About this vendor
Grayton Beach Catering is a full-service catering and event planning company based out of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Grayton Beach Catering loves helping couples celebrate their wedding day in full, providing planning and catering services that meet all of your needs. They’ll work and coordinate with local vendors to create a seamless experience for both you and all of your guests.
Grayton Beach Catering offers a diverse dining experience for you and your guests. They offer a seafood-centric menu that includes creative plates made with ingredients fresh from the sea. From ceviche to shrimp scallops, Grayton Beach Catering is bound to meet all of your seafood cravings. They’ll also provide dining items including barware, china, chocolate fountains, flatware, glassware, and linens, and they can cater to a variety of dietary restrictions, such as gluten-free, lactose-free, no pork, Kosher, nut-free, organic, vegan, and vegetarian diets.
Services Offered
Grayton Beach Catering also offers event and event planning assistance to help you make your dream wedding day a reality. Couples can take advantage of a diverse range of event services.
Details
Business Attributes
- Woman-owned Business
Cuisine
- American
- BBQ
- Cajun
- Chinese
- Eastern European
- French
Dietary Options
- Dairy Free
- Gluten Free
- Kosher
- Nut Free
- Organic
- Vegan
Food & Catering
- Buffet
- Catering Clean Up
- Catering Delivery & Setup
- Chef Stations
- Family Style
- Menu Tastings
Reviews
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3.1
out of 5.015 reviews
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My wedding was held at the beautiful Seaside Chapel in October 2023, and while the venue and the weather were perfect, the services provided by GBC Events unfortunately left MUCH to be desired. Here are some of the key issues we faced:
1. Catering -
There was supposed to be a massive charcuterie board for guests during cocktail hour as one of the appetizers but it wasn't set up until dinner time, then was boxed up and taken away before anyone even knew it was there. Literally untouched. We also paid for mini crab cakes to be passed around during cocktail hour (one of the more expensive apps at $9.50 a head) and they didn't have enough so they substituted CHICKEN ON A STICK without notice or adjustment of price.
2. Lack of basic tableware -
They forgot to set the table with linen napkins so guests were eating dinner without a napkin. I, the bride, was feeding my toddler on my lap without a napkin. The wedding coordinator "corrected it" by throwing a pile of cocktail napkins on every table.
3. Poor quality -
The $800 dance floor was a piece of junk. Instead of having one large piece of wood, it was multiple pieces of what felt like cardboard, pushed together, and they moved apart when anyone was dancing. When this was mentioned to Cheri after the wedding, she blamed it on the Chapel and them needing to fix their lawn. The flower boquets were mediocre, cakes mediocre, and DJ didn't use our song lists that we sent but instead used a generic "wedding" playlist.
4. Billing & Communication issues -
We were incorrectly charged an extra installment and spent weeks and weeks trying to get in touch with Cheri (owner) or her team but were faced with excuses and broken promises of call backs. We were forced to file a claim with the bank and Cheri told the bank we were "harassing" her by calling and sending follow up emails. I'm not sure how else she expects her customers to get in touch with her when it takes weeks to hear back from anyone.
All in all, my wedding was beautiful thanks to having the beautiful and charming Seaside Chapel as my venue and absolutely perfect Fall weather for an outdoor reception, but I would NOT recommend GBC Events to anyone for catering/wedding coordinating. The owner is charming at first but there is a consistent lack of responsibility and accountability from GBC Events, and a complete absence of apologies for any and all mistakes made.
We had a difficult situation with weather and the team needed to pivot twice to make our wedding and dinner work out for us. Logistics were very difficult trying to get in out of the rain and dealing with three flights of stairs to get to our "plan B" location but, Jackie and the entire team were amazing and the food was really, really great. We requested a spinach and strawberry salad, filet mignon and lobster tails with grilled parmesean asparagus. We decided not to have a cake but, instead, requested a dessert trio for each guest including a lemon cheesecake tart with blueberry compote and a chocolate mousse tart with whipped cream and candied pecans. Our chef did such an amazing job on the tenderloin that we decided to keep the leftovers like some couples keep the top of their cake. We won't wait a year to eat it but we did freeze two portions for our one-week anniversary!!
We hired them for our wedding and they were the only vendor that gave us any trouble. They over-drafted my account by $2000 more than agreed upon and then were rude and blamed us for the incident. They still owe us money and it’s been 3 months since our wedding. It took weeks to finalized a proposal that should have been done in 1 day. They gave us more stress to an already stressful time. Never will recommend or use them again. The food was okay but the team and experience was horrible!
We hired Grayton Beach Catering to not only cater our reception, but also to provide the flowers and rentals as well. They were truly a one stop shop. The only thing we brought was our wedding cake.
GBC did an amazing job with my bouquets, I had sent them some inspiration photos and they created exact duplicates. I got so many compliments on my bouquet. The food was amazing as well. Everything tasted great.
They were also quite down to earth and willing to work with your budget and come up with creative ways to stretch your budget and maximize your dollars. I appreciate that we never felt pressured into signing up for more than we wanted.
This was absolutely the worst experience imaginable! Please read the full review before booking anything with this company especially your wedding. We were set up for a monthly payment plan for our May 2020 wedding. On three different occasions we were incorrectly charged. In a 5 week period we were charged three separate times. One of those charges was 60% more than it should have been (they admitted to charging us for someone else’s monthly payment). On another payment they charged $1000 more than what it was supposed to be and said they would correct it but never did. In fact, they never corrected any of the incorrect charges and we let that go because we still had a balance to pay and the owner agreed to count it towards that. Then COVID hit and we were not able to have our wedding as planned due to the executive order by the Florida governor. We spoke to the owner and she said multiple times we would be getting a full refund. The next communication we had was her lawyer reaching out to us stating they wanted to work out an agreement that was good for both parties. His offer was for us to get 30% of our money back. Months after we were told by the owner “not to worry you will get it” we were not able to get a full refund. Needless to say, with how disorganized the payments were we can’t imagine how disorganized our wedding would have been. We strongly encourage you to look at any other company for your wedding!
Everything about them was perfect. The food was truly amazing (we got compliments from every guest), the staff at the event was on top of it and so sweet (the bar tender made sure I always had my favorite drink in hand ❤️) and leading up to the event the owner was so helpful in helping us design a perfect menu!
I would HIGHLY recommend them!
We planned a destination wedding and Grayton Beach Catering made it simple and perfect. With just a photo of the cake I liked, they made it identical. They shrimp boil was prepared on site. And the chocolate fountain was a fun touch for the kids and adults. The service was tremendous!
We live out of state and came to Florida to meet with Grsyton beach catering in late April.
We settle on a price and budget signed an agreement and started the process of planning with Grayton Beach.
In 7 months we called several times and I recieved one call back on 10/17 the day before we were to leave for wedding.
She called me and complained that we had written a letter to the owner and the vendors and griped at me because no one had reached out to us on the plans. Very unprofessional and condescending. We are sorry for the loss that hurricane MIchael caused.
Grayton beach used this to not do there job. There was NO COMMUNUCATION FROM THEM TY O US!
We were to have a wedding coordinator the day of the wedding. She did not want to meet in person. She called the Bride 3 hours before during make up to ask what sides we wanted for food. That had been decided on months before.
The coordinator was told we wanted a certain salad of the two options we were give. The same goes the vegetables. The vegetables never showed up and the wrong salad we ask for was brought.
The cake was not decorated at all. We know that the flowers for the cake were given to the caterer....
We ask for white chairs got black.
We spent hours on choosing song for our special day and guest.
Entrance, exit, our dance song etc...over 50 songs.
As far as I know and asked around 5 of our songs were played. Our exit song was played in the middle of dinner. We had to move off beach into our house because rain. The tables never made it, the cards we designed and paid for to give to each of our guest never showed up.
We moved back to the back after dinner for a bonfire and smores.
The Wedding coordinator said it was to much trouble to move the DK back to the beach to play the music we chose.
We 5 hours for DJ and he did not play for 5 hours .
We waited on the beach for 40 minutes for the smores. I finally ask the coordinator why the delay? Again, I had to Ask...she said the sticks to roast marshmallows had to be bought. The did not have any.!!!!
The photographer, which by the way was amazing coordinated our sparkler exit...not the wedding coorninator.
No communication after the fiasco, called our wedding. From a value stand point we recieved about 40% of what we promised. The apology you may read above from the caterer is the only communication or apology we revieved.
Grayton beach catering turned what was suppose to be an exciting beautiful day into one huge stressful event.
By the way these are the high points. There is more....much more!
Good luck if you choose to use this company.
It was a wedding we will not forget!!!! Thanks Grayton Beach for destroying the plans we made and counted on you and the promises you made to us to fulfill those plans.
My only regret is that I can't give anything lower than a ZERO!
They were a total disaster. The worst part was they were late setting up for a beach wedding. Very late. We were shorted a vegetable for our main course. The chairs were supposed to be white. We got black. Cheri Perples was rude, did not return calls or emails on a timely basis. As soon as she grabs your money you can forget the communication. 3 hours before the wedding was to start I got a call asking me what my 2 side dishes were. I got neither I requested. Find another company. Not professional.
Amazing amazing amazing!! I was so so happy with everything. It was just perfect. And the food was the best wedding food I have ever had.
Grayton Beach Catering was absolutely wonderful! The food was phenomenal and so was the service the day off. They are also a full service company and also coordinated the equipment rentals, flowers and cake. They made the entire wedding stress free and perfect. Strongly recommend using them. They were organized, timely and it is worth mentioning the food was delicious again.
I have never worked with people so unreasonable and unaccommodating. In September I paid 50% of my deposit for my wedding in may of 2017. Sadly, my wedding was canceled. I informed the company on October 21 and they refused to give me a dime back (we are talking over 3,000 dollars). I gave the company over 7 months notice! And this was a mere few weeks after I had originally paid them. The company had done nothing for me but sent me a few emails and a menu. They have 7 months to fill the date up and Have obviously purchase no food for my event. Canceling my wedding has been heartbreaking and this company made it even worse for me. Don't use them!
Food was YUM!!!
service was good-- a little pricey so we had to make adjustments I really didn't think we needed to, but it turned out well in the end.
WARNING: Although the venue is beautiful for an outside reception venue, the wedding coordination services were spotty at best and the day-of coorinator provided was a nightmare.
The biggest issue - the owner/manager OVERCHARGED our credit card by $4000 and it has taken over 2 months to get it rectified and is STILL not fully corrected as of 24 December - we were finally told after MANY follow-ups and a complaint filed with Better Business Bureau that "the check is in the mail on 27 November". And it was...but for only HALF of what was to be refunded - we are still owed $2000!
The "day-of-coordinator", Margie, her organizational skills were abysmal although we were told that she had decades of experience - for example: my husband and I were "forgotten" at the beach after completion of the photographs for transportation back to the reception venue (we learned that our wedding party had to remind her/them that we had not returned). During our "absence" her primary coordination concern was about eating the appetizers and drinking the wine herself BEFORE the guests had all arrived (or my husband & I) and we were then blamed for not ordering enough. We also did not receive what we ordered for one of the appetizer choices; we ordered lobster bisque shooters with filet mignon, but they came WITHOUT the filet, but no adjustment was made to the final invoice.
Overall, Ms. Peebles’ accounting and business skills are sorely lacking as you can tell from the overcharge.
And, admittedly, I experienced other coordination issues from months earlier but pushed through them. It is frustrating that we were charged a "Coordination Fee" to the tune of $800, yet ended up having to find our own florist - because her options would not return calls/e-mails so she told me I was on my own - and I was coordinating from afar/Michigan and while traveling for work. I also had to find our own entertainment, she tried to force us to pick a particular group that she could not provide any audio samples of their work, and was charging $700 more than what I was able to coordinate on my own.
These issues are just a few that took place, but ultimately, beware of the temptation to consider the venue - it looks beautiful, but many promises were made that did not come to fruition.
I gave ONE star because I didn't want it to appear that I had forgotten, but if I could give negative stars for coordination I could certainly warrant it. The upset created by Ms. Peebles' coordination efforts still creates a negative cloud over the experience even almost 3 months after the event. Quality, Service & Value are ZERO stars.
Grayton Beach Catering (GBC from here on) did an absolutely AMAZING job with everything, and I am reluctant to give them 4 stars instead of 5, but there is only one reason for that, which I will explain later.
For our rehearsal dinner, at the suggestion of GBC, we had a bonfire and shrimp boil on the beach. What a great idea! The food was spectacular, and everyone loved the whole setting. The shrimp was a bit spicy, so you'll want to be aware of this if your guests are sensitive to spicy foods, but almost all of our guests said that it was great. Their wickle pickles were a huge hit, and the kids loved the watermelon slices.
The food at the reception was amazing as well. The steak was cooked perfectly, the crab cakes were very good, and the macaroni and cheese - oh my God, the macaroni and cheese - was the best I've ever had. It was sooo creamy and smooth, and had a little spice to it, just enough to make you notice, and it was absolutely delicious.
The employees at GBC were also perfect. They were very friendly and VERY good at what they did, and made every effort to make sure that everyone had a great time and enjoyed their food.
Now for my two complaints regarding one topic - communications with the owner of GBC:
For the shrimp boil, GBC apparently offers the option to cook seafood in a separate pot, in case there are guests with seafood allergies. This is where my first minor complaint comes in - even though we asked the owner of GBC at least 3 times if the food would be separated, and she told us every time that yes, it would, the food was NOT separated at the event. When I pointed it out to the chef, he said that they had not been informed that we needed it separated. However, they quickly made up for it and had several chicken dinners brought for our guests that couldn't eat seafood.
My second minor complaint is also directly related to communications with the owner of GBC, Cheri Peebles. She had told us that we would have soft drinks for the rehearsal and reception, and we were only responsible for alcohol. We ordered our alcohol, as requested, but we were surprised when we got to the rehearsal to find that there were no soft drinks or water for guests that didn't drink alcohol. Although they were able to remedy this in time for the reception the following night, they couldn't do anything at the rehearsal, and we were forced to make a store run and get soft drinks, water, ice, and a cooler.
Bottom line - everything that GBC did for us was amazing, and I would absolutely recommend them. They will create an event that your guests will love; just be sure to check and double-check right before the event, because Cheri may forget some rather important pieces of info!
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