Carrie Dove Catering & Events

The food that Carrie Dove prepared for our wedding was perhaps the best wedding food I’ve ever had! So many guests came up and told us how good the food was, a huge complement to their team! Working with them was also so easy - from the tasting to the day of, the made the process fun and stress free. As well, the staff that served us were so professional and friendly, we also heard so many good things about the service from our guests. Hire Carrie Dove for your wedding, you will not regret it!!

I can't say enough good things about Carrie Dove! This is a long overdue review of my daughter's wedding last summer. With Kit's assistance Carrie Dove catered a vegan, nut free, alcohol free wedding and everything was fabulous! From the food to the set-up to the coordination they couldn't have been more accomodating. Kit's help all along and the day of the event was very much appreciated. Even the "mocktail" bar was a hit. It was festive, fun and served as if the drinks were fancy cocktails. My daughter looked long and hard for a caterer who could accomodate a vegan/nut free wedding. Not an easy task, but the chef took on the challenge with great success! From the beautiful table settings to lovely signage, no detail was overlooked by Carrie Dove and staff. Thank you, thank you CD with a special shout out to Kit and the fabulous chef! It was worth every penny! Highly recommend.

Carrie Dove catered our wedding last September, and even though it's been a few months I still want to take the opportunity to say I cannot recommend them enough! My family still talks about how amazing the food was at the event! Not only the quality and taste of the food, but Carrie Dove absolutely nailed the special requests we asked for, executed the logistics perfectly, and even made sure my husband and I actually got to eat! I still think about them to this day and am so glad I chose them as my wedding caterer! Special shout-out to Kit for answering all our questions and orchestrating everything so well! Thank you, Carrie Dove!

My husband and I got married on April 10, 2023 at the Brazilian Room at Tilden Park in Berkeley, CA. Carrie Dove catered our wedding for 130+ guests - who would not stop raving about how great the food was. Starting from our first few interactions with them and scheduling our tasting - the experience was AMAZING! I still tell everyone about the personalized parking space that was waiting for us when we arrived at the tasting site. I'm vegan and my husband is not (and he is a pretty picky eater), so it was challenging for us to find a place that had great options for both of us, and Carrie Dove really nailed it. We were even able to make small adjustments to the menu items we chose. We ended up going with passed apps - lamb sliders, bruschetta with a cashew cream sauce, and vegan spring rolls and subbed the chili sauce with a peanut sauce - then, for entrees - filet, seabass, and stuffed portobello (vegan option). Once we officially selected Carrie Dove and confirmed the menu, we were assigned Cinthya as our event coordinator and I was able to work with her on the finishing touches. She was so helpful when I had questions and shared a super detailed day-of timeline with us after we talked through the flow which really made me feel comfortable that she had a clear understanding of our vision. On the day of the wedding, the event went so smoothly thanks to Cinthya and the CDC team. The venue décor and reception tables looked beautiful - exactly what we were hoping for. Thank you so much again CDC for the best wedding we could have asked for! 10/10 recommend!

For our morning wedding, we had an array of small plates for a buffet lunch without a seated chart---Carrie Dove embraced our vision and supported our non-traditional approach! Our guests raved about the food. We have many food related allergies in our family that were accommodated without compromising on taste and quality. The event coordinator went above and beyond to help our wedding go smoothly. And the desserts were amazing!

Carrie Dove catered our wedding a few weeks ago at the Brazilian Room in Berkeley, and we could not have been happier. You get so much more than just a caterer with Carrie Dove - we worked with Kit, who was a tremendous help in planning and executing all aspects of our wedding, including the timeline, floor plan, set up, take down, rentals (speakers, heat lamps, linens, you name it), transporting items to and from the venue, and coordination with our other vendors. And, the food was phenomenal! Wedding planning was essentially stress free because I knew Kit had everything covered and was thinking through all of the details, and the wedding went flawlessly because of Kit and her incredible team, who were totally on top of it all. I can't recommend Carrie Dove more. Thank you Kit and team!!

Carrie Dove was absolutely wonderful. My husband and I got married in May of 2022. We delayed our wedding 1 year due to COVID and Carrie Dove was super flexible and accommodating. In addition to this, we had numerous tasting and had a few tweaks and they followed it perfectly. On our wedding day, the food was AMAZING and the service was stellar. They made a specific meal for one guest that couldn't eat solids and ensure the place was completely clean before leaving. I had a private venue and they truly went above and beyond to make sure it was spectacular. I would highly recommend and would love to work with Carrie Dove again in the future.

Stop your search - you just found the BEST caterer. We cannot speak highly enough about Carrie Dove. From our tasting experience to our wedding day, they were incredible to work with. All of the apps, dinner, drinks and desserts were amazing - and we continue to hear rave reviews from our friends about the service and dinner... especially the short ribs and cauliflower sliders! One of our friends even said "if that was a restaurant, I'd go back all the time for those short ribs!" another said it was the best wedding meal they had ever had. We also appreciated that Carrie Dove not only handled all food and drinks, but coordinated all event rentals (tables, linens, chairs, etc.) which made the big day that much easier for us.

Carrie Dove catered our wedding and did an absolutely amazing job! They are not a budget option, but you truly do get what you pay for, and I’m so glad we went with them. The planning process with Carrie Dove was incredibly easy. Working with Victoria, we did a consultation, we did a tasting, and picked a menu. What I didn’t realize beforehand was how much more than just the dinner the caterer would handle. Victoria managed our rental contract for us as well, helped us plan the space, and advised us on the alcohol order as well. We rented beautiful linens through them directly as well. She was so easy to work with throughout the process, always helpful, and super responsive. When there was a crisis with the alcohol order the day before the wedding, Victoria stepped in and reassured us that she was going to make sure she figured it out for us, putting us at ease. The food itself was incredibly good! We got compliments from many of our guests on the food, with several saying unprompted that it was the best wedding food they’d ever had. They were able to easily accommodate a wide range of dietary restrictions. Also, their servers did a fantastic job throughout the night taking care of us and our guests. Sadly, we learned after our wedding that we were Victoria’s last wedding, as she left Carrie Dove the next week. Still, we would highly recommend Carrie Dove!

Carrie Dove Catering is absolutely incredible! We hired Carrie Dove for our January wedding and we are so glad we did. The food was one of the most important aspects of our wedding to us and we really wanted our catering to stand out. First off, they made us feel so special when went to having our tasting. Everything was so thoughtful, including a cute welcome sign with our names in front of a parking spot just for us. Fast forward leading up to the wedding, they were so communicative and knew everything that needed to be worked out with our venue regarding space, permits, etc. Day-of, the food was INCREDIBLE. Carrie Dove is the perfect mix of elegant and delicious food at an actual reasonable price. The value of what you get with Carrie Dove is unreal. Food was prepared perfectly, including the steak (which is not always done well at weddings!), and the addition of the dessert table was a huge hit with our guests. I cannot recommend them enough or give them enough praise!

I, honestly, cannot say enough good things about my experience with Carrie Dove Caterers. I worked with Kit, the event director, to plan my son's wedding reception. What can typically be a stressful experience, was made beautiful by Kit and her organization skills. She kept me on track and the results were simply amazing. Everyone I have spoken to since the reception has commented on the food. They have each said it was the best wedding food they have ever had and they are correct. We had multiple food allergies and food preferences. Not only was the food made to accommodate these needs, the quality was on par with the other plates of food. The wait staff identified those guests with specified food requirements and quietly and professionally provided their dinners. Guests felt special and respected instead of outsiders. We had a VERY difficult venue manager and Kit was able to navigate all road blocks with ease. The kitchen was suddenly not accessible. Carrie Dove simply brought portable ovens and cooked everything in the parking lot. Guests never knew that there had been a change. Thank you all!

ABSOLUTELY AMAZIING! We originally chose Carrie Dove Catering as they were an approved vendor for our venue. They also serve all alcohol that you purchase, which for us was a huge deal as we needed an open bar and LOTS of alcohol. I knew this would save us a ton of money for alcohol as we were permitted to buy our own and there are no corkage or extra fees with Carrie Dove. Kit Shires worked with us and was also our day of coordinator. She is so on top of everything! I have already told her this, but we were warned about giving vendors some slack right after Covid as they are just getting back to the swing of things and may be rusty. Kit is platinum! Covid seemed to never affect her work, she never rusted in the first place. We did not know where to start for a wedding day timeline and she completed it in no time! The food... So, our officiant went up for the buffet and got a little of each item to try. He immediately went back up and served himself an entire plate of mac and cheese. During cocktail hour, my husband and I were ahead of schedule. A friend of mine immediately asked if I tried the ahi skewers; she said her husband never eats raw fish but had already eaten three of them and was in search of another server for more. Our other friends had a server take a photo for them and requested she leave them the platter of hors d’oeuvres. Our grandmother even requested Carrie Dove's information because she was so impressed with both the service and food.

Hiring Carrie Dove for our wedding caterer was one of the best decisions for our wedding. The primary reason behind the 5-stars is how great the food itself is. It won us over easy at our tasting, and I thoroughly enjoyed my meal day of, and I'm drooling thinking about it again now! When recapping the wedding with guests, many of them mention the delicious food as one of the highlights. There are tons of options and they are very flexible building and tuning the menu for you. And if that isn't enough, the service is very professional and easy to work with. Our package came with rentals and coordination, it was great having this all from one centralized point of contact instead of managing multiple vendors. Picking out our dishes and linens was a cinch, plenty of options. We didn't have very specific details how we wanted the place settings and they knew how to make it look great with our minimal direction. It rained on our wedding day which led to last minute changes in the layouts and they were good at adapting. I would hire them again if I had another event to plan.

TL;DR You only plan a wedding once and it can be an overwhelming experience. This is the A+ team you want in your corner for their delicious food and high-quality service. Request Katherine, Adrianna, and Victoria! The details: Carrie Dove was absolutely the best part of our wedding (aside from the fact that both my husband and I love food). When we first met, there was no question that we wanted them to be part of our wedding. We instantly hired them to handle everything from our ceremony and reception. They went above and beyond to make sure our day was nothing but perfection. They continually astounded us with delicious food, their attention to detail, high quality of service, and just genuinely good people. Months after our wedding, we still have guests telling us that it was the best food and service they have ever experienced at at wedding. People are still raving about the dinner, strawberry shortcake desserts, and the strong drinks / fantastic service at our bar. A few highlights: --We were on a very tight budget and Katherine/Adrianna worked with us to find accommodations that not only met our budget but also ended up being the perfect touches to our reception. This kind of flexibility was a gem to find, especially in comparison to other vendors who seemed like they just wanted our money. --Adrianna's attention to detail elevated our entire wedding reception to feel so luxurious. She helped me fulfill my "Mariah Carey on a budget" aspirations (ironic, I know). Whether it was making special upgrades for us or helping us make minor changes to our seating arrangements, her thoughtful advice perfectly guided us. I felt like Adrianna was as-invested in our wedding as we were. Talk about an MVP!! --Victoria went above and beyond to keep things on track for our ceremony, whether it was directing our florists or hustling our other vendors to stay on time. I burst into happy tears after seeing how she made our vision come to life...and then some! --The entire team was incredibly responsive to all our questions and even some last-minute requests. While I'm sure they have many other events at any given time, we always felt like we were getting 1:1 service. Katherine, Adrianna, and Victoria -- thank you for everything!! I plan on using Carrie Dove for all major events in the future. xoxo

Carrie Dove was absolutely amazing! We cannot recommend them more highly! The food was delicious (many of our guests told us it was the best wedding food they’ve had). We had stations and the “build your own poke” station was a particular hit! The gorgonzola mac and cheese and the walnut encrusted seabass were also fan favorites. Beyond the food though, Carrie Dove’s service is really what stands out. Throughout the planning process they were responsive and helpful, and at the wedding they were perfect! Victoria was our main point of contact and she was on hand all night making sure everything ran smoothly. There was also a member of the staff who made sure we got to try all of the appetizers, kept our drinks filled, and got us plates of all of the food throughout the night. After the wedding they packed up all of the décor and other items on our behalf and brought them back to their warehouse so we didn’t need to worry the night of, we were able to sleep in and pick everything up a couple days later. Leading up to the wedding Victoria was on top of everything. My mother made fairly intricate centerpieces that involved some assembly for turning on little embedded lights but the Carrie Dove team took them in stride and they were all set up flawlessly. Everything looked so professional too – I brought hot sauces to make into a hot sauce bar as a nod to my late father and they set up each of the hot sauces on different stands and really made it look special. That kind of care and attention to detail was amazing. Also we really liked how Carrie Dove’s contract was very straightforward, there’s no fine print or hidden fees like we saw in some other contracts such as for handling the centerpieces or for storing items before/after the wedding. We had a great time at our wedding – the food and drinks were great, our guests were well taken care of and we knew the details were in good hands. We highly recommend Carrie Dove :-)

They were so easy to work with. Everyone kept telling me throughout the night it was the best wedding food they’ve ever had. Try their truffle Mac. It’s so good. I had made some last minutes changes and Victoria, the even coordinator, was so great and accommodating. Their staff was super attentive as well. I don’t think anyone had an empty glass! Thank you Carrie Dove and Victoria!

We had a good feeling about Carrie Dove the first time I talked to Katherine on the phone. She just sounded so sweet, professional and personable. The food was DELICIOUS. They have plenty of choices to choose from and everything that we chose was so flavorful. We knew the food was going to be such a big hit, and it just made us so happy to hear all our guests rave about how good it was and how much of it there was! Katherine was EVERYTHING! I couldn’t be happier or more appreciative of everything she has done for my husband and me. She was so easy to communicate with, she always kept me updated and was so on top of letting me know what I needed to do. She was accommodating of any special requests I had, including some of my mom’s! When she told us she would be helping us with some of the planning a couple weeks out from the wedding, we really didn’t know what to expect, but there is no doubt she went above and beyond anything we could have imagined and I don’t know what I would have done without her. She definitely helped me with details of the wedding I didn’t even think about and worked seamlessly with our other vendors. I love the fact that Carrie Dove is like a one-stop-shop catering company. They help with food, staff, linens, setup and breakdown, planning, etc. For a bride that didn’t have concrete details or ideas about her wedding, working with them helped in every way possible. It was also a plus that they’ve worked with our reception venue plenty of times already. I can’t recommend them enough!

Victoria was fantastic to work with. I had envisioned a free-flowing party atmosphere at the Chabot Space and Science Center, where guests could wanter amongst the exhibits and mingle with one another. Victoria at Carrie Dove Catering helped make this dream come true with passed appetizers and food stations that opened at various parts of the evening. She also helped pick out lounge seating, linens, tables, and made some gorgeous centerpieces (moss balls in glass jars with LED twinkle lights to go along with the space theme). It was absolutely perfect, and I'm sad we didn't get to eat more of the food! She also was very accommodating to all the food allergies we listed and made sure that everyone had something to eat. Highly recommend!

I cannot say enough good things about Carrie Dove Catering. They handled the rentals, setup, breakdown, staffing, etc. Their customer service from the first email to the last was exceptional, and their food was fresh and delicious. We received many compliments from guests. We worked with Katherine and Amanda who were both awesome! Amanda understood our venue well and was detail-oriented, organized, helpful and responsive throughout the planning process. I highly recommend!

The absolute best wedding planning decision my husband and I made this year was deciding to hire Carrie Dove Events and Catering. We had originally planned to go with a different caterer that didn’t end up working out, which we now know was a huge blessing in disguise! Adam, Kit and Ashley (all of whom I communicated with throughout the process) were ALL fantastic! We worked with Kit and Ashley all the way until the day of and we couldn’t have had such a successful wedding without them! The tasting was incredible, the consistent quick to respond communication kept me at ease, and their ability to go above and beyond with everything just continued to amaze us! Even the little things they did for us, like having a bar menu sign ready for us (the one thing I didn’t get done in time), assisting in our ceremony set up, running out to get more alcohol when we ran a little low after cocktail hour, helping to create a beautiful dessert table, and even making sure our 2 year old daughter got some milk later in the evening – the list truly goes on and on! Our guests raved about the food (especially our fun and unique cocktail appetizers – who can say no to a mini taco or grilled cheese bite?!). So many of our guests said that this was the BEST wedding food they’ve ever had. We honestly can’t say enough praise for Carrie Dove, they completely captured who we are as a couple and we couldn’t be happier!!!

We were very happy with Carrie Dove Catering & Events. The food was great, the staff were both plentiful and absolutely a pleasure to deal with on the big day. We had a coordinator from Carrie Dove who was on top of everything on the big day too. Having Carrie Dove do the catering and the coordination made a huge difference in our ability to relax and let them take care of the wedding (so we really had to do very little that day).

We absolutely loved working with Carrie Dove for our wedding. We met with them once early on in our planning process for a tasting, and just loved the food. We worked with both Katherine and Amanda during the process, and Amanda was our consultant during the final stages of planning and the day of. She was amazing! She put so much thought into even the smallest details, and would email me with suggestions about linens etc, which I so appreciated! Carrie Dove handled out catering, service, as well as all of our rentals, and made everything so, so easy on us. The food was also incredible, and our guests were raving for days about how good it was. They also packed us up a huge amount of leftovers to have the next day. The folks who worked during our wedding were so helpful and nice. On multiple occasions one of the waitresses brought me one of our signature cocktails and a plate of appetizers. At every stage Carrie Dove went above and beyond to make our wedding day amazing! Everything was seamless. I highly recommend working with them.

We had many compliments are our food and really enjoyed the day. My mother has breast cancer and can't eat any soy products because of this. Other caterers had difficulty understanding this meant ANY soy, but Carrie Dove was very helpful and put it in the contract just to make sure I wouldn't worry about it. They even made seitan for the first time so that my mother and the vegetarian guests could all enjoy the food. We had pulled pork sandwiches, bbq seitan ribs, the most amazing green beans, mac and cheese, and a great fresh salad with avocado, grilled corn, heirloom tomatoes, and mozzarella with apple cider vinegar. It was perfect for our southern themed wedding and very yummy. The passed appetizers were also amazing and plated beautifully. They were all easy to work with. One of them even spotted that our venue had forgotten to order napkins and intervened to make sure we had them! Would recommend them to anyone.

We used Carrie Dove for our October 2014 wedding in the Presidio. Because we were planning our SF wedding from Europe, much of our communication was through email. Adam easily answered all of our questions/concerns, gave us tons of options for what we could do for our cocktail hour and reception, and was conscious of our budget. I must have exchanged hundreds of emails with Amanda and she was ALWAYS prompt in responding, helpful with her answers/suggestions, and accommodating with any changes. When we first started this process, we were a little skeptical of "wedding food" but knew that we HAD to have amazing food at our wedding. Adam and Amanda definitely eased our worries and our wedding could not have been more perfect! Most of the dishes we tried at our tasting we ended up having at the wedding and they were absolutely as good the day of the wedding as they were during the tasting (if not better)! We also had some a handful of requests for items that weren't on the original options that Adam suggested. - We wanted dumplings from a specific restaurant in San Francisco and they had no problem cooking and serving them. - We really wanted Beef Wellington as an entree choice and they were more than happy to accommodate. It turned out beautifully (which it easily could have gone the other way, as it isn't an "easy" dish to make, especially in large quantities)! - We also wanted an oyster bar and a cheese table (both with very specific oysters and cheeses) and Adam and Amanda made it happen! The oyster bar was perfect. They also made Oysters Rockefeller, in addition to having the raw oysters, and both were fantastic! - For our late-night snack, we wanted In-N-Out Burgers and Amanda and her team took care of the whole process! We were also able to buy our own alcohol, which was significantly cheaper than us having to pay per person/per drink. We were able to have the alcohol delivered to their Emeryville office and dropped off all of the other stuff (escort cards, menu cards, champagne flutes, cake knives, etc) the week of the wedding so we didn't have to worry about it getting to the venue. Two weeks before the wedding, we had an issue with another vendor that ultimately ended up with us needing Carrie Dove's team to arrive a few hours earlier to set up and us renting the chairs/tables from the venue rather than through Carrie Dove. Amanda was quick to respond with solutions to the problem and flexible with all of our changes. The changes were always seamless and we really appreciated that Amanda was so calm and did not add to our stress. I can't give Amanda enough compliments for all of the hard work she put into our wedding!!! The day of the wedding, everything went smoothly. Everything in the venue looked amazing and the food blew us away (in taste, presentation and portion size)!! We got countless compliments from our guests that it was an amazing meal. Amanda had every little detail covered, whether it was the table settings, escort cards, cake stand or the great servers/chefs/bartenders. When we completely underestimated the vodka-drinking-abilities of our guests, Amanda even sent someone to go buy more vodka half an hour into our cocktail reception! We could not have asked for more from Carrie Dove and they were a HUGE part of why our wedding turned out exactly how we had hoped it would. They definitely went above and beyond our expectations!! I would not hesitate for a second to recommend Carrie Dove!!

Food was the most important item in our wedding and we could not be happier with the caterer choice! We took our time in deciding on the caterer and sought out a few from the approved list of the Brazilian Room. Among all the caterers that we contacted, Carrie Dove came up with the most creative and interesting menu. To make sure that the food tasted exactly like they sounded, we scheduled a tasting and was sold on the spot. From the initial meeting, Adam was very easy to work with and was prompt in answering our questions. He provided us with all-inclusive quotes and worked with us to fit the bill within our budget without compromising on the quality of the food. As we got closer to the wedding, Kit took over and it was great having her as our event coordinator! She made sure that everything went smoothly and had the venue setup the way we wanted. The food served at our wedding tasted exactly like it did at the tasting and we received so many compliments from our guests on how delicious it was. We opted out of a wedding cake and had desserts catered through them, which were also very yummy. A wonderful caterer that knows how to serve good food and execute a wedding, you simply can’t go wrong with Carrie Dove. If you’re having your wedding at the Brazilian Room (or anywhere really), book them; they’re worth every penny!

I am a student who planned her wedding from 3000 miles away and I have to say it was not easy except for Carrie Dove. They are awesome to work with! They worked with my crazy schedule for deadlines and decision making. I had a lot of strange request and they fulfilled all of them. My guest raved about the food and service and they are not easy people to please. We had guest come to the day after brunch and ask if we got any leftovers of the food that is how good it was.

There isn't enough space here or words to describe the sheer culinary genius that is Carrie Dove Catering! If you are getting married anywhere near the Bay Area, HIRE THEM! Their staff is incredible! Their food is amazing! Their professionalism and expertise and regard in the industry is unparalled! We received countless compliments from our wedding guests for their meals...their food uses the freshest ingredients from increidble local vendors, each plate arrived piping hot, every piece of filet was cooked perfectly (considering they were plating for 180 guests, this alone should convince you of their merit!), their staff never missed a detail, left a glass unfilled...honestly, they are perfection on a plate!

We just used Carrie Dove Catering for our wedding at the Brazilian Room and I would definitely recommend them. The food was great. We had a Sunday morning brunch menu, and Carrie Dove catering came up with a creative and delicious menu for us. They were willing to work within our tight budget. In addition, they were incredibly easy to work with in terms of logistics. Amanda was our point of contact, and she was so easy and wonderful to work with. She had great ideas and suggestions about the room set up, wedding schedule, and all things logistics. She always was very patient in answering all of my questions and helping me create the wedding atmosphere I wanted. She really made our event run smoothly. Overall, Carrie Dove Catering is a reliable, efficient, and delicious catering company and I would highly recommend them