Gracious Events - Catering and Event Design

Serving Greater Milwaukee and beyond

About this vendor

We are a full-service boutique catering and event design company specializing in from-scratch catering and bespoke floral and wedding design. Our custom approach means your wedding will be as unique as you. Whether in one of Milwaukee's breathtaking venues, or in the intimate setting of a private home, Gracious will make yours an event to remember. Let's create something beautiful together.

Details

Business Attributes

Woman-owned Business

Cuisine

American
Eastern European
French
Specialty

Dietary Options

Dairy Free
Gluten Free
Nut Free
Organic
Vegan
Vegetarian

Food & Catering

Chef Stations
Family Style
Menu Tastings
Passed Appetizers
Seated Meal
Servers

out of 5.0

28 reviews

Search reviews

Abigail E

Cannot give enough compliments to Gracious Catering. The entire process with them was flawless. Bella was so attentive to all our questions and communications, the tasting was SO ...

special and really helped us see the high quality of their food and service. Then, they made the day of run perfectly. The serving staff of the bar and food were so efficient and professional, the food was amazing, and they even helped with table set-up/organization. We have zero complaints about this company and could not have pulled off our "garden party" themed reception without them.

Susan V

We are beyond grateful for the incredible team at Gracious Events who brought our daughter’s wedding day to life with absolute perfection. From start to finish, they executed every...

detail of the day with absolute perfection. They handled everything—catering, florals, and event coordination, and did so with professionalism, creativity, and care. The communication throughout the planning process was exceptional. We had countless virtual meetings, a full menu tasting, and several on-location design meetings. Leading up to the big day, especially during the week of the wedding, the team was exceptional. We always felt informed, supported, and heard. Marija was an absolute dream to work with on florals and other design details. She listened so carefully to every detail we shared and brought our vision to life more beautifully than we could have imagined. The arrangements were breathtakingly stunning, fresh, and perfectly matched the style and atmosphere of the venue. Guests are still talking about how beautiful everything looked! As for the catering, it was flawless and also a highlight of the evening. The food was absolutely delicious, beautifully presented, and perfectly timed with the flow of the evening served right on time. Every member of the team was warm, attentive, and made us and our guests feel truly cared for. Guests raved about the delicious hors d'oeuvres, entree selections, and desserts! Bella was exceptional as our coordinator. Her communication throughout the planning process was spot on, and we felt completely supported every step of the way. She kept the rehearsal and wedding days running right on schedule and made sure no timeline detail was missed. Her communication with our vendors, wedding party, and families was clear, calm, and incredibly professional — every timeline was not only met but managed so smoothly that we were able to be fully present and enjoy the day without stress. It’s rare to find a company that excels in every aspect of a wedding, but Gracious Events truly did. Their attention to detail, impeccable organization, and warm, responsive communication made all the difference. They created a magical day for us to remember! We feel incredibly lucky to have had them as part of our daughter’s wedding day. Highly, highly recommend!

Jenny D

I have never gotten more compliments on food than I did at our wedding. The bacon rumaki and poke cones we had for hors d’oeuvres still live rent free in my dreams. Vesna was also ...

amazing to work with, having great insight and recommendations with not only the menu, but table arrangement and linen choices. While she was not the fastest to respond to emails in the year leading up to our wedding, when it came to the last few months, responses were prompt and thorough and I had complete faith in her work.

linda h

Vesna and Bella were incredible: patience, ideas, accommodating, professionalism. We had a difficult to service outdoor venue and the staff was exceptional, going above and beyond ...

to provide an incredible experience. The hand presented nibbles during cocktail hour were a hit with everyone-delicious and elegantly presented. And the food!!!! Guests are still commenting on how delicious it was, 'the best food I have ever had at any kind of event' was a common statement. Served 'Feast Style' there was enough for all, and it was fresh, hot, garnished and presented magnificently. I could not recommend Gracious and the team more highly.

Lauren B

Working with Gracious was absolute perfection from start to finish. From our very first meeting with Vesna, I could tell she understood my vision even more than I did. She listened...

to all of my ideas and guided me to the best decisions to fit my vision for the day. Our design meeting with her went so well. She had so many perfect items to rent from vintage plates to modern bud vases and the most unique mismatched etched wine glasses. Our tasting with Vesna and Bella was so delicious and she even sent us home with the leftovers. She was so responsive to all of my emails and phone calls whenever I had questions throughout the year, and calmed all of my worries. I always felt like she would have things handled and take care of it. When it came to the rehearsal and the day of, we payed extra for a day-of coordinator. I can't stress enough how this was worth every dime. Bella took charge of our whole rehearsal and got us through quickly and efficiently. She was so fun to be around and had everything completely under control. She was so impressive to watch! The day of the wedding, she was always nearby to calm my nerves and I had full trust that everything was taken care of by her. Her and Vesna and the rest of the gracious team brought my vision to life and created my dream table decor, cake decorating, details tables, and the literal most gorgeous flowers I have every seen in my entire life. I could not have imagined my wedding any other way. The entire day went so smoothly with zero hiccups, and even more beautiful than I could have dreamed. Thank you so much to Vesna and Bella for a dream come true!

Ashley B

Thank you Marija and the entire Gracious team for making our wedding day truly incredible!! Since we we’re having somewhat of a destination wedding, we knew we would have to leave...

much of the planning in the hands of others. You embraced our hands off approach, while listening to our wants/needs. What you designed for us completely exceeded our wildest dreams, and that isn’t an exaggeration!Everything was truly perfect! We left our complete trust in your hands and you made our special day nothing short of magical. After our wedding we received so many compliments on the floral designs and table settings. Many guests have also repeatedly said ours was the best wedding food they’ve ever had! Gracious will be our first choice and our top recommendation for any future events in the Milwaukee area!!

Suzanne G

Thank you so much, Marija and Gracious Events crew for the amazing food and flowers on our wedding day! We partially chose our wedding venue, the St. James, because Gracious Event...

s was a vendor. Just from reading the reviews and seeing photos, we knew that Marija would be amazing, and she was. We were blown away. The flowers were of such high quality and the food loved by all. When people comment on our wedding, the food and flowers are always mentioned. Marija listened carefully and was incredibly patient in finding out exactly what we wanted. In short, she exceeded our expectations and is some kind of genius with food and flowers. Second only to deciding to get married, the best decision we made in planning our wedding was hiring Marija.

Monica T

Vesna and Bella helped plan and execute the perfect rehearsal dinner for 80 guests. They created a romantic setting for our family style dinner with an ivy backdrop and inviting t...

able designs using vintage dinnerware and small flower arrangements down the length of the table runners. Service was spectacular. Our "foodie" guests were blown away! The hardest choice was whether to enjoy seconds of salmon and spare ribs or to save room for dessert. The evening ended with a debate between team "Drunken Apple Bread Pudding" and team "Dark Chocolate Pot de Creme" (participants having to sample both before voting) as to who enjoyed the meal most. Memorable dinner made easy with Gracious Events!

Marga I

My husband and our parents are still receiving compliments from friends and family on the amazing menu, drinks and appetizers from our big day - SEVEN months later. We did a family...

style dinner and everyone loved their meals! I wanted to add that while everything this team had planned for was outstanding, they also stepped up for the unexpected with calm professionalism. The entire day and evening was seamless! Thank you so much for helping us throughout the planning and day of events and helping to make our wedding such a joyous and memorable day!!!

Lisa L

We hired Marija and Gracious Catering-Events for our daughter’s wedding and had a 5+ star experience. Marija’s assistance with meal selection, linens and place settings made the me...

al planning process effortless. Our tasting sessions were beautifully set at their facility and gave us glimpse of our guests’ experience. Marija’s assistance in day-of coordination was a blessing. She managed our rehearsal as well as wedding ceremony effortlessly, despite having a plan A and plan B dependent on the weather. The reception was managed flawlessly by Marija and her staff as well. Highly recommend Marija and Gracious Catering-Events!

Lauren T

We had Gracious Events cater our wedding two weeks ago and everything was amazing! Vesna was very kind and professional from day one and incorporated our wishes while giving great ...

suggestions. She is very experienced and helped the day run smoothly. The staff was friendly and we received so many compliments on the food! We chose to do food stations, which were a huge hit and we loved that we could eat a little of everything. Would highly recommend for any catering needs!

Taylor T

We worked with Gracious Events as part of their work with the St. James 1868 ... and through three wedding dates with COVID-19. Bella Gordon served as our day-of coordinator, Graci...

ous did our catering and we used the team for floral. They were very in tune with our budget, considerate of date changes and Bella was an awesome support day-of. Food was delicious and the venue floral was wonderful.

Nisha A

We had a wonderful experience with Vesna and her team. We booked gracious for catering, floral design, and coordination for our wedding at Villa Terrace. The food was great, the fl...

owers were lovely and the coordination throughout the day was very smooth. They worked so well with our entire vendor team and really helped our vision for the wedding come to life. Thanks again!

Elizabeth K

Gracious Events is exceptional at what they do! Their staff is professional, experienced, and most importantly, fun to work with. At every point in our experience, we were confiden...

t and relaxed that everything, down to the smallest details, would be taken care of – it was absolutely perfect. The day of service allowed us to truly relax and enjoy the day, while everything was on time and coordinated. We would highly recommend Gracious Events to any couple looking for the best service in the Milwaukee area! We especially wanted to extend a special shoutout to Bella and Marija – We cannot thank you two enough for everything! 😊

Madison G

We had the pleasure of working with Gracious as they are the current partners for St. James 1868 (check out their venue space - you will not be disappointed and we could not recomm...

end this venue enough). Consider yourself extremely fortunate if you are able to land an event date with the St. James/Gracious duo! The food prepared by Gracious is truly spectacular and our guests could not stop raving about the entrees offered at our wedding! Outside of the amazing food and drinks, Marija was an excellent day of coordinator and her day of staff were amazing. Gracious offers beautiful linens and day of rentals. Marija and her team took our vision and far exceeded any of our expectations. The team was able to handle a massive flip of our indoor space from the ceremony to reception with ease. Hopefully this will not be of concern in the near future, but Marija was on top of any COVID-19 updates including city and state orders. We could not have been luckier to have this team running the show the day of our wedding! Our only compliant, and this is echoed in our review for St. James, was the transition process between the previous St. James event staff/caterer and Gracious. This really boiled down to a major disconnect in communication. We would send information or speak with Gracious and the subsequent proposal would be off on various details, particularly details that were important to us. That said, following an all hands-on deck meeting with Gracious and St. James, everything was smooth sailing. We would not expect this to be an ongoing issue going forward, rather just a bump in the road during their new partnership with the St. James venue. Anyone would be lucky to have this team assisting with their wedding or event. We hope that anyone who choose Gracious has as wonderful of an experience as we did!

Chloe S

We are so happy we chose to go with Vesna and the Gracious Events team for our wedding! The food for our wedding was one of our top priorities and Vesna was able to really customiz...

e a menu that represented exactly what we wanted. The restaurant quality of the food and Vesna's flexibility was amazing and truly incomparable to a standard catering service. We still have guests complimenting how delicious the meal was! We would definitely recommend Gracious Events for any wedding!

C K

I was a guest at a wedding last night. That butterscotch pudding was the best thing I’ve tasted in my life.

ELIZABETH S

Having Gracious Events cater our wedding was a no-brainer as soon as we tried their food for the first time at our tasting. It is restaurant quality food and we have received so ma...

ny compliments that it was the best wedding food our guests have ever had. All of the staff were so kind and attentive. We would highly recommend to anyone!

Lauren K

I can't describe in words how fortunate I feel to have found Vesna for our wedding reception catering and event design. Her flexibility allowed us to incorporate the items we felt ...

were most important in our reception that other caterers could not accommodate. As a bride who knew little about what I wanted, she steered me in the right direction while honoring my preferences every step of the way. The vision she created for our reception was absolutely perfect. Most importantly, the food was incredible. Four months after our wedding, guests continue to rave about it! Her staff was professional, prompt, and attentive throughout the event and the food was presented beautifully. Thank you so very much, Vesna!!!

Alexa R

I am so thankful that I found Gracious Catering and worked with them on my wedding day. Vesna's vision and service was amazing. I did not want the traditional "steak/mashed potatoe...

s/sauteed vegetable" meal and Vesna helped bring my vision of a vibrant, elevated and delicious dinner menu to life! She is so creative and has a true passion for her work. We went with the 'feast' style option and our guests loved being able to pick and choose how much they wanted. This also really created a warm and interactive atmosphere at each table. We also choose appetizers and desserts that rounded out a beautifully crafted flavor profile for the whole evening! No one ever raves about wedding food, but our guests truly were! Even the pickiest of attendees made comments on the beautiful and delicious meal!

Madison F

Hiring Gracious Events was by far the best decision we made in regards to our wedding. They handled the decor, flowers, catering, and coordination, and executed it all with perfect...

ion. Seriously - they do the most beautiful work. Vesna worked with us for over a year to make sure our wedding day was a dream come true. She was patient, attentive, and available - she went above and beyond at each step of the way and was such a joy to work with and be around. We received countless compliments about the food at our wedding and how smoothly everything went. I am so appreciative and grateful that we were able to be present and fully enjoy our wedding day, knowing that Vesna and her staff had everything handled. We cannot say enough good things about them and would wholeheartedly recommend.

Sasha K

Vesna was a major contributor to the overall quality of our wedding. We initially chose her business due to the high (restaurant) quality of her food, especially compared to other ...

catering agencies in the city. We also found her to be excellent handling floral and other decorations, some of which she created for us (including building a new trellis). Her service is uniformly high quality, however be willing to expect her to not provide firm details ahead of time about how particular arrangements will look (spoiler: excellent.) We received several compliments about the food being the best our guests had had at any previous wedding. Vesna put together a trellis for us and brought in additional decor to make the room look stunning without having to strain our budget further. Her staff assisted in cleanup effectively at the end of the night and stored some of the decoration for a couple days until we could pick it up. If you want food that tastes amazing and will have all your guests talking, definitely reach out to Vesna at Gracious Events.

Katalin S

When my husband and I started planning our fall Milwaukee wedding, choosing seasonal and delicious food was at the top of our priority list. When we first met with Vesna, she reall...

y listened to what we were looking for and made that vision come to life. The food at our tasting was fantastic and knocked our socks off. The day of our wedding, it was just as incredible. The food was served timely, warm, and quickly to all of our guests. The service was just as amazing as the food. We are so impressed with every service that Gracious provided to help make our day run smoothly.

Ann K

We had the pleasure of working with Vesna and Gracious Events in July for a "happily ever after" celebration for my daughter and son-in-law at an outdoor venue in Brookfield, WI. S...

he understood what they were looking for in terms of the feel, the flow, the flowers and the food. She made it all comebeautifully and deliciously to life the evening of the event. Our guests are still raving about the food - it was truly amazing - delicious, beautifully presented and lots of it! Her staff was hard working, polite and unobtrusive. Over the six months we worked with her, she was responsive to emails, phone calls, suggestions, budget parameters and all of the last minute things that come up. We were absolutely delighted with our experience with Gracious Events!

Anne P

I loved working with Vesna! She was a great help and, unlike most vendors, did not have issues I needed to work around; she worked around everything for me. My only complaint is t...

hat one of the servers walked up right after my sister started her speech and interrupted to ask if she would hold off on her speech so they could serve dinner. However this does not reflect on Gracious catering, all other employees were wonderful! The food is GREAT! And my centerpieces were one of my favorite parts of the venue which Vesna supplied. Over all a great experience!

Meghan M

Inspired, delicious and fresh! If you are a foodie or have foodies in your family....this is the caterer you must book. No warming trays, straight from the oven to your tables. ...

Our timing with the Grand March was off a little so the meals weren't hot-hot, but that was our fault, not theirs. Some of the staff members seemed new, but most were responsive and accommodating. The hall owner said Vesna is the best caterer in the area!

Jennifer N

All guests have said...."BEST FOOD EVER!" And it really was. You never walk away from a wedding remembering the food, but it has been 5 months and our guests are still talking ab...

out the delicious hor d'oeurves, amazing small plate dinners, and unique presentations with all of the food. Working with Vesna and her exceptional staff made planning for my wedding simple. They assist in any way they can (flowers, linens, decor) all within your budget. As the day came and went, I realized how perfect everything was and how happy our guests were made to feel because of Gracious Catering. I want to have multiple weddings just so I can work with them again!

Emilie S

We were lucky with pretty much all of our vendors and had a great wedding. So we had a lot of compliments about everything, but one thing that you do not hear often at a wedding (a...

nd even from my personal experience) is how great the food is. But one of the things we were complimented the absolute most on was our food!!! They know what they're doing and are really really good at it.

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957 North Glenview Avenue, Wauwatosa, WI | Serving Greater Milwaukee and beyond