This caterer ruined my wedding reception. It's been 3-1/2 yrs and I still have horrible feelings about my reception, I remember every awful detail. They are a full service caterer that sells packages that includes transportation from church to reception hall, flowers, tableware and linens, food, and service. I had my reception at Douglas Entrance. Below follow my exact problems:
Overall:
* One selling point was that they only caterer one event a day, so as to not stretch resources. However, on my wedding day, they rushed from a previous catering event to mine. (the owner mentioned this to my mother) The results reflected it.
Ceremony:
* The florist was provided by Matter of Taste, there was not an option, and therefore they are responsible for the quality of that florist. We paid extra for the boutineres for the groomsmen and fathers. When we received them the afternoon of the wedding, we immediately opened the box to find that 1/3 of them were half-dead, wilted flowers. It was obvious they were not fresh. We couldn't use them. And 2 hrs before the wedding, it was too late to ask for them to make new ones. Thankfully my bouquet was fine.
* Transportation was included, a regular limo. We paid extra to have a Rolls Royce transport us. When it was time to leave the church, the Rolls was broken down. It took about 45 minutes to get another one, and I was late for my own wedding reception. Matter of Taste did not reimburse us for the upgrade cost of the Rolls.
Reception:
* Hors d'ovres were all-around terrible. What was supposed to be hot was cold, and sushi was mushy. I tasted one of the hors d'ovres that was supposed to be hot and the center was actually half frozen. I had to throw it out.
Dinner
* Douglas Entrance does not have kitchen facilities. I was concerned that the Filet Mignon my parents wanted to service, the most expensive package they have, would not be cooked properly. They assured me, "leave the food to us, we are professionals and know what we are doing". Result - the filet didn't even look like filet mignon, rather it looked like a overcooked brick of poor quality meat. It was so embarassing. Several friends told me it was terrible. Couldn't be eaten. Couldn't even be cut into with a knife.
* I requested - and they said no problem - that they have a reserve of chicken marsala dishes available for guests who do not eat beef. I even supplied the number of guests at some of the tables who I absolutely knew did not eat beef, but asked that they still have extra, for those people who I didn't know or was not sure of being non-beef eaters. I asked several times, just to be sure. They said, of course, no problem, we always bring extra chicken just in case. Result - they only brought enough chicken dishes to cover the people who I had specifically identified, and there were people at my reception who did not eat an entree because of the inavailability of alternatives that was promised by the caterer.
* I don't eat beef or chicken, only seafood and dairy. The owner told me how much she LOVES to spoil the bride and groom, and that she would have something special for us. Result - we got a piece of salmon that smelled and tasted fishy. I took one bite and didn't finish the rest. Same with my husband. It was not edible. We did not get to eat dinner that night.
* After signing the contract with the caterer, I had asked for a tasting of the food that we had selected but the caterer told me that since we had already selected what we would be serving, there was no need. I tried to press for it, but she insisted that they really didn't do tastings in those circumstances and that it was really not necessary. That should have clued me in. Result - I expected the green beans that came with the meal to be the elegant french cut green beans that you find with any other caterer. What Matter of Taste served was the fat, stubby, chopped up in pieces ordinary green beans that you get out of can. And they were cold. The soup we selected sounded very elegrant - yellow pea with brandy and almond slivers garnish. What we got was an ordinary pea soup, like split green pea, only yellow. No traces of brandy, no almonds.
The only positives were
* The coffee bar. My friends enjoyed the lattes, though probably given that their stomachs were empty due to inability to eat their dinner.
* The wedding cake was very good.
* The table linen providers were also very good.
Overall, I recommend that you STAY AWAY from Matter of Taste. As my mother said, they turned out to be bullsh***ers. Lots of talk, build up your confidence in them and make you believe that they will make your special day the best possible, and then underdeliver on everything that they promise.
We called them after the wedding to complain and they did nothing. Not a single thing. Not even an apology to my parents who spent $25,000 on my wedding only to be embarrassed by the poor meal that was served to their guests.
Matter of Taste should be ashamed of themselves.
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