Designed Events, Inc

Food was amazing! I am really picky so I was so thankful All the staff was so great and friendly

John and Mark HAVE to be the best in Jacksonville! This is the second wedding they have catered for me and there is a reason. They are exceptional when it comes to food and design. They are always concerned with your needs and end everything with, "don't worry, we will take care of it". I have gotten text after text of how wonderful the reception was and the food. They even got juice boxes for the kids and offered chicken fingers!! If I had another daughter, they would be my choice again! The day was magnificent, the service was extraordinary! Thank you again John and Mark and God Bless You!!

John and Mark were fantastic!!! They were so easy to work with and so very accommodating. Mother and Bride were in different states so alot of changes were made with no issues. The food was amazing and we are so thankful we went with this fantastic team. I would highly recommend! Thanks for a fairy tale wedding!

Excellent quality food! Worth every penny! Would highly recommend to any bride!

Designed Events Catering is hands down The Best in Town. We worked together on every detail of my wedding menu. We got married on July 19, 2019. We still receive text and calls about the food. We wanted a traditional meal with a southern twist. My co-workers are still talking about the collard green won tons and crab cake hors d'oeuvres during cocktail hour. We had to add Shrimp & Grits to our main course. My family declares it was the best Shrimp & Grits they've ever had. It's hard to make chicken that good for that many people the chicken breast were flavorful and juicy. The Jack Daniels pork tenderloin was so tender the groom thought it was ham. The staff was attentive, friendly and very professional. John and Mark (owners) made the entire process stress free. I was confident their company would make my dream meal a reality. I was RIGHT!!! The food was wonderful!!! I can go on and on about Designed Events Catering. I give this company my HIGHEST recommendation. You won't be disappointed. Bride, July 2019

Wow where to start.. what an incredible company & group of professionals. From our initial emails, and meetings, numerous phone calls and tasting, Mark and John were extremely responsive and very very accomodating to everything we wanted for our big day. Alice is a phenomenal chef and they created a menu that many many many guests are talking about even after the wedding. They were extremely friendly, punctual and their food is TOP QUALITY. That is what we loved most. They created a special menu just for us. We did a family style for over 135 guests and everything went perfect. We decided to do an Italian Wedding soup after our salad, and HOLY SMOKES IT WAS THE BEST IVE EVER HAD. We heard numerous comments throughout the night saying "This is not your average wedding food...can we get the recipes?". For weeks following we are still receiving compliments on our delicious our food was. It was something different than your traditional buffet or plated, and it was worth every penny! The steak was perfectly cooked, the bread warm and soft, soup large portion and very unique, the shrimp cooked to perfection with a dash of spice and the veggies and pasta complimented the proteins perfectly. Their staff was very friendly, dressed professionaly, never was there a dirty dish or glass left on the table. They were very considerate during speeches and always ensuring we had everything we needed throughout the night. I couldn't have asked for a better caterer for our wedding. Thank you all so much for being a HUGE part of our wedding day and the dream it was! All our best, Tori and Carter Anderson June 1, River House Wedding, St Augustine, Florida

Quality of food and staff is exceptional. So glad we went with DEI

Designed Events was absolutely amazing to work with for our wedding. The food was phenomenal. All of our guests loved every bit of it and the staff was very kind and helpful!

Absolutely amazing! They delivered on all levels with what I had asked for and our wedding guests truly enjoyed it. Some of the compliments we received even told us that it was one of the best wedding dinners they have ever had! I would recommend Designed Events in a heart beat! Kristen Kearns Atkinson

Where do I even begin! Mark and John are a fantastic duo, and they supported our gastro-vision from day 1! This is an example of a VERY hard working team who will do EVERYTHING to make sure you get the absolute best food and service possible. Mark was available to calm our nerves at every step, and worked with my wife and I closely leading up to the wedding for everything from menu selection to beverage quantity advice! Our guests STILL talk about how amazing the food was!

If you are looking for the very BEST caterer good for you, you just got lucky because you have found them! Designed Events is simply outstanding in every way. Read through all these reviews and you will find a common theme...perfection, outstanding, amazing... and yes they most certainly are. I am so grateful I found them and it was not by chance but through referrals from wedding and event professionals in the industry. That says everything. When you are so well respected by your peers that they refer their clients to them with 100% confidence you know that says a lot. Mark and John were absolutely so wonderful to work with in every way. Whatever event you may be planning I can not say enough wonderful things about them, Thank you so much Designed Events for everything!!!

John and his team made my wedding perfect! The food was amazing, and my guests are still talking about how it was the best wedding food they have ever had. John made me feel so at ease and everything was set up perfectly. I can not recommend them more! Thank you!

I cannot thank Designed Events enough for everything they did to make our wedding absolutely perfect! Mark and John were FANTASTIC and so easy to work. They communicated quickly and had detailed answers to our every question. One conversation with Mark put us at ease and we knew instantly we were talking to an expert. During our tasting we were floored by how delicious the food was! And it tasted just as good if not better on wedding day which is a display of their skill and mastery. Presentation and taste were our top priorities and Mark and John exceeded our expectations! The food was presented beautifully with flowers covering the buffet and bar area and pretty gold signs. It was so gorgeous that those photos are going in our wedding album! And there was SO MUCH FOOD! People went for seconds and thirds with plenty left over. Countless guests have told us that we had the "best wedding food they ever tasted". The service was exceptional and we just loved our bartender and barista! They even saved a bottle of our favorite wine for us at the end of the night. And I have to mention that John and Mark were very sensitive to my gluten intolerance and the whole wedding was gluten-free! Designed Events, Inc was absolutely our best vendor and we are forever thankful!

Designed Events, Inc catered my wedding in June, 2016 and it was delicious! I am so thankful for John and Mark who worked with me over a year to help designed a menu that was absolutely perfect! I love those two so much and very thankful to have chosen them as my caterers! They make the BEST food!

Unbelievably amazed by Designed Events! The food was amazing!!! So many compliments from our guests! We had one guest that is highly allergic to black pepper and John and Mark made sure he had his own special dinner plate AND appetizers. I highly recommend the flank steak and the chili lime shrimp skewers - soooo yummy! Thank you so much John and Mark!!!

If I had to sum up our experience with Mark and John of Designed Events in just one word it would have to be: Perfection! From our first tasting, where we were not only crazy about their food, but instantly felt at ease with what we knew would be perfect execution of our wedding to the pre-wedding appointments where they were fully invested in making sure the layout of our venue space was perfect to the day of our wedding where they treated our guests like royalty, the attention to detail, the professionalism, everything was completely 100% with these guys!! Our guests have been raving about our food, even now a week later! The service staff were absolutely amazing, always there with exactly what every guest needed, so kind and helpful and professional – they were seriously everything! If you are looking for high quality food, that is made with pride and attention to detail, if you are looking for your guests to be well taken care of, if you’re looking for the best, then you have found them!! Mark and John there will never be enough thankyous for all your care, hard work and masterful talent you brought to our wedding! We are so happy that we chose you!

I don't even know where to begin. I know many of you are reading through so many reviews but please take a second and hear me out.... planning your wedding is tough. especially when you don't know how everything will turn out on the big day. I am freshly back from my honeymoon and here is where I stand.... The planning process with John and Mark was easy, yet detailed. I loved that they heard our vision but molded the menu into a 5 start dining experience. The tasting they offered in the beginning gave you a great idea of what to expect. They are not just any caterers. They are passionate about their business and their art. Leading up to the big day, I was emailing them with question and last minute changes and they accommodated quickly and helped guide my indecisive mind. Which leads us to the main event... EVERY single person I spoke to that attended the wedding was floored by how incredible the food was. So many kept saying they are so used to the food at weddings being so-so and nothing special but not ours. Designed Events! Designed Events! Designed Events. I could not scream their name enough. They are incredible and I will definitely be recommending anyone I know to them, as well as hopefully using them in the future. Thank you guys for truly making our day special. We love you guys!

Designed Events catered my daughters St. Augustine wedding a few weeks ago and I can't say enough great things about them. Guests are still contacting us raving about the food. They put together such a unique, fresh menu, not typical wedding food. From the appetizers to desserts, it was all phenomenal and the quality was equal to that of any fine dining establishment.. Everyone wants to know how they cooked the turkey and beef tenderloin because it was truly the best we've ever had! And not only was the food incredible, just dealing with Mark and John was so easy. From our very first conversation one year prior to the wedding, right down to the day of the wedding, was just a great experience. Even during the last week when I bombarded them with 100 emails, they responded quickly and really put me at ease. Thank you so much Designed Events....you knocked it out of the ballpark!!

Designed Events was the caterer for my daughter's wedding last weekend. To be honest, I chose Designed Events after a couple of recommendations, I didn't really do a lot of research. I've never been to a wedding where the food was very memorable, so it really wasn't one of my top priorities. From the beginning, Mark & John were very easy to work with and they helped me select a simple yet sophisticated menu. At the wedding reception I was so impressed with the professionalism, the beautiful presentation of the food, the speed of service, and last but not least, the delicious food! My husband and I were truly shocked at how great the food was - it was not your typical wedding fare. In the days since the wedding, family & friends have continued to mention the delicious meal when they talk about the wedding. I couldn't be more pleased! I have a younger daughter, so when the time comes for her wedding, I will surely work with them again.

Designed Events catered my wedding on 11/21/15 and I have experienced their service at several other events. The team at DE goes above and beyond! They are not your traditional caterers and it was certainly not your “typical” wedding food. The menu was tailored to our needs and liking and was the quality that you would expect from a high end restaurant. They checked in with me several times before the wedding to make sure everything was taken care of before the event. The day of, the food was amazing and just as I remembered it from our tasting appointment. Mark made sure to come and check on me the day of to make sure I was satisfied with everything. All of their staff is extremely kind and went above and beyond to ensure our day was perfect. All of our guests raved about the food and commented on how nice the staff was. In addition to the amazing food and service, their prices are very reasonable compared to other caterers. You will not be disappointed if you chose Designed Events for your catering needs!

As far as the food goes.... The taste was good. However, everything I had was cold and not to mention I was forced to eat something I wasn't expecting to eat. For a buffet catering event, running out of food is unacceptable and unprofessional in my opinion. The wedding I attended was beautiful aside from the catering people not being prepared. The sad part is, when there was mention of the food running out, the owner of company left the venue because he was upset at one of the family members for saying something. If you do hire these people, pray you don't have anyone that speaks their mind or you will be SOL! If this was my wedding I would have been devastated. Be careful if you hire these people.

TERRIBLE! My wife and I used them for our wedding and after almost a year of planning, they completely dropped the ball and ran out of food before all my guest received food! Of the 136 guest that I paid $12,500 for a buffet, 30 guest didn't receive steak and numerous others received only salad. One of these guest (my boss)is the head of the U S Treasury Miami field office, I.e, he took an oath of office (as did I) and wouldn't lie about not getting food. He told me numerous guest didn't receive food and the catering people were very defensive when asked what was wrong or if more food would be coming. That said, designed events ignored my follow up emails after the event and finally answered my calls after a week. They admitted to the error and offered me 5 dollars per person for 25 people, what a joke... $125 dollars for people that didn't receive food or the main course! So buyer beware, if there is a problem at your wedding, designed events will not handle the issue professionally given their lack of business acumen, character and integrity. P.s, John Montgomery (designed events owner/partner) answered my follow up call and offered me 12 dollars per person for 25 people ($300), when I declined, he became angry and referred to my guest as "pigs". It's as if this guy has been in business for a week. Just so everyone on wedding wire and other sites know, Im pursuing the total cost per person for the 25 guest that didn't receive food, steak, or the contracted menu. In legal terms, it's refereed to as "breach of contract". I hope everyone finds this and my wife's review helpful. I know we had many options to choose from as it pertains to caterers and chose unwisely, please don't do the same! Spend your thousands of dollars elsewhere.

Designed Events did an OUTSTANDING job at our wedding. We read stunning reviews of the food and service from this company so we were hoping they would be available for our big day. The first time meeting John & Mark at the tasting we were immediately welcomed into their beautiful store front and were blown away by the food we tried. They were great with food recommendations and pairings. They even helped us determine alcohol amounts to purchase since we were providing our own. These guys are AMAZING! All of their staff was so friendly and helpful on the day of the wedding. While we were taking pictures after the ceremony, we could smell the steaks being cooked at the venue and it smelled AMAZING! All of our guests RAVED about how amazing the food was for the appetizers, salads, and the MAIN EVENT. The surf and turf, steak and shrimp combo was delicious and our vegan friends/family were very impressed with the vegan plate option! The presentation was absolutely beautiful; like artwork on a plate. The mark of an impressive caterer is how well the steaks were prepared for 113 guests!! Everyone at my table noted the steaks were cooked perfectly (And we have some picky eaters in our group). :) That Chimichurri sauce is TO DIE FOR! Designed Events ALSO had the most excellent idea of booking Kilwin's for a Ice Cream Sundae bar which was such a special treat for our ice cream loving families. If you want food that is DELICIOUS, served to perfection with folks that have the warmest and most fun loving personalities, then Designed Events is absolutely who you should call for all of your wedding/events/catering needs. On a personal note, we so enjoyed how Mark and John made myself, my husband, and my parents feel like part of their family. Good food and service is one thing, but having such a personable connection with the caterer makes the big day even more special. They provided top of the line service and food and I will always recommend them very highly.

AMAZING - Restaurant quality food for an unbeatable price! We used them for our October wedding at the RiverHouse in St. Augustine, FL. Their food was perfect and staff was very friendly. I want the recipes!

Locating an exceptional caterer for our daughter’s June 2015 wedding reception was a must, as we wanted our guests to be served a meal they would remember! Designed Events exceeded our expectations! Even though the wedding was two months ago, our guests are still RAVING about the FABULOUS FOOD…..from the hors d’ oeuvres served butler style through the beautifully presented buffet dinner! They spent countless hours helping us customize our menu as they offer a wide variety of selections. Though we worked mostly with Mark, both he and John made us feel as though we were their only clients, which is far from the truth! Now, we know why Designed Events is in so high demand….their food and service are second to none! A bonus for us is that they are very familiar with River House in St. Augustine, so they were totally at home while preparing the most delicious food EVER!!! Their attention to detail and their surroundings helped create the ‘dream’ reception for our daughter and her husband.

I can't say enough wonderful things about my experience with John and Mark at Designed Events ... everything was SPECTACULAR! From the kindness and professionalism to the attention to detail, they were incredible. The food, however, stole the show! With the most unique and beautiful presentation, each and every dish at my daughter's wedding reception was delicious and amazing. Due to limited space at the venue, they prepared two long buffet tables out of sight, then wheeled them onto the dance floor in a moment's notice. They had it ready to go in less than two minutes (!) and managed to serve 170 guests in 20 minutes ... with food that inspired hundreds of compliments from the guests and a presentation that looked like it took hours to perfect. I couldn't be happier ... I will call them every time I have a need for a caterer in the future, without a doubt!

I can't say enough good things about these guys. They bent over backwards to accommodate last minute issues and the food was amazing. I had tried them at another reception I went to and gave them a shot and the dreaded first meeting was relaxed, informative and we knew by the time we left that they would help make my daughter's day spectacular. And...they did NOT disappoint! They pay such attention to detail. My only regrets are that we did not know about them 3 years ago when our other daughter got married. They also handled the bar service for our venue and the bartenders were awesome! We provided the liquor, and they provided everything else including pleasant service to all of our guests. I have a friend that has asked for recommendations and I proudly gave Designed Events information.

Hi Mark We wanted to send you and your team a big thank you for catering our wedding! The food was fabulous -and presentation was wonderful - our guests were very complimentary and wanted to know who was our caterer! The service and attention of your staff was also wonderful- everyone commented how attentive they were and what a great job they did making everything just right! Please tell everyone thank you for making our day so special! You guys rock! Regards, Edi and Gloria

There is not a place to begin to review this fabulous company. My name is Francesca Cooper and I own an event planning company The Eventful Gals. I have had a lot of food catered from being in the industry myself, yet I have never had food as delicious as was catered to my October 11, 2014 wedding. It was fabulous and the staff was impeccable with timing and attitude. We cannot wait to work with Mark & John again.

Worked with Mark and John on the general details, they took it from there. Designed Events gave us, our family and guests the most wonderful wedding day and night ever! My company uses them exclusively for all our corporate events since 1995. I have recommended them to all my clients, with wonderful reviews. You will not be disappointed in this local Jacksonville business.

Before I walked into Designed Events, I had already heard so many good things about them, and they did not disappoint! From the very beginning Mark and John helped me design meals for the rehearsal and reception. At the tasting, I could not believe how good the food was, no words to describe it! My wedding was in March and Family and friends still rave about the food. Other than marrying my husband, the other best decision I made, was hiring Designed Events! Highly recommend for wedding, or other events!

Designed Events did an amazing job at my wedding. Everyone raved about the food because the food is absolutely delicious. I only wish I wasn't the bride because I probably could have eaten much more than I did. Luckily, they put a box together for me and my groom to take home with us and we tried our best to make that food last that week. They also did a great job at displaying the food and even have props that fit in perfectly with my wedding theme. Everyone should use them!

Designed Events is the cream of the crop catering company. The guest are still ranting and raving about how amazing the food was at my wedding. Mark and John exceeded me and my husband expectations! They created a menu based on our favorites from beginning to end. They are true professionals. If you want to have amazing food and amazing service for your special day without a shadow of a doubt book Designed Events!

We highly recommend Mark Shine and staff with Designed Events, Inc. We were bringing together Italian, Polish, and Jamaican families all for our wedding reception. We were a little nervous at first about being able to please everyone's individual tastes. Once I found Mark Shine with Designed Events our concerns were immediately put to rest. After one conversation with Mark and after having our tasting we knew that our wedding reception food was going to be the talk of the evening. Mark managed to incorporate all the different cultures and was very knowledgeable regarding the food selections. Mark and his staff have extreme professionalism and attention to detail. Our wedding was a month ago and people are still talking about how wonderful the food was at our reception and we know that they will be talking for making more years to come because many of our guests have expressed that our food at the reception was the best food that they have ever had at a wedding!

We did an extensive search for our wedding caterer because the food at our reception was very important to us. Mark prepared a delicious tasting for us. All his food was excellent but it was his stuffed beef tenderloin in the red wine demi glaze that sealed the deal for us. It’s so tender and delicious! We got so many compliments on it and the food overall at our wedding. The buffet was beautifully displayed. And the service from Mark and his team was wonderful – they really went above and beyond to make sure everything was taken care of. From helping make sure everything was set up to serving mini cups of Blue Bell ice cream with our wedding cake for no extra charge, they were an integral part of our wedding day and we’d hire them again in a heartbeat if we had another event that needed catering!