Ida's Catering LLC

dding in their hands. Our experience started positively. Brie returned our inquiry July 17, we spoke July 20, received preliminary pricing, and scheduled a tasting. On August 13, the tasting went well and the food was very good. Concerns started early. Our paperwork could not be located during the tasting. We also discussed a family member’s MSG allergy. Brie said she did not personally add MSG, but could not confirm whether it might already be present in ingredients being used. On September 21, we discussed a separate family member’s garlic allergy and were told words to the effect of, “You don’t want everyone to suffer for one person’s allergies.” We were not asking for the entire menu to change—only for one family member with a known allergy to safely eat. Brie ultimately agreed to prepare a separate dish. That same day, I confirmed our FINAL guest count. Brie now had the number needed to finalize pricing and said updated paperwork would be provided within one to two weeks. By October 1, we still had nothing, so I followed up. Brie told me she had “spaced” on the paperwork and said we would have it the following morning and that it would be handled ASAP. By 6:00 p.m. October 2, we still had no paperwork or meaningful update. That was when this stopped being a paperwork issue and became a TRUST issue. Being busy was never the problem. I own a business and understand heavy workloads. Had Brie simply said, “John, I’m slammed this week and need until ___,” I would have respected that. The problem was being told the paperwork had been forgotten, then receiving another promise for the next morning, only for that promise not to be kept. After we decided to move on, we were told she had approximately 10 events that week taking much of her attention. That reinforced our concerns. If one busy week affected communication this much, how could we feel confident about our wedding weekend? We also knew Brie had a personal Halloween party October 23, the night before our October 24 wedding. The party itself was not the issue; after what we had already experienced, it added to our concern about whether too much was being taken on. Payment was due before the wedding, with the amount based on our final guest count. We provided that count September 21, yet still had no updated invoice or final pricing. After we decided to move on, our concerns were characterized as “strictly the financial end.” That completely missed the point. This was NEVER about whether we had the money. Wanting an accurate invoice before making a substantial payment is basic business practice. We did not walk away because of one unanswered message, one late document, or because someone was busy. We walked away because the concerns kept stacking up: organization, allergy discussions, delayed documentation, missed commitments, poor communication, and failures to follow through. With only two true planning weeks remaining before wedding week, we were not willing to gamble one of the most important days of our lives on hoping everything would suddenly come together. A wedding happens once. There is no redo. The food was good, which makes this even more disappointing. We wanted this to work, but once the trust was gone, finding another caterer became the responsible decision.