4.8 out of 5 stars and 67 reviews
4.8
(67)Best of Weddings (2x).We travel up to 1 hour in any direction from Pennington, NJ.
About this vendor
From the moment you say “yes,” the event planning team at Emily’s Cafe and Catering will work closely with you to tailor a menu that reflects your personal taste and style. Seasonal menus, featuring local organic and artisan products along with detail oriented organization of rentals and set up and our experienced staff make your day seamless and unique.
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Dietary Options
- Organic
Food & Catering
- Buffet
Awards and Affiliations
Reviews
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4.8
out of 5.067 reviews
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Lauren did a great job as the captain for my wedding. Food was absolutely amazing. We organized it "family style," and people could not stop eating the filet mignon. Lauren made the day stress-free.
Emily's Cafe was amazing to work with and the food is delicious! Beth was a dream to work with. Very attentive to our needs and what would work for our backyard wedding. She came on site multiple times to see to layout and help with set up. Unfortunately, because of our tent set up, the passed hors d'oeuvres did not make it to everyone and we missed some of the food. Otherwise, everything was amazing! Wouldn't have wanted anyone to cater our wedding.
I'm so grateful Emily's Cafe & Catering catered our wedding. Emily's food is delicious, classic and we are still hearing from our guests that it was the wedding dinner they've ever had. Emily made our lives so easy in the planning process, she went above and beyond for a year leading up to our wedding and made our day extra special with small creative suggestions she made along the way (cupcakes!). Thank you Emily!
Working with Emily's Catering was a smooth process all throughout the planning season. Day-of execution was excellent, with professional hard working staff. They were flexible with customizing our menu and dessert options, and helped us with last-minute setup of heaters on an unexpectedly cold fall day. The price per plate felt a little high to us, but since they didn't have a minimum guest count it worked well for our small wedding.
Emily’s Cafe & Catering catered my wedding on 11/5/22, and I absolutely loved my experience with them. I primarily worked with catering manager Beth through planning and contract signing, and she was one of my favorite vendors to work with. So kind, helpful and accommodating and always answered all of my questions so patiently! Unfortunately she wasn’t able to be present on the day of my wedding, but the entire staff was amazing - servers, bar staff, you name it. Beth also made sure to arrange our flatware rentals, linen rentals, and bar purchases, which was SUCH a huge help in consolidating the entirety of the catering/bar budget for myself and my husband. The food was SO good, I wish I was able to eat more of it, and all of my guests loved the options and only had great things to say about the food at cocktail hour and at dinner. I was so happy with Emily’s, and if I had to plan my wedding all over again I would absolutely hire them again.
Emily’s catered our rehearsal dinner and our reception at the Woolverton Inn. The food was delicious and the service was exceptional. They were happy to accommodate several special requests, including an ice cream cake for our cutting cake!
Emily and her whole team were absolute rock stars at our wedding! Not only was the food outrageously delicious (people are STILL talking about it), but everything ran so smoothly, I never had to worry about a thing! Emily even fixed a plate for me during the cocktail hour and put it in the bridal suite so I was sure to be able to try everything. The entire staff were so sweet, I want to have another party just to hire them again!
Our wedding venue works exclusively with Emily's and we couldn't feel more lucky about that!! Working with Beth was so wonderful - she was communicative and creative when helping us think through our event and how can could accommodate an array of dietary restrictions and save a bit of money along the way. And the food was absolutely amazing!!! We got married 2 months ago now, and STILL have people asking us who our caterer was -- our entrees were short ribs, sea bass in beurre blanc, and an eggplant neapolitan, plus a wide assortment of hor dourves and desserts. The flexibility we had when building our menu allowed us to stay on budget and create an event that was true to us! Highly, highly recommend for any event!!
I am so glad that we used Emily's Cafe and Catering as our wedding caterer! To start, Emily is so sweet and flexible, she made the whole planning process stress free! The food is AMAZING! Our wedding was over a month ago and our guests are still talking about how great the food was, especially the hors d'oeuvres!! We wanted to do donuts and a small cutting cake instead of a wedding cake and Emily was able to recommend a local farm that makes their own apple cider donuts! She was even able to accommodate our last minute request to add additional dessert options for our guests. I would highly recommend Emily's Cafe and Catering to anyone getting married in the area!
Recently attended a wedding at a winery which was catered by Emily's. Dinner buffet included chicken, sliced beef and salmon. I did not want the chicken or salmon, so politely asked for a second piece of beef since they were very small. The server responded with a 'No' and said that I could NOT have a second slice of the beef! I have never heard of this in my life! I look at her and said I wasn't having any other protein, but the server still would not allow me to have a second slice of beef! Also, all the food on the buffet was on platters, so no warming trays to keep the food hot. Unfortunately, we were one of the last tables to be called to the buffet, so all the food was room temperature. This was not the memorable experience I was hoping for from the wedding.
We used Emily’s catering for my daughter’s wedding dinner in July. Beth was wonderful to work with, very helpful! The staff was great and very friendly. All the food was outstanding ! Thanks again team! Highly recommend
Beth, one of the event coordinators, was great to work with. She was one of the few vendors for our wedding that was proactive, making suggestions on things rather than waiting for us to make the first pass (for example, at the table set up for the reception itself). She also helped us bring the cost of our menu down, which was appreciated.
Additionally, we had same late-in-the-game changes for our reception (one guest had a family emergency, another couldn't get a babysitter for their kid) and Beth accommodated with only a few hours notice.
Beyond that, our guests (and us) were impressed with the quality of the food, from apps to entrees, and we received compliments on every single thing served.
I found Emily's Cafe on the Knot, and I was a bit nervous having no personal connection / referral, but after my first phone call with Emily I knew she would be my caterer. She was so kind and clearly invested from the start in making the day exactly as I planned. She handled all the rentals, which was really incredibly helpful, but this was just the start.
The food was perfection, everyone was amazed and couldn’t stop talking about it. The gnocchi was my absolute favorite, but truly everything was delicious, everything came out hot and well timed. They also created my dream cake off an image I found off of pinterest, I could not believe how beautiful it came out! Her onsite team was incredibly professional, attentive, and kind.
Emily's Cafe was the best money I spent at my wedding. The price is incredibly reasonable for the exceptional quality her and her team delivers.
Food was fantastic, cake was beautiful, and the service was friendly and professional. Thanks to Emily's for making our wedding day special. We started planning our event before covid and made many many changes to our plans as the situation evolved. Emily's team was helpful and accomodating throughout.
We had the most incredible experience working with Emily's Cafe and Catering! Jennifer far exceeded all of our expectations. She replied to our calls and emails promptly, was extremely helpful and reachable, and our food at our wedding was wonderful. People were raving about our food! Jennifer even made sure my husband and I had a chance to eat. 100% recommend Emily's for your wedding!
I used Emily's for my wedding this past Saturday. Not only did we get MANY compliments about the dinner and cake, they were so helpful to work with. One compliment we received from a guest was "I've pretty much written off good food at a wedding but this was amazing!"
Samantha went above and beyond working with us for the past year and always made me (the bride) and more importantly, my mother, feel at ease. She listened to special requests and helped me navigate what would work best for me, the guests, and my venue.
I cannot praise Emily's and Samantha enough!
I can’t say enough good things about Emily’s Cafe and especially about our coordinator, Samantha.
From our first interaction, I knew we were in good hands. Samantha was quick to understand our hopes to have a simple, yet elegant, wedding and reception. She made menu suggestions that were a perfect match.
At the tasting, she provided many delicious options and was open to suggested changes, including the bride’s desire to have her cake made by a dear friend.
Samantha guided us every step of the way, not only putting my mind to rest but assuring me that she would oversee the many details on the wedding day...and she did!
Samantha kept everything right on schedule. She was thoughtful, patient, kind, professional and efficient. The staff working with her were also great. We could not have asked for more.
Absolutely amazing. Samantha, who I worked with, was incredibly kind, sweet, and patient with everything. The food was FANTASTIC and we heard so many compliments on the food from so many guests. The wedding was absolutely perfect and couldn't have been more thankful for them!!
Emily's was simply the best! Beth was great through every step of my planning and on my wedding day. So easy to work with and always there to answer any questions that came up. The food was so amazing and we had so much trouble narrowing down our day of menu because everything was so good! Beth was on top of everything and was way more than caterer. She made sure everything was perfect while flipping my tent from ceremony to reception, using extra flowers to decorate the cake & food tables and doing all the little things that could have been overlooked. I would recommend Emily's catering for any event, big or small, they can handle it and will make it perfect. Can't say enough great things about Beth and everyone at Emily's!!!
There are no words to explain how much we loved working with Emily’s for our wedding in September of 2018. We were looking for a menu that would reflect the laid-back and comfortable atmosphere we wanted for our wedding, and we were so excited to see that Emily’s had the most perfect menu for us! Our guests raved about how amazing every single hors d’oeuvre and meal was - we had several passed hors d’oeuvres and three attended stations with pulled pork, mac and cheese, salmon and clams, and assorted flatbreads, just to list a few. Our dessert consisted of a variety of cupcake flavors - all of which were absolutely decadent! Finally, the staff at Emily’s was absolutely exceptional. We worked with both Jenn and Danny, who both went above and beyond to make sure that we were taken care of and that the entire day ran smoothly. Both of them were extremely professional, attentive to details, and thorough. The wait staff and bartenders were highly attentive and made sure to take care of my husband and I like family. Emily’s also helped us to arrange for rentals and an open bar - difficult tasks to navigate without their expertise. I would gladly hire Emily’s to cater every event I plan in the future, and we would highly recommend them to everyone!
I am so glad Emily's catered our wedding! Jenn was the absolute best to work with - she totally understood what we were looking for, and accommodated every request, from wanting oysters at our cocktail hour to my bizarre request to have lobster bisque served to my husband after cutting our cake (an inside joke). The food was amazing, and our guests commented all night about how delicious their meals were. It was truly the best night of our lives, thanks in large part to Jenn and her team. Thank you all!!
Amazing!! Jenn and the Emily's staff went above and beyond to make our wedding happen! The cake was beautiful and delicious, and the food during the cocktail hour and reception were even better! Jenn was so helpful leading up to the wedding day and was very quick to answer any questions we had. We could not be happier with our choice to use Emily's for our wedding!!
Samantha and the entire staff from Emily's Cafe and Catering went above and beyond to make our wedding on 10/22/17 so special. If it was not for Samantha and the team, the wedding might never have happened. The food, decor, drinks and cake were outstanding! They thought of every little detail and made our vision a reality. We cannot thank you enough.
Words cannot even express how happy we were with Emily's!!! We used them for our wedding a few weeks ago and they were a huge part in making our day perfect! My husband and I are huge foodies, so it was important to us that we found a caterer that reflected our passion! We were absolutely blown away by everything we tried at our tasting, and everything was just as amazing at the wedding! Every single guest raved about how wonderful everything was! And our cake was not only one of the most beautiful wedding cakes I've ever seen, but it seriously may have been the best cake I've ever tasted!! I cannot say enough great things about working with Jennifer! She seriously went above and beyond to make sure our day went smoothly. We had a venue where we had to bring everything in ourselves, and Jenn was SUCH a huge help. She is the sweetest and incredibly professional. We HIGHLY recommend using them!!!
Emily's Cafe and Catering was amazing! Their food and service was superb. Christina made planning my wedding a breeze, and the staff the day of was awesome. I highly recommend!
We got married at a private venue & Emily's Cafe was spectacular. They made delicious, gourmet appetizers and a wonderful family style menu. The staff were warm, friendly and hardworking. They made sure my wife and I got plenty of food on our wedding day, despite the chaos. They brought out kids meals for the little ones immediately after everyone was seated. In addition to food, they also brought various useful signs and a frame to hand all our escort cards from. Many guests raved about how delicious everything was. Great value for the money. Highly recommend!
I worked with Emily's for my wedding last Sunday. They were amazing! The food was unbelievable and the staff was great. Christina was my point person and she was wonderful throughout the entire process. She made it so easy for me and had an answer to every question. I only have positive things to say and so did all my guests.
AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING!
The food was fantastic! But even more so, the amazing staff at Emily's made the craziness of planning so much easier. They are easy to talk to, they are understanding, and very versed in this wedding stuff. There is nothing they won't try to do or help you to accomplish for your big day.
They have that warm family feel that I wanted for our wedding. They made everything beautiful. They set up and took down everything. I did not need to worry about anything the day of. I don't know what I would have done without them!!
Also. Their food is fantastic. Did I say that already? From cornbread to the kale salad, fish tacos and pulled brisket sandwiches. Everything was amazing.
Also they work with an A+ baker! They knew how much we wanted a three tier cake and we were trying to cut costs so we were planning on a two tier and a large sheet cake for serving, but they surprised me with it the day of.
I couldn't have asked more from the staff at Emily's, from the amazing day of coordinator to the servers and bartenders. Fantastic all around. If I could give 10 stars I would.
We loved working with Emily's Cafe and Catering for our entire wedding weekend. We worked with them to plan our rehearsal dinner, cocktail hour, reception dinner and wedding cake. The staff and service were wonderful and our guests were raving about the food the entire weekend. I would highly recommend Emily's if you are looking for a caterer.
Wow - Where do I even start? This review is for their catering for our wedding on October 15, 2015 at the Morris Museum. Everything from the first email with Jennifer to the day of, everything was even more perfect than we could have imagined. We felt like we were going in completely blind, but Jennifer walked us through everything via email and for our in-person meetings - keeping us on budget and delivering everything we wanted. We had passed hors d'oeuvres and a buffet dinner; nice and casual, but still upscale and spot on for a wedding.
The food was so incredible and we received compliments on everything. It all tasted so fresh and everything was seasonal, which is exactly what we wanted. Even the cake was the best!! We wanted something unique, so we had a carrot cake/spice cake with cream cheese frosting that was sooo good and beautiful! On the day of, they thought of all the extra little details and we were so impressed with their set up. Everything looked better than I could have hoped for.
Last but not least, Jennifer is an absolutely wonderful person to work with! Everything was seamless and she was always one step ahead of us through the reception - made a plate of our passed hors d'oeuvres and a plate from our buffet so we didn't miss anything! Everyone always tells me you'll forget to eat and drink on your wedding day - Jennifer made sure we didn't miss out!
Thank you so much for making our wedding day perfect!
Emily's did an amazing job with my wedding. Our guests are still raving about our food. We worked with Jennifer, who was wonderful to work with throughout the process and made sure the day went smoothly, I would definitely recommend Emily's!
Emily 's Cafe and Catering helped to make our wedding day an amazing experience! From the very beginning of my wedding planning process I had dealt with Christina, one of the catering managers, who was such a great help and always had an answer to whatever question I had for her. Everything from the excellent menu to the delicious drinks served by such an awesome staff, I couldn't have asked for better quality. Everyone from Emily's Catering, especially Christina, we're the real stars of the show! Thank you so much for helping to make the day even better than I could ever have imagined!
I can't put into words what a phenomenal experience it was working with Emilys Cafe! Jenniffer was there every step of. The way and really doubled as a wedding planner! She went above and beyond to make our wedding day so special! I am so appreciative of all her hard work. Not to mention, EVERYONE at our wedding complimented us on how phenomenal the food was, not to mention our cake (which we also did through Emilys) was hands down beautiful. I would recommend them to anyone getting married in the area.
Booking with Emily's Cafe & Catering is a must! From the beginning of the planning process to the execution the day of, Emily's catering is incredibly helpful, accommodating, and professional. Quality food was of utmost importance to my fiancé and I and our expectations were not only met, but exceeded. In addition, Emily's was truly accommodating in regards to my many food allergies, and took extreme caution and care to make sure I could eat and enjoy the food at the wedding, without sacrificing taste/quality. Throughout the night our guests were raving about the food and the quality of the wait staff/service. All of this could not have been achieved without the diligence of our catering manager/event planner Jennifer, who is incredible! She worked closely as a liaison between us and the chef, rental company, and our venue coordinator to make sure all our needs were met and everything ran smoothly from beginning to end. Jennifer, I can't thank you enough for all of your hardwork, organization, and flawless execution. The wedding was a dream come true, and I know it wouldn't have been the same without you! Lots of love, Kelly and Ben
Truly the best decision I made when planning my wedding. I cannot say enough about the food, the event manager Christina and the rest of the service staff. They made my wedding day perfect with excellent service and great attitudes. The price was also in budget, they didn't cut corners or anything and even coordinated my cake - which was delicious and awesome looking!!
Emily's is a small, quaint restaurant in our town, and when we started planning our wedding, we knew we would need a unique caterer who could offer us a southern style, comfort food buffet that still wowed the crowd. Emily's delivered not only on the food (I mean - REALLY delivered with people from the south loving it!) but also made the entire process enjoyable (and yummy!). I worked with Jenn and Christina and both ladies were attentive, easy-going and fun. We loved everything from Emily's!
Greatest experience. I live in Texas and was having a wedding in New Jersey, could have been stressful, but after finding Emily's Cafe and Catering, I didn't have to worry at all. Working with Jennifer through email and telephone was easy. They worked with me and my fiance throughout the process and allowed us to come taste test the food in the limited days we had while visiting for a weekend. The event went absolutely perfect, even though we were late at starting the ceremony as the hotel shuttle hit a lot of traffic. The food was delicious and Jennifer coordinated everything. She even brought me snacks during the cocktail hour to make sure I had something to eat and had drinks waiting for me and my husband as we ended out ceremony. I can't say enough how wonderful Jennifer was and how great Emily's Cafe and Catering was at preparing and serving and setting up the event
Full disclosure: I've worked with Emily's Catering before on a couple other smaller events, so I was fully aware that the food was fabulous. They turned out to be sort of the unofficial caterer of the entire engagement/wedding process, in fact, doing a range of services. My mother booked them for the engagement party (private home, full service buffet staffing including bar service), my MOH booked them for my shower (event space, full buffet staffing but no bar), and we booked them for the wedding (cocktail hour, passed hors, seated meal, two bars). In all cases they rocked it! Delicious, delicious food, great service, and all so so beautifully presented, plus they were able to share fun little signs telling people which way to go, what the signature cocktails were, etc. It was really just lovely. We had an outdoor cocktail hour, and of course that was when the 20 minutes of rain for the entire day had to happen! But they rolled with it - just grabbed everything and scooted into the tent, and worked with my coordinator to rearrange the schedule and it worked out great. And ohmygod the cake. It was so pretty and so good - multiple flavors because we couldn't decide. They had kids meals that were a hit, and - big points here - were super accommodating about the various allergies we had among the guest list. Love them!
I cannot say enough good things about Emily's Catering. More specifically - Samantha and Jason were amazing for our October 26 wedding at the 1850s River House! Samantha was so helpful in organizing all the details of our wedding beforehand, and Jason (our point person for the day) was just beyond incredible in executing everything at our wedding exactly the way we wanted it. Before the wedding, even when Jason was trying to get everything together, he still would stop what he was doing to address any of my questions or concerns. After the ceremony, despite everything he was doing, he made sure we had food to eat during our pictures.
First of all, we had SO many compliments on the food. People have told us that nothing can compare now to the risotto that they had at our wedding - and I'd have to agree with that! Besides that, I am gluten free and Samantha and Jason made sure that there were a ton of options for me, including delicious gluten free desserts. At the end of the night, there was a box a gluten free desserts sitting at my seat for me to take home.
Next, they set everything up exactly the way we wanted it. Before the ceremony, we had an inkling that there weren't enough chairs set up, and Jason stopped what he was doing to bring more chairs to the front. Also, the decorations during the cocktail hour and then in the tent for our reception looked perfect.
Lastly, all of the servers and bartenders were warm and friendly. We couldn't have asked for more from a caterer. Not sure how Emily's does it all with their reasonable prices, but I will recommend them to any friend, and hope to use them again myself, in the future!!!
Thank you Samantha and Jason!!! We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day, and owe it to you guys!
Thank-you
Loved their food and aesthetic! Would highly recommend Emily's for your next event!!!
As soon as I saw their sample menus, I had a feeling Emily's was going to be the one. I still contacted several other caterers, but months later I still hadn't heard back from all of them. I got a response from Samantha within an hour of e-mailing them! And the more I heard, the more I liked them. So we went in for a tasting and were totally blown away. Their food is spectacular!
I worked with Jennifer through the whole planning process. I don't think I could have pulled this wedding off without her! She went with us to the party rental place and helped us pick out everything we needed, and from there she handled everything to do with the rentals. I didn't even have to think about it -- they got it all there and set it all up! Not only that, but she also took care of the liquor purchase for us. We never even had to contact the liquor store ourselves; she took care of everything! She also sat down with us and helped us figure out exactly how the day was going to do, and when we would do what. And she drew up a table arrangement/seating chart for us. Then, when the wedding day came, she coordinated everything! By the time we arrived at the vineyard, there were already cute little signs up and they were hard at work setting up chairs and tables. Jennifer made everything happen.
Everyone was in love with the food, especially the hors d'oeuvres. They also made us a beautiful cutting cake and a whole bunch of cupcakes in 3 different flavors - all incredibly delicious! Everything was a huge hit, all of my guests raved about it!
If I ever need another event catered, there's no doubt who I would use. I'm still craving more of those fig marscapone crostini!
Emily's Café & Catering did an amazing job for my daughter's wedding. The food was fabulous, and the bar and dinner service was excellent. We had cocktail hour with appetizers before dinner, and a full sit-down dinner for 100 guests, and we were thrilled. 5-stars!!! Also, they were a dream to work with. Planning was easy and painless, and they were extremely flexible in meeting our wants. I highly recommend them!
I can't recommend Emily's Cafe & Catering strongly enough. After being dissatisfied with a number of area caterers who offered very typical / boring wedding fare, we found Emily's online and were immediately impressed by their menu which featured unique items with fresh local and organic ingredients. When we went to the tasting we were sold, particularly because of their herb encrusted mac & cheese!
In addition to the the high quality of the food, working with Emily's staff was a pleasure and a highlight of my wedding planning experience. The catering managers were so friendly and attentive. They helped us create a menu that perfectly reflected our tastes and style. It felt like every one of our 220 guests complimented the food and all of the delightful decorative details. We are still receiving positive feedback a month later! Thank you Emily's!
Emily's catered our wedding at Sayen House and Gardens June 29, 2013. Jennifer was the catering manager and event planner and did such a wonderful job! As a crafty and creative bride, I expected to be doing all of the planning and decorating myself, with some help from from maid of honor. We were on a VERY tight budget with a small guest list but still wanted our day to look beautiful and be fun for everyone. We chose Emily's initially on a friend's recommendation, but were instantly validated from my first phone conversation with Jennifer. Jennifer didn't just help us choose a menu for our wedding, but helped us plan the entire flow of the day and order of events, coordinated with other vendors, provided transport and set up of decorations, and acted as a director in all aspects of the wedding day, ensuring every detail happened as it should have. There is much more, I'm sure, that she did behind the scenes to provide us with such a wonderful experience, and we are forever grateful to Jennifer, and all of the staff at Emily's for everything they did. As far as the food goes, there isn't much more to say, other than DELICIOUS!!! We chose a buffet style dinner with hand passed hors d'oeuvres during cocktail hour. From the lemonade and iced tea served in the garden before our ceremony to the adorable strawberry and cream dessert cupcakes, everything was prepared perfectly and displayed beautifully from start to finish. The entire menu was made to fit our venue and the season and was raved about by all our guests. Emily's was so much more to us than a caterer. They went above and beyone and exceeded all our expectations. And on top of all that, somehow they have made all this possible for any budget! I will never ever forget our wedding and I confidently say it is because of Emily's and their staff. We love you guys beyond words!
My husband and I wanted a simple, personal, unique wedding with really good food that wouldn't break our bank. Emily's delivered. Emily (and the entire talented staff) are a calming force who are committed to excellence. The food and drink were amazing--many of our guests commented on the delicious sangria, the potato bar, and the amazing bent spoon ice cream sandwiches.
Emily takes her job seriously and you can tell that she truly enjoys and takes pride in presenting quality events that make her clients happy and worry-free on their big day. I cannot recommend them more highly!!!
I went into my wedding planning overwhelmed and unsure where to begin as far as catering and Emily and Samantha helped me from the first time we spoke. Their attention to detail is second to none, ensuring everything from our menu to the linens and glassware matched our vision perfectly. They constantly went above and beyond, beginning with our tasting until the end of our event. The food was superb and our guests are still raving about it. No other caterer we met with was so committed to making sure we had everything exactly as we wanted it. I would recommend Emily's Catering to any bride. We will definitely be using them for events in the future.
I just can't recommend Emily's highly enough. They did a fantastic job for my wedding despite the challenge of us having it at our family farm outside. Everyone commented that their food was some of the best they've ever had (and I agree). I believe this is in large part to keeping sources as local as possible, in season, and having a good personal connection with their vendors. Seriously consider hiring them. Emily, Tommy and all their staff are fun to work with.
Truly couldn't have asked for a better experience with my caterer! I don't know how Emily and her gang does it - I was overwhelmed with all the details of our wedding and when it came to the food, I wanted it to be perfect. Emily made it truly easy. Our tasting was so much fun - the food was all amazing - and they worked with us on making so much of the menu 'farm to table'. Everything was fresh and the presentation just lovely. So many of our guests commented on the food! I'm so grateful to the whole staff for helping to make our special day so seamless and enjoyable.
Working with Samantha from Emily's Cafe and Catering was such a wonderful experience. She was beyond sweet and every interaction with her proved that this was more than just a job - she truly cared about making our wedding a wonderful and meaningful experience.
I can't imagine how hard it is to work in the wedding industry - as a bride and groom, we (hopefully!) will only go through this process once. But for wedding professionals - they have to have the same kinds of conversations multiple times a day. We never were made to feel like just another wedding client by anyone at Emily's! They really understood how important a major investment like a wedding (both emotionally and financially) is to all the stakeholders - bride, groom, parents, family, friends!
The day of - they helped us implement a pretty aggressive DIY wedding - and it came together flawlessly! I worked hard for months crafting and designing all the details of our wedding, but without the care and attention Sam and her staff provided - it would have been a disaster! At the end of the night - I hope they felt as much pride over the event as we all did. Maybe it *was* just another wedding to them - but for us and all of our guests - it was the night of our lives!
The food, of course, was excellent. But what I want to leave you all with is that Emily's (and especially Samantha!) is more than just a caterer. They will treat you like your wedding is the most important thing they have to do all year and they will be a partner in helping you make it the most wonderful night of your and your family and friends lives!
I wish I could have another big party to plan soon so I could work with them again - they are that good!
For pictures of our wedding and the awesomeness Sam and her team helped pull off, check out this blog post by our photog Pat Furey! http://patfureyblog.com/meg-bryan-prallsville-mills-wedding/
From the start, Emily was great to work with. She always responded to emails quickly, she confirmed a week before the wedding and then the day before.
Our wedding was fantastic in every way. We don't have a single regret about anything we did for our special day.
We rented a historic mill for the wedding and reception. Emily was familiar with the place and gave us advice above and beyond the catering aspect of the wedding; that took a load of worry off our shoulders. Ernie, my husband, spoke with Samantha from Emily’s on the phone and she gave great suggestions on how they would set up for the ceremony and reception, very much appreciated.
We did a buffet with service, which they executed beautifully; the rosemary-encrusted filet mignon was cooked to perfection. The bartending was fabulous from cocktail hour to cordials. The staffing was courteous and professional. The custom tiered wedding cake was everything I asked for and more.
Thank you Emily and Samantha! Our guests are still raving about my day.
Emily's Cafe & Catering has absolutely delicious food. Samantha was great to work with, although it did seem that she was quite busy with many other events and sometimes would take a long time to return emails,calls etc. I was very disappointed in the service the day of the wedding. I realize having a cocktail reception in a barn made it challenging and difficult for the servers but overall I was not happy with the quality of service. Many of my guests had a lot of negative things to say about the caterers. I gave my feedback and was given explanations and an apology but that's it. Wouldn't really recommend unless you want great quality food, but poor quality service.
Emily's was seriously AWESOME! I hated that other caterers basically said "well, this is our wedding menu" so I was thrilled when Emily said that they create an individual menu for each event they do. My family and I are suuuper into food and especially local, organic ingredients and Emily's menu went above and beyond! Tommy was our wedding captain and I legitimately love the man. He helped navigate the whole process, choosing rentals, keeping my over-bearing mother at bay, helping to figure out where in the yard to put everything...basically to complete my vision and make the wedding perfect! The food was sooo good, people are still talking about it, and the staff was very friendly and unobtrusive. Overall, just awesome, choose Emily's!
We'll admit - we're food snobs. There was no single wedding decision that was more important to us than our choice of caterer. As we visited venues, every last one recommended Emily's. For a good reason.
Samantha (our coordinator at Emily's) worked closely with us in the beginning to put together the menu. We went through several iterations without any pushing for any particulars from Samantha. Emily's can do the full range of options. Formal seated dinner? Sure. Cheesesteak, taco, and pasta stations? Sure. (That's what we did!) We did a tasting about a year before the wedding, so we were able to sample most of the exact menu we chose. All of their food is high-quality and expertly prepared. Bonus - several of their stations require onsite cooking (e.g., grilling the cheesesteaks) so the food is incredibly fresh when served. Made to order! People raved about the quality of the food throughout the night and for many days after.
Included in your choice of Emily's as a caterer are day-of coordination services. We cannot stress how valuable this was. We did a significant amount of set-up the day before, but at a venue like ours, there is a lot to be done day of (working with the rental company, setting up all tables and rental equipment, setting up our homemade floral arrangements, etc., etc.) and Samantha did all of it. Oh, and she helped clean up stuff that was completely our responsibility at the end of the night.
Did I mention that they were also the least expensive caterer we got a quote from? Somehow they provide this incredible food and incredible service for less than most of their area competitors. We actually came in well under budget for food, and there were no changes in the food quote at all once we set the menu.
On responsiveness - there were no real problems with information flow, but they didn't respond to every email. You might need to push them a little on specific communications, but they'll always respond.
My wedding guests raved over the brunch Emily's did for us. Tommy was so helpful through the whole planning process. I am so happy I found Emily's - food was my highest priority because I always hate meals at weddings. I still get complements today about our menu... the arugula salad was legendary!!
It took a while to get there. Emily's has a big staff and they don't share information well. We worked with three different point people and it was like starting over three times. At the end, we lucked out with Jason. He was awesome and went above and beyond. The food was great and got lots of compliments. I may hire them again for another event, but only if I can get Jason.
They were great to deal with until 3 days before our wedding when they changed our coordinator and didn't go over the details of the day with him. They did a lot of things great but missed quite a few things that were very important to us and blew us off for being upset about those things. Overall they were ok but I wouldn't recommend them because we were not treated like valued customers.
We hosted a pre-wedding house cocktail for all our out of town guests, approximately 60 people with buttlered hors d'oeuvres, stations and bartender. The guests raved on and on about how great the food was and especially how pleasant the staff was. The service was excellent, no need for direction on setup and by the time they left, the kitchen was sparkling.
In fact some guests decided to hire them for their own functions.
Highly recommend.
Thanks mostly to Emily's Cafe and Catering!!! From the moment I met Emily I knew she would be the one to carry out my dream wedding from beginning to end and her staff followed right behind her. The food, the service, the commitment to their brides is outstanding.
I got rave reviews about the food from everyone at my wedding. If you watched my episode on TLC, the brides also had rave reviews, they ate every single bit of food on their dinner plate, and dessert.
Emily's helped put together my night, I had a picture set in my mind of my dream wedding and they brought it to life. Emily's does everything from set up, to cake design, to making delicious food, to great servers. Thank you Emily's Cafe and Catering for an amazing night. You ALL are a great team.
We used Emily's Cafe for our wedding 9/24/11 at Moutain Lakes House in Princeton, and they are phenomenal. From your initial meeting, to your tasting, to selecting your rentals and finalizing counts, Emily and her wonderful, friendly staff are with you every step of the way. They are professional and so kind--by the end of working with them I really came to think of them as friends. The quality of their food is superb (your guests will rave!!), and the service you get for the day of your wedding will be exemplary. They go above and beyond--at one point during our meal, the DJ had difficulty locating power. I simply asked Emily for help, and one of her fantastic staff stepped right in and saved the day. There are things you cannot predict on your wedding day, but if you go with Emily, I can promise you are in extremely experienced, very capable hands. I am a professional event planner, and I cannot recommend them highly enough. I plan to use them for as many future events as I can and to stop by their adorable cafe in Pennington often, also. If you choose Emily's, you will absolutely love them!!
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9 North Main Street, Pennington, NJ | We travel up to 1 hour in any direction from Pennington, NJ.
Emily's Cafe & Catering
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