ok warning ladies!!!! (kinda a rant /warning sorry!)

amanda_robinson0717 · January 2011

i want to give a general warning to every maine bride about black tie catering! At first i had rave reviews about this company when i choose them because they understood my vision of what i wanted on my wedding day in regards to food and such. i was working with a wonderful lady paula about a year ago and she was very quick at responding and answering all my questions and stuff...but then after i gave them $1250 for my deposit to secure the day i never heard back from her until after servel emails and phone calls from meshe told me she was leaving the company in a week and would get everything all set before she left...well never heard from her again and was assigned another lady amy collins, it took me 3 weeks of calling everyday and being promised she would call back untill i threatened to find another vendor and file a police report of fraud. of course she called me minutes later and reassured me i wouldnt have any other problems. finally we set a tasting up about 5 months ago and she was great untill after i gave them other $3000 dollars. i had basicly no contact since then, doesnt answer emails, then when she does she she says she will get back to me and never does....i am 25 days away and have the worst feeling things are going to turn out horrible since ive been trying again to talk to amy to change guest counts and give final rsvps to get my final total so i can actually pay them though im not sure if i do they will show up! lol
sorry girls i know ive started to rant but i want you girls to understand where i am with black tie catering and im stressing huge and dont want anyone else to have to deal with this, im not saying dont use them but be weary. i feel i have fallen through the cracks here with them. i mean im spending a huge amount of money with them and deserve more customer service, atleast a response would be nice. my total with them is $12,800 for 46 guest, 8 being kids. btw ive been really laid back other then being upset for being ignored. this is the biggest part of my wedding and nothing is going according!

hcorr34 · January 2011

Yikes! I will definitely pass on this info to my FSIL who has been trying to contact them.

mlb5484 · January 2011

Omg! Why are earth would u even spend that much for catering? Not being rude, just wondering what that cost includes? Im so sorry ur going thru this.

schadbourne · January 2011

wow! i feel like too many busineses dont care about their clients...terrible.

Can you send an email/call to someone higher up than who you are trying to contact? Maybe the actual owner of the business. I would hope the owner would be more concerned about who they are paying as well as making their client happier.

Im so sorry you are having a horrible time, good luck! I will def not reccomend anyone to the black tie company

amanda_robinson0717 · January 2011

well im getting married at a private location, so its off site catering, my menu is:
~pre ceremony hot and cold apple cider served with warm apple cider donuts.
cocktail hour
~ an ice pagoda where our raw bar will be set up: that includes large shrimp served in shot glasses,little neck clams,oysters,mussels, and alasken king crab legs. also cali rolls and tuna and salmon over sticky rice will be on the ice padoga
butlered hors doeuvres
~4 dz salmon teriyaki skewers w ginger soy sauce
~4 dz cucumber cups w spicy garlic& curry chicken
~4dz carribean pork & red pepper satey
~4 dz pumpkin risotto croquettes w nutmeg creme fraiche
~4 dz mini cheddar burgers w sweet red pepper relish
~4 dz spanikopita
~4 dz sweet potato frittes w chipotle aioli
first course
~curried winter squash soup w cinnamon sage butter and maine haddock chowder.
second course
~mozzarella,garden tomatos and basil w olive oil
dinner
choices of
~wagyu beef filet served with carelized new potatoes w garlic and rosemary, and asparagus bundles.
~fresh sea bass withcaramelized onion marmalade serves with basmati rice and asparagus bundles
~ gourmet mac and cheese casserole w asparagus bundles.

its not the food thats crazy its the other stuff like rentals $2800 and staffing at $3600 due to traveling 2 hours from portland.
oh and a ice martini luge too and all mixers and sodas and such

amanda_robinson0717 · January 2011

well thats the menu as long as they show up! lol

jpickering8 · January 2011

I have been using Black Tie and they have been wonderful. I am so sorry this is happening to you. I didn't hear from them for a couple of months but I also didn't have any questions or need to. Then when I did we set a date to get together, created a menu & set the tasting date. I have been dealing with Camille who has been AMAZING. She's answered all e-mails and phone calls almost immediately. And is always answering my ridiculous questions! Maybe it's Amy? I don't know but I definitely suggest calling the owner or at least her boss because that is ridiculous, especially with the amount of money you're spending! Good luck with everything!

amanda_robinson0717 · January 2011

honestly im not sure if it was just amy as i had problems with paula who never finished our proposel as promised before she left. Once we had our tasting which took 7 months to finally set up, it was great and i felt better but once handing them more money again seemed to feel they just didnt give a rats about us. i have called 3 times to ask to speak to the owner and ive never got a returned phone call or even an email as i left my email twice with the girl who answered the phone.
im not saying no one has or will have a great experience with them, i just feel with all the swtiching around with my first consulting leaving i feel like im just extra work and am freaking i cant get her to get her act together and we are 25 days away. my wedding planner has also been trying to deal with the final details , neither of us have had luck. btw amy is the vice president of black tie...go figure!!

mlb5484 · January 2011

Wow! They definetly need to get on the ball and respond to your every request, this is your special day and they are supposed to take some of the stress off of you. I would most certainly be contacting the owner and tell them something needs to be done to ease your worries. Thats just not right.

chrispygal · January 2011

Oh no Amanda, I am so sorry you are going through this! I know they've catered weddings at the Ski Esta before and the food has looked great from what I've seen. I'm sure they will be there, and do a good job. They've got to. They might be tough to deal with right now, but they've been around a long time and have a very good reputation. Your menu sounds amazing! Take some deep breaths. It will all work out!

chayer227 · January 2011

Sorry about what you're going through, but I honestly can't get over how much it's costing!!!! That's a few thousand dollars more than my whole wedding - dress, rings, bridal party & parent gifts, decorations, catering, invitations, open bar, DJ, photographer and all the extras... for 118 guests!
Anyway, for that kind of money, they should be at your beckon call, and literally catering to your every whim! Call the owner and demand better service!

chrispygal · January 2011

What's the status? Have you heard from them?

meganyani · January 2011

Wow yeah...that is more than our wedding was too! For that kind of money they should definitely be doing whatever you want.

I assume you live far away, right? Otherwise I'd say go down there in person to talk to someone. Can you threaten with police action again? Don't they want you to have an appt to talk about the final counts and money? That is weird. Maybe you can send a relative to go yell at them.

Sorry this is happening, let us know what you get worked out...

amanda_robinson0717 · January 2011

yeah i kinda went out of control with the whole budget thing in regards to the wedding! lol for those who were wondering what was going on with the caterering, i finally got an email yesterday with my final proposal...go figure only 22 more days to go! so far i have the final total and corrected everything i wanted and hopefully ill find out whats next. not sure when my final payment is due b ut ill probably drop it offin portland,me next week, as its about 1.5 hours away from where i live. im sure it will all go well in the long run but im still angry i have to chase after them when im the one spending $13000 on food! you would expect a phone call to discuss details, but ive been lucky to get an email...AND THIS IS SUPPOSE TO BE THERE SLOW TIME DURING THE WINTER, HA! oh well its too late to do anything about it, im sure the food will be great as long as they remember the date! LOL

chrispygal · January 2011

Glad you heard from them! Your menu really does sound amazing. We're spending similar money on rentals and supplying our own alcohol so when we add that with our food budget, we're not far off from you so don't feel bad.

Granted our food budget includes the rehearsal dinner the day before (clambake) but we're not having waygu beef, raw bar, or ice sculptures either. lol. Please, please send me pictures afterwards. I'm dying to see how everything looks!

ok warning ladies!!!! (kinda a rant /warning sorry!)

Re: ok warning ladies!!!! (kinda a rant /warning sorry!)

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