K K.
Yelp
My husband and I got married at the Asian Art Museum in August 2015. Choosing McCalls as our caterer was one of the BEST planning decisions we made.
We met with a lot of caterers, but we felt the best about McCalls for a few reasons:
- McCalls is able to handle events big and small. We wanted to work with a caterer experienced enough to handle a high volume and a wide range of events to ensure we would be working with a team of seasoned professionals.
- McCalls is the in-house caterer at the venue--which we took as a good thing as they are familiar with the kitchen and the space.
- McCalls would be able to provide the food, beverages, rentals, florals and even provided recommendations for lighting, sound and drapery. In addition, our main point of contact, Anna, would be there on our wedding day and would be able to act as our day of coordinator.
First off, Anna is INCREDIBLE. Anna is kind, funny, easy going and professional. When we met her, we knew we would be in good hands.
We met with several caterers, and we were blown away by McCalls from even the first email contact. Out of everyone, McCalls was the most transparent about estimated costs, which we appreciated as weddings are a huge investment. The deposit was also reasonable compared to some of the other top caterers in the city.
Before deciding to go with McCalls, Anna offered to have us visit one of the events she was planning to help us get a sense of how they work (like a well oiled machine) and taste their food (delicious).
Throughout the entire process, Anna was there to help answer any questions (of which we had many), allowed us to see yet another event held at our venue to help us choose the lighting, and offered any additional help she could to ensure the planning process would be painless. What's more, she gave us so many good ideas and advice about the timeline to ensure the day would run smoothly.
== Rentals: 5 stars ==
McCalls owns a lot of high quality flatware, plates, linens and decor items, which helped ease the pain of decision making. In addition, we didn't have to work with any additional vendors.
== Food & Beverage: 5 stars ==
Prior to our official tasting we worked with Anna and the chef to choose a menu with classic flavors. EVERYTHING was delicious both at the tasting and on the day of. In addition, they were very accommodating with our food requests and allergies.
Appetizers: Spanakopita, corn soup, duck pillows, beef crostini, caponata on toast
Salad: Butter lettuce, shaved vegetables, feta and grapefruit dressing
Mains: Beef short rib, sea bass with chermoula, vegetarian ravioli
== Staff: 5 stars ==
All of the staff was cordial, attentive, and professional. Cocktail hour and dinner service went without a hitch. Our guests were able to get enough food at cocktail hour, didn't have to wait long to get a drink, and were able to make any last minute food switches as needed. As the bride and groom, we had a "butler" -- I use quotes because he was more like an absolute lifesaver. He was there to ensure that we had everything that we needed: food, water, personal space, bandaids!, and was also there to help us when we took some of our portraits in front of City Hall.
== Flowers: 5 stars ==
Miguel and Mercedes are AMAZING. When planning our wedding, we had an idea of the overall aesthetic of what we wanted. We met with a few florists, and we were told that what we wanted would be far outside our budget (almost double).
We decided to go with McCalls as they came closest to our ideal floral plans within our budget and have a lot of experience with the museum's strict rules.
At our design meeting, we were blown away by what they put together. They created both a tall and a short centerpiece for us to view. In addition, we were able to use their gold candelabras at no additional cost as they own them.
On the day of, all of our personal flowers and the centerpieces took our breath away and far exceeded any of our expectations. It is still hard for us to believe that these were our wedding flowers. They added the necessary pop of color and gave our wedding the classic, elegant and romantic feel that we were going for.