice prior to the 3-week milestone (and to check your spam mailbox if you don't have it), ask them to forward the sent email with the time stamp from their Sent inbox. (I asked for this repeatedly and they would not send.)
3) Carefully scrutinize your spreadsheet from item 1 above against the invoice they provide. I asked repeatedly for a breakdown of the additional cost that doubled our event cost. Our package, base price of $31.50 per person for 50 people became $149 per person for 50 people (inclusive of plates, linens, etc.) for a buffet set-up (not plated). I purchased the alcohol separately - so this was not factored into PC Events per person cost. Once I think I have it figured out, I will attach to this review.
4) Add a tasting to the contract. It's worth the expense. Based on positive food reviews, I can only presume that little to no effort went into caring for the quality of the food at our event. I don't know whether the "warm" temperature of the food was a contributor to its overall lack of appeal. It looked and tasted like it came from industrial packaging purchased from Gordon Food Services. I had 3 bites of salad. The knives provided were inadequate to cut the beef tenderloin. The appetizers were dry and had to be covered in sauce to make it possible to chew and swallow.
5). While you should not have to do this - get confirmation directly from the venue that the catering company has submitted all required paperwork to have the event. We received a letter from our venue 2 days before the wedding stating that PC Events couldn't work on their site because they had not turned in the paperwork. He eventually turned in the paperwork, but when I asked Kevin to send me proof of reinstatement, he told me to call the venue myself.
6) Go with your gut. If you get to the final 3 weeks and you sense things are spiraling out of control - don't throw good money after bad. I could and should have moved the event to another community space that was available to me, ordered pizzas, pasta dishes, and salads, and hired a local bartender. It would have cost less than the additional $3,000 I had to pay on top of my existing $5,000 deposit.
Incidentally, PC Events offered a $542 "discount" if my daughter and I would sign an agreement that neither I, my daughter, the wedding party, friends, and family would post any negative reviews about PC Events now or in the future in any form of print or media. (Basically they would pay me $542 for unlimited liability on me.) Since my daughter and I have no control over the potential actions of hundreds of people who could be linked to us, I had no choice but to pay the $542 to keep the event on the rails.
