Occasions by Sandy

This is the best food I've ever had at a wedding, and I'm so glad we had Occasions cater our big day. We worked directly with Dana to arrange everything. She provided us with some sample menus to get an idea of what was possible, then set up a tasting...the fun part. We had a sampling of items we liked from their sample menu, and a couple things they made for us that were not on the menu. Everything tasted delicious. We loved the flavor of the flatiron steak but ended upgrading to a more tender cut since we love steak so much. We also had a delicious salmon dish and a few sides to go along. Working with Dana made the process very easy. Once we had the menu set, she took care of everything else. On our wedding day, their staff brought us appetizers so we wouldn't miss out on cocktail hour as we got a few photos with our family. My husband and I made it a point to set aside some time to actually eat our meal...and we were not disappointed. Their setup was beautiful as well- we did a seated salad, then served the entrees buffet-style. I have never seen such an elegant buffet before- it is not your traditional burners-below the chafing dish kind of display. We received so many compliments on our food. They even packed up the leftovers for us and we are still enjoying it! Everything was unbelievably delicious. The staff was also wonderful during the event. They set up everything perfectly and were very friendly to our guests. They worked great with our venue and other vendors, and had a seamless execution. We cannot say enough wonderful things about Occasions Catering!

Occasions by Sandy was wonderful for our wedding. The food was amazing and they were so willing to work with us on our menu and change some of our appetizers. They also worked with us on our dessert and changed up the service for this course also. On the day of the wedding they were extremely professional and communicated with us and our parents throughout the whole evening to make sure everything was going okay. I would definitely recommend this company to someone else.

Joshua was amazing. Very responsive, which I found rare when I was looking for bid, put together exactly what I wanted for my menu, which was somewhat non-traditonal and basically acted as a wedding planner taking care of rentals and a lot of other details both before the wedding and the day of. All agreed Joshua was definitely a value-add. I cannot say enough good things about him!

I had originally contracted with Purple Avacado catering for my rehearsal dinner in October of 2010. Occasions by Sandy purchased the Purple Avacado and told me they'd be taking over my event. Despite already having a signed contract, their sales rep re-did the contract, added over $1000 in fees (to a $1000 event), doubling the cost. He also changed all the quantities on the items, totally contrary to what I had asked for, saying that he knew better than me what I needed and what I could afford. It took about 5 revisions of the new contract after mistake by mistake was made (wrong address, wrong time, wrong phone numbers, etc). At this point I insisted on coming in for a new tasting and to meet face-to-face to try to sort this out. I also told them that if they couldn't do my event the way it was contracted at first, they could just give me my deposit back and we could go our seperate ways. The sales rep insisted that they wanted to cater my event. We met, and they seemed a little more with-it, but certainly more concerned with the details of the food (important!) than the details on the contract (also important). I paid in full a few days before the event (where mistakes were AGAIN made on my credit card). The day of the event, OBS was supposed to arrive at 5pm to begin set-up for a 5:30 event, per the contract. I called at 5:15, and was told they were about half an hour away (!) and they thought set up was to begin at 5:30. They also requested directions. They arrived at 5:45 to begin set up, and all of my family and friends had to pitch in to assist them set up the event. The food was finally ready around 6:15, almost one-third of the way through the event. When I hired them, I had not anticipated that my family and friends would miss part of the event to help them set up. If that had been my plan, I would have ordered pizza. When I contacted OBS after I returned from my honeymoon to complain, I recieved a brush-off from the president, who told me it was my fault that they didn't have enough time to set up. There would have been enough time to set up, had they showed up on time. The president also accused me of having contradictory stories with his staff, and did not return my call when I offered to show him my phone records to prove what time I called, or to get a second opinion from my mother in law who ended up carrying chafing trays in her nice dress. Now, the food was good, but I would not hire them again, nor would I recommend them to anyone else because of these obvious customer service problems, and desire to be accusatory and combative with customers, rather than address their grievances. I do not enjoy posting negative reviews of vendors, and try to give everyone a fair shake, but OBS has issues that need to be addressed and future customers should be warned!

Food was very important to my husbands family as they are all from Sicily, and had high expectations. They were not let down! At our tasting we knew Occasions with Sandy had the best food. We had tasted others, but Occasions with Sandy stood out. Not only did the food stand out, but their personal service did as well. Originally Alaneyer was helping us, but she went on to another position, but it was her personal interest and investment that sealed the deal for us. Joshua, who picked up where she left off, (at the end, so we didn't get to know him too well) did a great job as well, very personable and friendly but also took care of what needed to get done. The homemade butternut squash ravioli was a HUGE hit with all of the Italians, they were even asking for more! The salad with fresh fig was the perfect touch, followed by the main course which was ok. The service was fantastic, our wine glasses were always full and the staff was very courteous. We were VERY pleased with the Occasions with Sandy, and I highly recommend them!

If I could give more stars I would. I loved working with Alaneyer to create a menu for the wedding that was creative, bold and delicious. Every details was perfect, and she went above and beyond to make it so. Every guest said it was the best food they'd ever had at a wedding, and I couldn't agree more!!!!

Jeremy was amazing to work with, but unfortunately, he was not the one at our event to make it go smoothly. The staff were unorganized and seemed to not have a clue what was going on. I had planned for 2 chocolate fountains and ended up with one very small one that I could have purchased at Target and the white chocolate in a CROCK POT. Needless to say, I was not happy! The staff was confused and didn't pay much attention to timing of things like the toast. The broach that was used on the cake was not returned to me and is still missing! After they cut the cake, who knows what they did with it! The hot chocolate bar was not how it was supposed to be, they actually put hot water in one of the urns with cocoa mix! The crepes and dessert shots were fabulous, but I wouldn't use them again. As I said, Jeremy was wonderful, but too many things went wrong. I would give 0 stars on Quality of Service but Jeremy was great! They did compensate me a little, but not enough to have the perfect evening messed up. Even some of my guests commented on the tacky crock pot. I was embarrassed.

We were overall disappointed in our choice of Occasions by Sandy. The food itself was great at the reception itself, but getting there was quite the chore. We originally worked with Alaneyer, and I don't know if she was overworked or simply not paying attention, but we asked for a number of changes (specific salads, stuffed pear instead of stuffed fig, coulis served with the cake instead of a chocolate covered strawberry...). After asking for the changes in person and via email several times, the contract was still incorrect and the food served at our tasting was not what we had asked for! Adding to the frustration was that our contract listed rentals (chairs, etc.) and alcohol, but we only found out two days before the wedding that the prices for Occasions by Sandy to subcontract Applejacks liquor and Event Rents were not included, so the cost was double what we expected!!! Alaneyer was not present for our wedding, so we had to do some extra site visits to get her replacement, Josh, up to speed (and we did this around both of their schedules). Josh did a MUCH better job, although I was disappointed that no one mentioned that our rentals would show up at my in-laws an hour and a half before our wedding coordinator was there to manage vendors, leaving them to move cars out of the garage to handle tables and chairs. After all the fiasco, the food itself was good, but if you use Occasions by Sandy, please ask for Josh.

Choosing Occasions by Sandy to cater our wedding was a no-brainer. They were so fun to work with and had great and creative ideas to make our reception one of a kind. The food and service was phenomenal! Our guests were so impressed by the creative menu and the quality of the food. They were flexible and able to help us arrange for additional items at the last minute when the weather was unexpectedly poor. I would recommend them to anyone hosting a party, wedding or conference.

I can't say enough good things about Alaneyer and the team at Occasions by Sandy. They listened to all of my crazy ideas and put together a delicious, unique and fabulous menu for us. Their facility is top notch and at the tasting - before we'd even hired them - we got to taste every item and meet the chef. They really impressed me at every step, even researching and creating a Canadian dish that we wanted that they'd never heard of! The food was perfect! Set up and take down went flawlessly and the staff was nothing short of amazing. They were constantly making sure I was okay and that I had enough to eat and drink - SO THOUGHTFUL! Alaneyer evens aved the day by talking us through the cake cutting moment. We hadn't really even though about it, but she was right there with the utensils reminding us to cutwith our left hands so the photos would turn out. All of that is just icing on the cake though, because the best part was the food itself!! It was delicious!! Our guests were SO impressed! I honestly don't think you can get better than Alaneyer and the folks at Occasions by Sandy!

Do not work with the owner! She is abrasive and does not listen. We switched to Alaneyer, and she was wonderful.

The thing we loved best about Occasions by Sandy is that they treated us like we were millionaires instead of poor working teachers! Our wedding was top class and top quality, and William at Occasions by Sandy helped us achieve that on a limited budget.