Occasions Caterers

After reviewing proposals from several catering companies, we ultimately chose Occasions and we are so glad we did. From the very beginning, their team stood out for their professionalism, attention to detail, and exceptional service. We especially want to thank Napheissa, who was truly wonderful to work with. She took the time to understand our vision, listened carefully to our preferences, and worked closely with us to ensure everything was exactly what we hoped for. Her responsiveness, warmth, and expertise made the planning process smooth and enjoyable. And the food - absolutely amazing. We received so many compliments from guests, many of whom told us it was the best food they’d ever had at a wedding. Every dish was beautifully presented and full of flavor. We’re so grateful to the Occasions team for helping create such a memorable and delicious experience. Highly recommend to anyone looking for thoughtful service and top-tier catering.

I’ve worked with Occasions and Sydney on countless corporate events over the years, so when it came time to choose a caterer for my wedding, it was a no-brainer. They are literally the best. Sydney was incredible to work with — organized, responsive, and completely on top of every detail. The food was phenomenal, as always, and among the rest of their amazing offerings, our guests are still talking about how good everything was. Whether it’s a professional event or a personal celebration, Occasions consistently delivers. I can’t recommend them — or Sydney — highly enough.

I work for a local jeweler, we often host events for our clients, Occasions is always my first call when planning an event however this past time truly blew me away. Most recently we hosted an educational event for Montana Sapphires, Allison did serious research when developing the menu for this event to ensure that everything was inspired by sapphires and gems, and just look at the pics! Stunning! Their team is always beyond just reliable and Lupe, the captain for our event, is a huge asset as she is so detail and service oriented, once they arrived it was a turn-key operation. I always look forward to my next call to Occasions!

Food and Service: 5/5 Pricing and Transparency: 2/5 Communication: 3/5 My partner and I had a wonderful wedding celebration of about 150 folks at the MLK, Jr. Library in Washington, DC in late October 2023. When we learned that the Library uses Occasions as their exclusive caterer, we had some reservations. But our wedding planner reassured us that Occasions is a great catering option. In many ways, she was right. I'll start with the positives: -- Our Occasions rep, Sidney, provided a wonderful, detailed proposal with three pre-made menu options and lots of additional options. She worked with us to mix-and-match to accommodate folks with various dietary restrictions, including vegans and gluten-free folks. -- The tasting was exquisite. We brought loved ones and had a great time. Even the options we didn't choose were wonderful. -- Rentals -- including chairs, linens, plates, and cutlery -- were all beautiful, extremely customizable, and fairly reasonable. -- On our wedding day, the food was outstanding. We got so many compliments on the salad (gathered with sesame-crusted chevre), entrees (1. Statler chicken breast; 2. branzino w/ gnocchi; and 3. sweet potato pave w/ mole verde), and cake (layers of cinnamon, carrot, and chocolate). -- The service staff who worked the dinner were outstanding. They were extraordinarily friendly and organized, and entire tables were served simultaneously. But we also had some extremely frustrating experiences with Occasions. Most significantly, Occasions played some questionable last-minute games regarding price. After we received our proposal, we took a couple of steps to bring down the price: -- We mixed and matched from three different menus. We were told that choosing options from the less expensive premade menus would cause the total cost to decrease, so we chose many options from the two less-expensive menus. -- Likewise, between the proposal and the final bill, we reduced the total number of guests by 25, meaning Occasions (by its own accounting) had to send less waitstaff and would need to provide 25 fewer meals. Yet, inexplicably, the price Occasions ultimately charged us to feed 150 was *higher* than even the most expensive menu option in the proposal for 175. And it wasn't just a little more expensive than it should have been -- the difference was between $5,000 and $8,000, or more than a 10% swing in our total catering budget. Unfortunately, my partner and I didn't learn about this price gouging until the week of our wedding. When we asked for an explanation, we were given none (though Sidney reminded us that we were expected to make a full payment in advance). We paid the unexplained difference because we felt like we had no other choice. To be clear: The actual catering experience we had on our wedding day was exquisite. The food was outstanding. The service was incredible. And we couldn't have been happier. But it was soured a little bit by feeling cheated, without explanation, on cost. In sum, if you are considering Occasions for your wedding or event, know that you're going to get excellent food and service but be prepared to advocate for yourself. If price is no obstacle, full speed ahead! If you are conscious of what you're spending, demand price transparency and make them explain when costs start to inexplicable shift. Thanks, Occasions, for making our special day great. But it'd have been nice to pay what you said we would.

Julia, their Account Executive, is an incredible communicator - warm, welcoming, reassuring, and always providing reminders at just the right time! (We’re all busy and appreciate a little reminder now and then!) We planned and organized our event remotely at a venue we weren’t too familiar with last year (April 2024), but Julia and her team made everything seamless and beautiful. The food was AMAZING! Thank you for kindly accommodating our dietary restrictions as well. We have another event coming up in April 2025, and we couldn’t think of a better catering company than Occasions!

We have worked with Occasions on numerous events and love having them here at Fathom Gallery! From corporate to social, they execute all types of events perfectly. Past clients that have used Occasions for their events have been very satisfied with both the food and the service. We have loved working with them over the years at both of our locations and always recommend them!

I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to the Occasions team! From the start Napheissa was amazing. She gave a wide variety of options and was so helpful throughout the process. Detail oriented, and had fantastic follow through, which is always appreciated in planning events. Becca was fantastic and when we had venue issues, she was right there to take care of the fine print. On the day of the event, Chris the event captain and Kathleen were so professional, timely, and gave fantastic customer service. Chris was on top of everything, and with his help the event ran itself. I am so grateful for the entire Occasions team and can't wait to collaborate again!

This is about their company and their staff. Their truck driver almost hit me on a pedestrian crossing and had a smirk on his face when I tried to stop him on Feb 15th sat evening at the intersection of new York and 6th. Pretty horrible experience. Drivers like this should be severely penalized and such companies need to train their staff appropriately. Please don't support organizations like this. We need better road safety accountability. And in addition to the government, employers also need to train and educate their staff.

I work for a local jeweler, we often host events for our clients, Occasions is always my first call when planning an event however this past time truly blew me away. Most recently we hosted an educational event for Montana Sapphires, Allison did serious research when developing the menu for this event to ensure that everything was inspired by sapphires and gems, and just look at the pics! Stunning! Their team is always beyond just reliable and Lupe, the captain for our event, is a huge asset as she is so detail and service oriented, once they arrived it was a turn-key operation. I always look forward to my next call to Occasions!

Food and Service: 5/5 Pricing and Transparency: 2/5 Communication: 3/5 My partner and I had a wonderful wedding celebration of about 150 folks at the MLK, Jr. Library in Washington, DC in late October 2023. When we learned that the Library uses Occasions as their exclusive caterer, we had some reservations. But our wedding planner reassured us that Occasions is a great catering option. In many ways, she was right. I'll start with the positives: -- Our Occasions rep, Sidney, provided a wonderful, detailed proposal with three pre-made menu options and lots of additional options. She worked with us to mix-and-match to accommodate folks with various dietary restrictions, including vegans and gluten-free folks. -- The tasting was exquisite. We brought loved ones and had a great time. Even the options we didn't choose were wonderful. -- Rentals -- including chairs, linens, plates, and cutlery -- were all beautiful, extremely customizable, and fairly reasonable. -- On our wedding day, the food was outstanding. We got so many compliments on the salad (gathered with sesame-crusted chevre), entrees (1. Statler chicken breast; 2. branzino w/ gnocchi; and 3. sweet potato pave w/ mole verde), and cake (layers of cinnamon, carrot, and chocolate). -- The service staff who worked the dinner were outstanding. They were extraordinarily friendly and organized, and entire tables were served simultaneously. But we also had some extremely frustrating experiences with Occasions. Most significantly, Occasions played some questionable last-minute games regarding price. After we received our proposal, we took a couple of steps to bring down the price: -- We mixed and matched from three different menus. We were told that choosing options from the less expensive premade menus would cause the total cost to decrease, so we chose many options from the two less-expensive menus. -- Likewise, between the proposal and the final bill, we reduced the total number of guests by 25, meaning Occasions (by its own accounting) had to send less waitstaff and would need to provide 25 fewer meals. Yet, inexplicably, the price Occasions ultimately charged us to feed 150 was *higher* than even the most expensive menu option in the proposal for 175. And it wasn't just a little more expensive than it should have been -- the difference was between $5,000 and $8,000, or more than a 10% swing in our total catering budget. Unfortunately, my partner and I didn't learn about this price gouging until the week of our wedding. When we asked for an explanation, we were given none (though Sidney reminded us that we were expected to make a full payment in advance). We paid the unexplained difference because we felt like we had no other choice. To be clear: The actual catering experience we had on our wedding day was exquisite. The food was outstanding. The service was incredible. And we couldn't have been happier. But it was soured a little bit by feeling cheated, without explanation, on cost. In sum, if you are considering Occasions for your wedding or event, know that you're going to get excellent food and service but be prepared to advocate for yourself. If price is no obstacle, full speed ahead! If you are conscious of what you're spending, demand price transparency and make them explain when costs start to inexplicable shift. Thanks, Occasions, for making our special day great. But it'd have been nice to pay what you said we would.

My friend catered my birthday party here. All was delicious. My favorites in order of preference : Coconut shrimp, bacon wrapped scallops, a Lebanese beef pastry, and a chicken wonton. I could not stop eating the shrimp. It was crispy and the perfect ratio of breading to shrimp. The Lebanese beef pastry were large! They are so professional. Highly recommend!

Lovely food. Excellent service. Friendly folks. Made for a delightful event! (And, they even chose Harney's teas-- the best!)

Had a bad experience using this catering company for our baby naming. Our plan and proposal for our event was just disregarded. It seemed as if there was not enough staff to run our event smoothly and there were communication issues between the account executive we used and the staff they hired. The food was very bleh. Would not use again.

I recently helped plan my friend's wedding and we decided to go with Occasions because of their reputation in the DC area. I was completely amazed at how accommodating they were to the bride and groom's wants/needs. The groom wanted beef jerky, and out came a beef jerky cart during the reception. The bride wanted a champagne bar and Occasions went above and beyond with the "Bubble Bar" and an array of sugar and bitters. Apart from that, the food was delicious and the service was impeccable -- the servers made sure to keep each glass filled with water and wine. I don't think any of the guests felt uncared for. During the proposal process, they were very transparent and upfront with pricing and what would be included so that there would be no surprises. Overall, I and the couple were very happy from beginning to end.

They dropped an entire tier of the wedding cake (that I made for my friend's summer 2017 wedding) on the ground outside! And blamed me for allowing them to carry it. They made us pay extra for a gold cake stand that not only never showed up on site but apparently wouldn't have fit the cake anyway, despite them asking for the dimensions. At the end of the evening they lost the cake turntable when cleaning up. I tried talking to their staff throughout the night to catch it before it got packed into their trucks and they made me sit and wait until the end of the clean up only to say they'll let me know later. I tried reaching out several times over the next few weeks and didn't get any info until I finally copied the bride. They replied saying it was my fault they dropped the cake and the turntable wasn't their responsibility and there was no offer to replace it. As a small business owner I can't imagine treating my clients or my service this way so I have to try and hold them accountable for their lack of responsibility throughout their service and let others know this before working with them.

Kate Manders and her Team at Occasions, created the perfect socially distanced Covid responsible 50th Wedding Anniversary party on our porch, with masks to match the beautiful decor. The chef produced an amazing 5 star dinner and Christopher the Captain served us in impeccable style. Actually they almost were invisible! We never wanted our family celebration to end. Even the clean up was immaculate. Thank you to Occasions for giving us the most perfect evening to remember. The Burke Family

We cannot say enough about Occasions. They were exceptional at the three most important things for us: food, service, and options. Many couples aren't able to find the time to eat at their wedding, but trust us, you'll want to give yourselves a few minutes for the corn soufflé, goat cheese ravioli, and the cognac steak. Our guests enjoyed every bite! The entire team at Occasions is there to make your event wonderful. They were professional, accommodating and so classy. Seana and Kate were available for our questions with clear answers that made us able to enjoy our day without worry. They know how important this day is and treat it as such. Occasions was able to accommodate everything we wanted. We wanted family style food (big shared plates so your guests get more of what they want) - no problem. A Funfetti cake - you got it. Adapted cocktails - sure things. Chairs, linens, flatware - they have a huge selection. They listened to our feedback, adapted their menus, and made sure everything was still top notch. Bottom line: Occasions has a staff that is so talented and service oriented, they will make your wedding (or event) exceed expectations.

I helped plan my office holiday party this year and we hired Occasions because they were on the list of approved caterers for the venue. I wasn't involved in the RFP or menu selection process, so I can't comment. I did, however, eat the food. And I can definitely comment on that. We had an appetizer buffet and the food was so bland. The honey glazed ham was probably the best option because it made a nice little sandwich with some bread. The butternut squash and spinach strudels tasted like nothing wrapped in pastry that tasted like air. The cauliflower and white truffle pots didn't tasted like truffle... or anything really. The chicken skewers again, were bland and chewy. The lemongrass shrimp cakes were ok compared to the rest of the spread, but that's really not saying much. I think we could have spent 1/3 the budget and bought frozen appetizers from Trader Joes, popped them in the oven, and heartily fed our guests. People left the party early because they were hungry. Because of my serious sweet tooth, I tried all of the desserts. The cookies tasted store bought. The only dessert that was worth the calories were the eclairs. I think an ice cream sundae bar would have been cheaper and more of a crowd pleaser than their assortment. They did specially purchase the beer I requested for our party since apparently they don't normally carry any decent beers (i.e. not Miller Lite or Heineken). Our contract included wines up to a certain price per bottle. but when we asked to see their wine list, we noticed all of the wines they selected for our party were the cheapest options. They were happy to exchange the wines as long as they remained under the contracted price. Reading the menu before the party, I was pretty excited for the food. But I honestly wonder if anyone working tried any of the appetizers. Because if they did, I can't imagine they thought the quality was worth the price we were paying.

My name is Jazmine Jones and I had an amazing time at Occasions Catering. I have always admired the time and effort it takes to successfully cater an event and it has encouraged me to be a lot more detailed when it comes to planning and preparing. I had an amazing time making the Crepes! You can fill them with dinner servings or dessert fillings and they are so easy to make! And the design that it took to make the our chocolate dessert was so interesting and delicious. On behalf of the the FBR Branch Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington who is in partnership with the American Experience Foundation I thank you for the wonderful opportunity!

Occasions Caterers is the best! I manage everything from fundraisers to social events for a high profile organization and Occasions is my go-to caterer. I never have to worry during my events, because Occasions consistently delivers the most beautiful events and deliciously innovative food in DC. What makes Occasions stand out from their competitors is their polished and professional staff. Special shout out to the amazing Matt Sipala, whose event expertise and attention to detail are unparalleled in the city. Matt is warm, kind, creative, and always willing to go the extra mile for his clients. He fully takes the time to understand the client's goals and visions and creates true event experiences. Matt is readily available and flexible (always important to an event planner dealing with unexpected crises). I would recommend Matt in a heartbeat and look forward to working with him and the fantastic team at Occasions in the future. Note: Try the savory waffle stations at your next event!

Occasions just catered my wedding Saturday night at the Torpedo Factory and they did a fantastic job. We began the relationship about 7 to 9 months ago when we began planning our wedding - my sister had them cater her wedding about 6 years ago and they did a great job then so I decided to contact them to see what they could do for me. We scheduled our tasting and our catering representative and had an amazing meal - we tasted all the hors d'oeuvres we selected, then moved on to the salad, then to the main course and then the passed desserts (fudge brownies and mini ice cream cones). Apparently at the end of the night I had realized that there was a waiter following me around making sure that I had hors d'oeuvres and a glass of champange and that was his job! How great is that?! It also says something really wonderful about the company because they pay attention to details. I would go back to Occasions for any event that I plan. Here's to a job well done!

I encountered Occasions Caterers at a reception at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. They had a rather extensive spread of all sorts of food and beverages that was - for a reception - amazing and - for food quality - pretty good. Food was laid out in three sections - desserts, small appetizers, a conveyor belt sushi station. The desserts were lollipop truffles, diced fruit in martini glasses, strawberry shortcake, creme brulee in spoons, and small cake bites covered in white chocolate. My secret hope for cupcakes was fulfilled but turned out to be the worst dessert there - bland frosting (is that possible?!) and dry, tasteless cake. At some point at one of the dessert tables a server brought out a big tray of what looked to be lipstick containers in ice. I thought that we were being treated to some super trendy foam dessert, picked up a vial and found it was a spray canister, much like a small perfume atomizer. Spraying god-knows-what into my mouth (I will, perhaps foolishly, eat anything), I scrunched up my face and turned to my co-workers, "what is this?" We went around the table trying to guess, even the servers had no clue. Finally someone procured the answer - martinis! In an atomizer! Genius! Appetizers included cannolis, roast beef, fish, green beans, and various crudites, among other warm dishes I didn't get around to eating. I was floored by the conveyor belt sushi, with tinier-than-average pieces of nigiri and rolls rolling around in front of my eyes. Of course the rice was nothing to write home about and the fish was not omakase quality, but there were still some edible and well-cut slices of maguro, unagi, octopus, squid, and snapper. Rolls were straightforward with the occasional gigantic fan-style roll that contained sugar snap peas and green beans. I avoided those. For a catered event, Occasions did a wonderful job of providing edible, at times delicious, food for a large crowd. They offered a diversity and quality of food I have yet to seen rivalled at any large event, and the servers were all friendly and polite. Were I charged with organizing catering for a large event I'd definitely give them a call.

Occasions Catering catered my backyard wedding. I was amazed at the creative and unique ideas our planner, Seana, came up with. The food was incredible and Seana helped turn my wedding from a run-of-the-mill pinterest wedding, to a wedding that guests can't stop talking about and friends want to replicate. Thanks Occasions Catering staff and Seana for an amazing, personalized experience all around!!

I attend a Christmas parties last week, the service from this caterer was wonderful, the food was outstanding. I would hire them for my next event. Charley D

I don't even know how to start this review. I usually don't write negative reviews but I felt I had to share our experience. Our daughter is getting married next year so she flew home to Maryland last week, to get a bunch of wedding planning done. Our wedding planner, scheduled three caterer tastings for the week. The first two went off without a hitch. We arrived as scheduled to Occasions catering in Washington, DC at 12 noon, for our tasting. Their entrance was very impressive, with dinnerware, chairs and linens on display, but when we arrived nobody greeted us and we felt totally out of place. Our wedding planner took us into the tasting room. Fifteen minutes after our scheduled tasting Shawna, from Occasions, finally acknowledged us. She came in to the room to say hello but didn't make eye contact with anyone and then promptly left the room. A few minutes later she called our wedding planner out of the room. Despite the numerous emails confirming our appt. and a phone call from our planner to Shawna the night before our scheduled appointment, Occasions dropped the ball and was not at all prepared for us. The reason Shawna asked our planner to speak outside of the tasting room was because they needed us out of that room for another potential client. So they made us leave their tasting room and put us in their display room where they made a mock up tasting room. Since we hadn't eaten yet and I was on the verge on "Hangry" , I asked for a roll or a little something to eat. Fifteen minutes later a waiter came in with a basket of bread. Then they brought a plate of hors devours that were cold, even though they were supposed to be warm. Based on the fact they were not what we had requested and there were not enough for each of us to try, it was clear these were left over from the people who were scheduled for the tasting room we were hurried out of. Shawna tried to tell us they were the correct serving temperature. Finally at 12:45pm they came in with two "display" plates (for 4 people) of meals saying our actual meals would be coming out. By then my husband was getting very upset with the poor service and attitude we had been receiving from Shawna & Occasions. We said we were going to leave and forego our tasting of the main meal. Shawna said she understood and would go get us desserts to take home. She left the room and within a couple of minutes the waiter came in with our entrees, talk about lack of communication! We told him to pack them up and we would take them home and that we were done. Shawna came back with desserts to take. Some were still frozen and parfaits were thrown together for us (again clearly left overs from the other peoples tasting). Carlos came back with our entrees and we left. (I do have to mention that Carlos was very good, he tried very hard to make a horrible situation better). We drove straight home to put everything in the refrigerator before going to our next scheduled appointment. When we got home we opened the "care packages" to see what we got and we were blown away by the awful smell. The meat was still raw and God only knows why the fish smelled so bad, needless to say, all of the meals went down the garbage disposal. Occasions is supposed to be in the service (catering) business. When someone sets us up at a table with clearly dirty dishes, that who knows how many other people have touched, and expects to serve me food off of it. I am insulted. When Occasion's tells me "what do you expect? we are not a restaurant" That is absurd! A catering business needs to be a restaurant that works remotely from it's kitchen, yet they could not even prepare and serve food in their own building! When someone tries to serve me food that was clearly taken from another persons table I am disgusted. When someone gives me undercooked meat & very bad smelling fish. I am sickened. I feel I have to bring this out in a review so others will know that Occasions may not be all it's "known" (notice I used past tense) to be.

Choosing Occasions Caterers for our large party was the best decision we ever made! Suzanne and her team made planning very easy. Suzanne was a joy to work with, so enthusiastic, responsive, honest and efficient. Guests were blown away by the food and decorations. Everything about our party was perfect! I highly recommend Suzanne at Occasions Caterers.

We contracted with Occasions Caterers for our wedding, and they offer the best food you can imagine! Alison and Jennifer took a lot of time and care to ask us questions about what kind of event we were looking for, and what our tastes were like. The menu and drink selections were perfectly on-theme, and they did an amazing job setting up the tables and place settings at the venue. The service was also wonderful -- the staff they hired for the event were friendly and professional. My only criticism is that they are rather expensive, but given the quality of the food and level of service, the price makes sense.

Occasions did an amazing job with our kickoff party. The food was delicious and both Shelby and Jak were professional and prompt with any and all questions we had. They came up with an excellent menu for hors d'oeuvres and drink selection and it was all stupendous. We will definitely be reaching out for future events!

Nancy Coppola is the best! She is in demand but it's worth it and easy to see why. She and her team can magic up any top notch vendor needed (valet, flowers, lighting, AV, bands, DJs, the sky is the limit) and handle every aspect from quotes to day of execution - truly full service; and all in one bill. Occasions' food is top notch. From gourmet to down home comfort food, it's all executed flawlessly and beautifully and creatively presented. They are the best in town!

Menus Catering/Occasions Caterers are wonderful. We recently used them to cater a lunch for 40 people, and the food was a standout! Their more unique sandwich offerings were a hit, especially the Apple-Cheddar Turkey, Honey Ham & Brie on pretzel roll, and Heritage Ham & Cheese with apricot chutney. And everything arrived in cute wicker baskets to display. They also were able to accommodate a last-minute, same day special request for a no-oil lunch for one of our guests. Absolutely amazing! I worked with Hayley and completely recommend the team there - delicious!

Occasions is an extraordinary catering company. I have seen many caterers in the DC area and they are by far the most innovative and professional. I have done many international and domestic events all of the world and I know when working with Occasions I am going to get great service that takes the stress out of the event. They have handled many high profile events for organizations that I have worked for including large 1,000 Gala dinners to small intimate Board of Trustee events. They have also handled my personal events such as Birthday parties. I would recommend them to anyone looking for an out of the box and beautiful event with excellent staff. I always contact Matt Sipala when working with Occasions and he is the BEST!

I've been a client of Occasions Caterers since 2008 specifically working with Matt Sipala. He helped me plan our Inaugural Ball in DC in 2009. As our numbers kept increasing and we had reached full capacity, the only way to garner more space was to erect a tent to the building which not only had never been done, it was also during one of the highest security times in DC. Matt got that done as well as everything else. He exceeded every one of my expectations. Not only was the food exceptional, the service was outstanding and the cost of this very large event was right on point. There were so many elements to this particular event and because of Matt, it was flawless. I know I have my choices of caterers to use, but why choose another when you are using the best in town. Occasions and Matt cater every event we have in DC, I highly recommend them.

Occasions catered our wedding last week and we could not have been happier with Joel and his team. Our menu was perfect down to the very tiniest of details. Our appetizers included a shrimp & grits in martini glasses, lobsters in a delicious cream sauce served in mini spoons, sushi and mini warm goat cheese mushroom grilled cheeses on small skewers. The main course was a steak and salmon pairing - DELICIOUS with a corn soufflé that my family orders every year anyways for Thanksgiving! The desserts was a small mini dessert buffet with small ice cream sundaes, key lime cheesecakes in mason jars, carrot cake ho ho pinwheels, and a bunch of other delicious ones. Their service was impeccable, and all 186 guests were served in a quick and timely manner. The wait staff was friendly, kind, and very thorough at their job. They were able to mold and shape the menu to the regional cuisine that we both wanted - splash of southern, some asian, and a passion for cheese and desserts! We were even surprised by a little gift box of cookies with our names on them and two bottles of champagne. I live out of town so it was my mother who was doing most of the communication with Joel and with our wedding planner Personally Yours Events by Ellen Dubin and she had absolutely no issues with communication and had a delicious taste testing experience.

We cannot say enough about Occasions. We used Occasions for our recent wedding. Rachel was our contact and she was great to work with. Our guests raved about everything - the hors d'oeuvres, the buffet, the passed desserts, and the attentive service provided by the entire team. A number of our guests were young couples who spend lots of Saturdays at weddings. They were blown away by Occasions. My future daughter-in-law texted that their food was the best food she's had at a wedding reception. From start to finish Occasions was a pleasure to work with and their food and service were a great reflection on us.

We used Occasions for our wedding over Memorial Day weekend and I worked with Joel. I couldn't be happier with the food. Having good food was one of the most important things my husband and I wanted for our wedding -- and Occasions was spot on. For cocktail hour, we served 6 passed apps: duck taquitos, white pizza bites, pigs in blankets, samosas, Parmesan crisps with goat cheese and meatball sliders. We also had two stations, an Asian station with noodles, tempura, dumplings, etc., and a Mediterranean station with hummus, pita chips, stuffed grape leaves, etc. Everything was amazing. For dinner, my husband and I had a vision for what we wanted to serve -- and during the tasting Occasions showed us everything we asked for, but they also made additional suggestions. Some of the suggestions we ended up taking and we feel it made the meal even better. Starters were a shot of chilled gazpacho with a crisp full of lettuce and a grilled cheese bite on the side (yum). The main was either blackened snapper or short rib with asparagus and corn souffle. Dessert was an ice cream & cookie bar, and the ice cream was pre-scooped into little balls so to avoid a mess. It was AMAZING! All of our guests enjoyed the food and they continue to tell us so. And, not only was the food incredible but the service was pretty impeccable, as well. I would highly recommend these guys to anyone.

The food was wonderful (which is the most important part of catering) and the set-up was exactly what my daughter wanted. My only complaint was the additional cost of the set-up in the final invoice.The cost of linens and dishes should have been the same as the final estimate - which was given after the count, which did not change, and we actually used fewer tables, etc than estimated. All of the linens, dishes, etc had been selected before the estimate was given. It was almost $1000 higher. The fact that certain items ended up costing Occasions more than anticipated by them should have been their problem, not mine. I was never given any sort of price list for any individual items, different set-ups, etc. Who knew passed hors d'oeuvres are less expensive than a buffet? Or long tables come in more than one width, with a "wider" one being more expensive? If I had known the price per tablecloth, chair, etc, I might have chosen something different. Instead, you find out in the estimate - and then apparently the price can be considerably higher. I can see why they only want to deal with the bride, and not the person who may actually be paying the bill. This simple, no frills reception ended up costing $180/head - before any liquor, and not including band, venue rental, etc. I advise anyone using them, if not using a corporate account and may not want to spend more than necessary, ask for more detailed pricing before making a selection.

I used Occasions for a Company event at Top of the Town. Ellen was my contact there and she was great, very responsive. We had an upscale circus theme and she was able to add some novelty items to the menu while not falling into the cheesy realm. I have two complaints: we had a few dishes that were best served hot and since they were not serving them with warming trays they weren't hot for long. Luke-warm veggie tart isn't all that great. My second complaint is that they were to provide an assortment of beer and wine for guests and 2 hrs into the party two of the types of beer were gone. Poor planning on their part.

We hired Occasions to cater our wedding last June and I'm so glad that we did. We worked with Amanda and she was phenomenal. We had a hard time deciding between Festive Foods and Occasions, but Amanda was just so much more on top of things and was incredibly responsive to e-mails and calls that in the end, the decision wasn't actually that hard. We had a really great tasting (wow it was a lot of food!) and when we decided to change one of our entrees, they let us come again to try the new entree, along with all the sides that we had already decided on. Food is really important to us (we based our honeymoon completely around food and wine!) and wedding food is so often dry because it's mass produced and reheated on site. We were worried that although the tasting was great, that the quality wouldn't hold up on the night of the wedding, but it was spectacular. The chicken and the fish were cooked perfectly, the flavors were great, and the presentation was wonderful. As other reviewers have said, they have one waiter designated solely to the couple so you actually get to eat and drink at your own wedding! Plus, they are committed to creating environmentally sustainable events and were great in working with us to create a sustainable menu with local and organic foods that we were proud to serve at our wedding. They were also extremely helpful in creating a timeline, setting up guest books, pictures, etc, and just being on top of things. And again, I just can't speak highly enough of Amanda - she is wonderful to work with.

Staff were very unhelpful. Never returned my calls. Occasions had been recommended for my wedding. I have plenty of experience doing parties and working with caterers. I was completely unimpressed. My suggestion is find someone else less expensive and who provides better customer service who is willing to work with you to plan your event.

I used this company based on Yelp! (of course). Food, delivery, and price were great. Would use them again. Only thing is, I am unsure who I was working with: "Menus Catering", "Occasions Caterers", or a broker. I will clarify next time.

I've been fortunate enough to work with Occasions Caterers for the last 13 years and they never fail me. I manage a program that hosts three and sometimes four events over a five day period (for exceptionally picky clientele) that vary greatly in number of attendees, budget, location and overall event needs and there isn't any time they don't nail it. Matt Sipala is nothing short of a rock star. He's a one stop shop for me and is willing to go the extra mile securing entertainment, audio visual needs and anything else I need. He's who you need when you need miracles to happen. I'll never go anywhere else!!

I worked with Alison and Cameron for my wedding, and it was a fantastic experience. They are very professional and definitely know what they are doing. They went out of our way to meet us at a convenient time for our tasting, and were just really helpful during the whole process. The reception itself was perfect! They helped us set-up our DIY decor, and the food was gorgeous and delicious. It was amazing to have dedicated staff to help us through the event and help us get fed. I highly recommend them!

Occasions catered my office's holiday party this past Friday for 80 people. We corresponded heavily over the 6 weeks leading up to the event. Laura and Seana responded to every tiny silly little question I had and were always lovely and helpful. The event was beautiful. I interacted with the chef, captain, bartenders and servers and they were all polite and kind. Thanks Occasions!

Occasions catered my birthday party at Fathom Gallery, in Logan Circle. We had about 50-60 people there. Wine, beer, cocktails, passed hors d'oeuvres and dessert. They made the planning really easy for me, considering I've never planned anything like this before. The gentleman I worked with did a really great job creating a menu that was interesting. My favorite savory items were these amazing parmesan crisps with porcini ragout and this seared sesame crusted tuna on a wasabi risotto cake. The show stopper though was the cake shop dessert station. Essentially, they displayed miniature layered cakes and guests were able to customize them with an assortment of birthday toppings - frosting, different types of sprinkles, etc. All of my friends were blown away! I was really pleased with the creativity and presentation - I never knew that caterers could be so stylish. On top of all of that, the catering executive, waitstaff and bartenders were so attentive. I can be a micro-manager but their level of attentiveness really put me at ease both during the setup and during the party. So even though I was playing host, I was able enjoy myself which I didn't expect! I'm looking forward to the next time I get to work with them.

I'm writing this review solely based on my experience requesting a proposal. I'd asked my mother to help get initial information from catering venues because work for me, at the time, was insane. The contact rudely told my mother that he "only works with brides." I understand that some MOB's can be stage-motherish, but she explained why she was calling on my behalf. He didn't appear to care. At any rate, after trying to reach them, I finally got someone on the phone and was dismissed right off the bat because our budget was too small for them. I understand catering is a business, and I understand catering in DC is, by nature, more expensive than in smaller markets, however, I think not making someone feel like they're "doing their wedding wrong," because they don't want to spend $125/person on dinner is atrocious. So, if you have the money to spend, go for it, but there are a ton of other caterers who are more gracious and professional than Occasions was to me.

This review solely is based on the RFP process with Occasions. I initially submitted a request on Occasions' website on a couple different occasions. I never heard back from them, so I tried to give them a call. Thankfully, I was successfully connected to someone, but he was out-of-town so I got his assistant. His assistant seemed eager to help and talk to me about ideas for the event. We exchanged a few emails and I thought I would hear back. I waited two weeks and I didn't get any response from the assistant or the main point-of-contact. I called again and I asked why I haven't heard anything and the assistant claimed (yet again) that her boss was "on vacation." The assistant said that she would get back to me at her soonest and that was nearly another two weeks ago. I am highly disappointed with their lack of customer service. I guess business is so booming that they're willing to turn down customers. I was really looking forward to possibly working with them, but I guess feelings were not mutual.

Food was expensive and just not that good. Very meh. Staff were very nice and helpful, but I wouldn't pay that amount again for such unimpressive food.

Occasions catered my July wedding. Joel was my contact. I called every caterer on my venue's approved list and Joel was the most attentive and interested in working with my budget. I wanted to do things a little differently than most weddings, and Joel was totally able to adjust my menu, arrnage lounge furniture, put out programs & favors, come up with a timeline, and even--in a pinch--make boutennieres! My husband & i had our own waiter who basically managed us & our immediate families, and what a relief he was. The food was great, and not typical boring wedding food. People told me how much they liked the food, and really, who ever does that!? Yay, joel & the staff at occasions!

I have nothing but rave review for Occasions. We used them for our wedding. The food was amazing, and many guests commented on how much they enjoyed the food. We had some very specific requests for the menu - Spanish food - and my Spanish family mentioned their paella was very well done. Susan was great to work with - answered many questions, checked in frequently, was extremely professional, and helped to ensure that the wedding day went off without a hitch. There was nothing about working with Occasions that didn't go well. I would highly recommend them.

We had our reception catered by occasions, the food was awesome and the folks really easy to work with. They were very accommodating with our specific menu requests and also very kind in allowing us to change the reception time on the day of the event.

Dan and I had tasting trials with several area caterers who were all five-star reviewed, and we were starting to become resigned to having "catered" food; you know, the not-quite-great, somewhat bland, standard wedding fair. On the advice of our Wedding Planner, we decided to try just one more before making a decision. We couldn't have been more blown away. Everything we tasted was marvelous; full of interesting and complex flavors, a true step above the ordinary. Best of all, what we tasted at the trial, we got at the wedding. The food was wonderful and the service was top notch. They even assigned a staff member specifically to us who would be nearby throughout the evening to make sure we had everything we needed. Everyone was professional and friendly and quietly attentive. All of our guests were taken care of and we can't say enough good things about the food. Occasions truly stands out.

I recently went to my brother's wedding, which was catered by Occasions. The wedding had a completely different type of catering experience than anything I've experienced before. All the food was so good and creative - definitely not the typical "chicken or fish" wedding options. Dinner was four amazing courses, and everything felt like a restaurant experience. The flavors and presentation of the food were both great! The staff was also incredibly attentive, nice, and helpful. My water and wine were always refilled without me having to ask. I also had to request a vegetarian alternative to the main course, and the staff at Occasions was more than happy to accommodate me. The vegetarian option was a charred cauliflower steak. Most vegetarian options are pretty boring, so the Occasions option was a delicious surprise! Although I can't speak from a client perspective, I would recommend Occasions for anyone who is looking for a more restaurant-like food experience at their wedding or event.