Cricket Catering

highly encouraged us to go with Cricket, stating “biggest bang for your buck,” which seemed correct since the other 2 options were much more a la carte and the fee by Sage to select our own caterer was astronomical. In short, the food was good not great but plentiful with food veg options, the drinks were great, the food display was fantastic and the service staff were wonderful. They were very attentive, professional, and 2 years later we are still getting compliments on the bartender. The issues we experienced came from management, which could have been completely avoided with good communication and transparency. During the year leading up to our wedding Drew went through multiple event coordinators and did not communicate to us that they were having staffing changes so we would send an email and not get a response for a month at a time. We had a smaller than anticipated final number and told Drew this so he could plan accordingly. We had planned our seating arrangements around a certain number of tables. He showed up with one less, because we had less people, but he never told us we would have less tables so we could plan accordingly. He showed up without the signature cocktail ingredients and never told us he didn’t get them so we didn’t have one. All the tables were supposed to have the same lavender table cloths but only the long table did. Somehow, we ended up with dark purple table cloths on the cocktail tables. Again, no explanation and no apology. He had issues the morning of the wedding and showed up late, which delayed everything else. Again, never communicated that to us. It took the event coordinator at Sage and myself calling him to find out that he would be arriving an hour late. He arrived with an irritated attitude and then left once the truck was unloaded and setup without letting anyone know who would be overseeing the staff/operations. At the end of the night one of the bridesmaids found an entire case of our wine packed in with all of the catering stuff, which we hope was a mistake and not intentional. All in all, this company could be absolutely amazing but it needs substantial improvement on organization, communication and customer service. Errors and changes warrant communication, sometimes and apologies and on occasion credits/refunds. We didn’t get any of that. So, at best we can only provide a 3-star rating.

e how much they liked the food, especially the salmon. We rented the chairs, tables, and linens from him as well for the ceremony and reception and he set them all up and took them all down - and there were lots of options for colors. We met with him a few times to pick out the food and were able to make requests - we didn't do a traditional cake, so Drew made us several little desserts which were a huge hit! He took notes every time we met with him based on what we talked about, and then emailed them to us, which was a great way to stay organized - I did find it easier to call instead of email when I had questions, especially during the planning. Highly recommend!

planned our wedding remotely from Chicago, and worked with Casey, who was incredibly friendly, helpful, and responsive throughout the entire planning process. My husband and I never hired a wedding planner, and with Casey's assistance we never felt like we had to. During a visit to Pennsylvania in December, we met Casey for a tasting and loved all of the food that was served to us. Compared to a few other catering companies we looked into, Cricket was hands down the best value. We looked into caterers that would have (unnecessarily) cost thousands of dollars more than Cricket, as well as some that would have been cheaper but much less helpful in taking care of the rentals that we needed. Since Awbury is a pretty "do-it-yourself" kind of place, we needed tents, tables, chairs, etc., which Casey completely took care of for us since they work with a separate rental company. She made it incredible easy to get everything we needed, and at a price that worked for us. As a huge bonus, since another couple was getting married at Awbury the day after us and the rentals would already be set-up on the property, Casey arranged for the couple to share some of our rental costs so that we would both save a considerable amount of money. Regarding drinks, Cricket Catering provided non-alcoholic beverages as well as bartenders, but my husband and I had to provide the alcohol itself. Casey helped us try to estimate how much alcohol to purchase, and we referenced guides online as well. Although trying to estimate how much to buy and then pick it all up was somewhat annoying, this allowed us to choose the exact types of wine and beer we wanted to serve, and overall I think it saved us money. We were also able to give unopened leftovers to our guests at the end of the reception, which was a much-appreciated gesture. ;) The day of our wedding (July 2016), Casey and her staff were incredible. They set up the chairs for our ceremony, and then quickly and discretely moved them across the yard to the tables for our reception. Casey made sure everything was in the right place and ran smoothly according to schedule. Staff were familiar with the arboretum and worked well behind the scenes to prepare and serve the food without being in anyone's way. We had a cocktail hour with several appetizers, and then a relaxed, buffet-style dinner that I received several compliments about. On more than one occasion, the staff made sure my husband and I were getting what we wanted to eat and drink-- everything was delicious. They took care of feeding our vendors for free as well. Overall, my husband and I would highly recommend Casey and Cricket Catering!! All of the planning went smoothly, they were affordable, everyone was friendly, the food was delicious, and our wedding went exactly how we hoped it would. :)

it did. I didn't give 5 stars because some people didn't get their food until much later.

estion I had was answered and that the day of flowed seamlessly. I cannot stress enough how amazing this catering company is! The food is to die for! All of my friends and family kept coming up to me at the reception to let me know that they loved the food. Everyone enjoyed the different stations. We chose the slider bar, mashed potato bar, salad bar and the Mediterranean bar. Each station gave the guests something new to explore. Cricket Catering staff made sure all stations stayed stocked and helped all of my guests with any questions. If you are planning a wedding in the Philadelphia area, Cricket Catering is the way to go 100%!

return phone calls or emails. He also missed scheduled meetings, claiming he had lost his phone or must have not written it down, He always made me feel as though I was asking too much, or was bothering him while he was busy. He always told us that we would receive things (like the final bill) "in a couple of days", when in reality he had to be phoned several times, and emailed before he would respond, only five days before the wedding. At the wedding its self, there were many elements missing that we had discussed, including a memorial candle for my mother that was found shoved in a office at the venue in its box, in the middle of the reception and had to be set up by family members. While the staff at Cricket that worked at the venue on the day of was very kind, they did not receive any direction from Drew as to the components of our wedding. I came away feeling awful about the whole experience and would recommend that no one ever chose Cricket as their caterer as the owner is dismissive, rude and unprofessional.

errors (like serving the top layer of the cake).

aff was courteous and fantastic and I will definitely be using them again!