Acqua Catering & Events

les, chairs, lighting, a blank canvas. Instead, three days before the event, I walked in to make my final payment and found the hall fully decorated with Christmas décor. I was told the decorations could not be removed and that I simply had to “deal with it” because they “had nowhere to put them.” This was for a Yankee-themed 60th birthday, and the Christmas décor completely destroyed the vision I had spent months planning. Had I known this in July, I would NEVER have booked. Instead, I had to spend extra money at the last minute trying to cover décor I never asked for. Throughout planning, the venues point of contact: Katherine, was constantly disorganized, forgetting details, miscommunicating, and creating unnecessary stress. I asked about an ice cream bar back in September and was quoted $2.50 per person. On the final contract, it suddenly became $3. Even when I showed the original email, she insisted on the higher price. When I removed the ice cream bar entirely, it still showed up on my bill. This level of confusion and dishonesty set the tone for everything else that went wrong. But nothing compared to Katherine’s behavior on the day of the event. She hovered over my family while we decorated, mocked our décor, and even called it “ugly,” telling us we were making the venue look messy. She took photos and videos of our setup and sent them to the owner while talking negatively about my event. The constant comments, stares, and judgmental behavior felt like harassment, and at times, I genuinely felt bullied in a venue I PAID my hard-earned money for. She made fun of us, made me feel unwelcome, and even told my family that I was rude to staff—something multiple staff members confirmed was false. No one should ever feel intimidated or belittled at their own event. The problems continued during the event. Aside from the maître d’, Karen, and the bartenders—who were absolutely wonderful—the rest of the staff were rude, inattentive, and unprofessional. Around 11:30 PM, two people who were NOT part of my event walked in, sat down, and drank the beverages I paid for. I notified several staff members, but nothing was done. It wasn’t until my father confronted them that they finally left. Later, I learned they were relatives of an employee. This is unacceptable and unsafe. Several staff members were also seen drinking on the job. The coat check attendant was visibly intoxicated, stumbling around, and eventually disappeared, leaving guests waiting to retrieve their coats. Despite confirming months earlier that I could use my own chargers and napkin rings, I was suddenly told the night of the event that I could not. Yet another example of their lack of organization and communication. When I expressed to the owner, Lorraine, how much extra money I had to spend to fix the issues caused by their Christmas décor, her response was simply: “Well, it’s Christmas.” That dismissive attitude perfectly reflects how little they value their clients’ time, money, or vision. What should have been a beautiful celebration became one of the most stressful experiences of my life because of this venue’s disrespect, disorganization, and complete lack of professionalism. I worked too hard to make my father’s birthday special to be treated the way we were. Do not book here.