Lavishly Dunn Catering and Event Planning

take 20-30 minutes for guests to get fed. We use white ceramic platters for all our food on a buffet as well as risers staged at different levels to add depth to the buffet. We don’t use “pots” and we don’t use chafers as they overcook food. We pre heat our platters to keep the food warm. We are happy to send any pictures of our food on social media to show you it is ours. We serve 4 oz portions of each protein(beef & fish) serving a total of 8 oz of meat/fish per guest. We serve our plated salad on a dinner size plate so it looks better than squeezing it on to a small plate. We cook our risotto al dente. Jane (mother of bride) had a florist and an event planner who would take care of any table florals or table scapes. The event planner let the vendors go through the buffet before the guests, which we would never allow despite our event manager saying that wasn’t allowed many times. We also had plenty of steak left, as well as the everything else other than the swordfish. From the 12+ vendors most all took 2 pieces of swordfish and no beef. If the vendors didn’t go through buffet until the end there would have been plenty of swordfish for all guests and vendors. We had a server who’s son got into a car accident a couple hours before and couldn’t make it. Not only did I tell this to Jane, but we also DID NOT charge for the server. We also took 10% of of the entire cost of the event (over $1k) after Jane brought her disappointing comments to us. My suggestion is to read our other reviews and ask us questions. We are happy to put you in touch with any of our other 28 Couples from this year.

iews because they are all 5 star and I've already thanked our brides or clients. Just to be clear, we DID NOT actually do this wedding. However, it is very important that I set the record straight. I speak with all our brides/grooms personally on the phone or in person for their initial inquiry. It is very important for me to develop a relationship with my clients so that we can really get a feel for what they want. I go over every detail from the initial inquiry through the event day. Now let's break down this review. We itemize everything on our proposal. We show line items for literally every single section of the event (down to each individual plate and fork). The reason we break everything down is so that there are no hidden costs, no "deceitful or hypocritical practices" here. If a client inquiries about a cost of something but isn't sure if they want us to provide it or not, we lay out the costs of the item and put the font color in grey. This allows our client to see what the price is if they chose to include it in the event proposal. Alexa said her budget was $20k so we priced everything out and we would do our best to stay within the $20k budget. Our first proposal was very close to the $20k so we reduced our admin fee by 3% to bring the total to $18,290.81. This did not include some items in grey (tables, chairs, linen, field kitchen) as we were told that either the venue had them or the client was renting them on her own. On next revision, we were asked to add on were linens (these were already priced out in grey so Alexa knew how much they cost). This increased the price to $19,003.98. We then had a tasting with Alexa, Jordan and parents. We charge $75 per person for the tasting but comp the bride and groom charge if they sign with us. Alexa and Jordan had already signed prior to the tasting so we only charged the 2 parents) At the tasting, they asked if they could add 1 more hors d'ouerve to total 5 instead of 4 - this increased the price. They also changed the timing of the event - originally our onsite time was 2:00-12:00, changed to 11:30am - 11:00 pm. This added on 1.5 hours. They also wanted to make sure there would be no line at the bar and asked to add another bartender. We were also told at the tasting that the kitchen onsite was only a household style kitchen which would not work for cooking dinner for 140 guests. So we added the field kitchen in onto the proposal (this was previously quoted in grey on the proposal stating "Kitchen needs may change based on site visit and kitchen equipment available in house"). All these additions to the proposal brought the price up to $22,340.42. After we sent the latest proposal with all the requested additions over, Alexa got very upset because we went over her budget... I explained that she asked us to add to her proposal and that's why the price went up. She disagreed and said the price shouldn't have gone up because she gave a budget of $20k. After lots of back and forth, Alexa still did not understand that despite what she wanted her budget to be, when you add items that cost more money, you will be charged for it. Alexa wrote :"When I addressed the fact that the budget had been blown by 30% for nothing new or special added, Jonathan, the owner, told me that "it wasn't that much of a difference from where we started" Her budget hadn't been blown by 30%. Every charge that was on the proposal was requested by Alexa herself. Alexa also wrote in her review that "By the time we got to the tasting, the bill had creeped up to $26k. Her bill before the tasting was $19,003.98. Her bill after her additions at the tasting went to $22,340.42. It was never $26k... We charge a non refundable $1,000 to hold the date (written in our proposal contract as well). This locks you in to only the date. You can make whatever changes you want along the way. Pending the changes you make, the cost will change. Our hors d'ouerve are 1-2 bites depending on each individual hors d'oeuvres. These are passed bites that if were any bigger would be difficult to eat and potentially could make a mess on your dress or suit. I am confident that we did nothing wrong throughout our contact with Alexa. We continue to offer delicious food and impeccable service service while being up front and honest with all our charges. I would love the opportunity to speak with anyone who has questions about this review or any other questions you may have. . We stand by our product and service. I know that our staff does an incredible job and will continue to do so. Please feel free to reach out at any time!!!