Avalon Caterers

I LOVED Avalon Caterers. I interacted with other, less responsive (and more expensive) caterers when booking my wedding at Decatur House in DC and Avalon just blew them away. AND, many guests have told me their food was the BEST they've ever had at a wedding! It was v important to us to have nice looking but tasty food. Their equipment was good (quality and value) and their staff were excellent. Ceremony and reception were in the same space with a separate cocktail hour (1 hour) and guests were delighted with how completely and quickly Avalon transformed the space while they were away at cocktails. Carolina Ocampo is a true professional - organized, RESPONSIVE but still fun and nice. She provides some nice complimentary extras, like votive candles for decoration, and was flexible enough to include extra chairs for the ceremony musicians. Area for improvement: The waiters cut the wedding cake slices big, and gave some guests 2 pieces before all had been served, so we actually ran out of wedding cake and had to cut into the groom's cake. We didn't want to save the top tier of the wedding cake but forgot to tell that to Avalon so they saved it for us. Most guests didn't notice the disappearing cake. That's the only thing I wish I had better communicated to them. However, since the groom and I never got a piece of the wedding cake at the event, I was glad they saved the top in the end! I got to give a piece to my grandma too, who had been a little upset she never got a piece of the wedding cake. That worked out in the end! Avalon accommodated my family's (including my) garlic allergy really well in the entrees and were also very kind in letting us buy our own bar but then taking it to the venue (on their truck) and serving it. Some caterers would be dismayed that you weren't doing the bar with them but Avalon is very honest and fair. Again, I loooved Avalon and would highly recommend them to anyone getting married in the DC area and booking a caterer. If I had a professional event or a significant personal event (anniversary?) to organize, I'd also use them.

We enjoyed working with Avalon and they helped pull together a beautiful and fun wedding for us. We worked mostly with Brittney, who was great, although unfortunately about a month before our wedding she said she was unable to be there on the actual day. We had another event manager onsite for the wedding and things mostly went according to plan. The various staff was helpful with some last minute changes due to the shifting forecast (i.e. rearranging chairs and helping take off the tent sidewalls when it turned out not to rain). The food was good and Avalon also made our cake, which was delicious and so much better than some fancy creation that would have cost many times more. Avalon's rates were competitive with other caterers we met with and they were very flexible with the menu. The only thing we did not like was that the servers did not pass out champagne and our signature drink when our guests arrived at the cocktail reception like we had asked. Long lines at the beginning of cocktail hour are our pet peeves at weddings so we emphasized we wanted the servers to be ready to hand out drinks to cut down on wait times. Turns out they didn't even have our champagne at the bar let alone have any pre-poured. In all though, we really enjoyed working with Avalon and would certainly recommend them.

We used Avalon at our wedding only for serving food, but we actually ordered food from somewhere else as we wanted something from one of our favorite restaurants that unfortunately couldn't do catering. Avalon was very flexible in working around our wishes, and it turned out great. We worked with Jennifer, who was really helpful, especially in helping us find ways to keep the costs down. We actually provided the drinks, napkins, plates, and silverware ourselves from Costco, which was muuuch cheaper than Avalon could provide it for, and they had no problems with that at all. On the wedding day they helped everything go smoothly, even though we made a few last minute changes to our scheduling. Avalon was great, and I'd definitely recommend using them.

A-MA-ZING. Next to the groom, Avalon was the best thing about our wedding. The Mr. and I worked with Brittany to set-up most of our details, and she was so awesome-- very patient as we flip-flopped on all sorts of details (linens, grooms cake vs. dessert course, etc), and had good suggestions while still letting us control the process. She helped us figure out quantities to buy our own alcohol, and did customized menu requests for the cocktail hour. We chose Avalon largely because they fit our budget, and I was totally floored with the level of service. The food was incredible, too-- guests are still emailing me to get the recipe for the corn souffle. I wish I could include a piece of constructive criticism about Avalon, since I think that generally those make reviews more useful. But this is a 100% rave. -- Unrelated, but I want to include in every review so that all brides see it: avoid USA Bus Charter like the plague. They came late, had buses breakdown on the side of the road, got lost, screamed at passengers. Altogether a nightmare.

We had a great experience working with Avalon Caterers. Our venue had a list of pre-approved caterers that we had to work with, and Avalon was one of them. Avalon was the only caterer on the list that was willing to work with our budget. We had a beautiful brunch wedding, and we enjoyed working with Brittany Bernstein. She was quick to respond to all of our questions, and was willing to stay after business hours to do our tasting. For a very minimal fee, she was willing to pick up our cupcakes from another bakery and set them up for us as if they were their own product. They handled all of our set-up beautifully, and collected all of our extra stuff (cake knife, place cards, cupcake stand, other non-floral decor) beforehand so we didn't have to worry about it on the day-of). Priceless! Thank you for making our day, Avalon!

We loved Avalon Caterers! The food was awesome and the service was great. We worked with Brittney and she was always so helpful and responded quickly to our emails. We wanted an "upscale BBQ/picnic" themed menu and they created a great menu that accomodated all of our dietary restrictions. They really listened to what we wanted and incorporated the theme of our wedding into the food and even in the linens. I highly recommend Avalon!

Simply the best. How often do you love the person you're working with as a caterer so much that you become actual friends? Everyone (myself, my now husband, my parents, his parents, our event coordinator, our florist, etc.) ADORED Kevin Peck. (He also became friends with one of my long time buddies who did all of our flowers.) I cannot imagine having worked so closely with anyone else. Working with Kevin (especially at our tasting) was a blast: he was fun, funny, professional, helpful, and creative all at the same time. Kevin made our actual day all the more special too. He also went the extra mile on everything -- literally in the case of our venue. He drove all the way out to Winchester, VA to walk through our venue (The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley) with us, just to make sure he understood the lay out and exactly how everything would flow that day, which it did, brilliantly. And of course, the food from Avalon is top notch. Everyone thought the appetizers, dinner, and cake were out of this world. Months later, people are still talking about the cake in fact. I can't thank Avalon and Kevin enough for a fantastic day and unbelievable memories! Snag them as a caterer as soon as you can!

we were absolutely pleased with avalon. they went above & beyond to represent our vision, they were personable & approachable, & attention to detail was evident.

Ask for Carolina Ocampo! She is the BEST! Avalon provided full service catering for my wedding in July 2010. Carolina made the process very simple and easy for me and even doubled as a day-of-coordinator for us! The food was just as delicious at the reception as it was when we originally tasted it. Avalon is also known for their red chimichurri sauce. Our guests loved the food! The linens and service provided at the reception was also spot on. Everything flowed on schedule and the staff worked very hard to ensure that transitions were made quickly and easily.

We used Avalon Caterers for our wedding at River Farm and Kevin Peck was our catering manager. Kevin was a delight. His attention to detail was wonderful. He promptly responded to all of my emails some of which asked very detailed questions. On the day of, Kevin was there early making sure that everything was set up correctly. When the guests arrived, everything was in place and ran like clockwork. He kept us on schedule smoothly and gracefully. The food was wonderful and received good reviews from the guests. Throughout the process Kevin also worked with us to try to have the sort of event we desired within our budget. He went above and beyond by doing such things as bringing a steamer for my dress and lanterns to make sure the guests had adequate light getting to their cars. We highly recommend Avalon Caterers and Kevin Peck.

I could not rave enough about Avalon Caterers. Kevin was absolutely amazing at my wedding, and I am in debt to him and his team. Not only did Kevin help us to create a great menu, but he also helped me with the centerpieces as well as keeping my stress level low. Kevin went above and beyond in every facet of the wedding, and friends and family assumed that he was the wedding planner, not just a caterer (no offense intended). We had unexpected rain on the wedding day which moved the ceremony indoors, but Kevin made things work so fluidly that I didn't mind the change of scenery. By far Avalon, and especially Kevin, were our favorite vendor from our wedding, and we are glad that we made the right decision. If you want a caterer that provides excellent food, fabulous service, and genuine care for you....you cannot go wrong with Avalon Caterers and Kevin!!!

They handled everything with great style.The whole planning process was simple with them. They were able to accommodate our needs along the way and everything turned out perfectly. Choosing a menu was a fun process that allowed for our personal creativity.They are by far the best!!

STORM OF THE DECADE - CATERER OF THE CENTURY We would like to thank Jaki and the staff for their herculean effort in making sure that our daughter's wedding reception occurred during the worst snowstorm since 1932. Most weddings were cancelled for that day, but that was never an option for Jaki and Avalon Caterers. What a momentous reception it turned out to be with great food, great decor, professional and friendly staff. Our 70+ spartan guests did not want to leave. This wedding reception and especially the food will be remembered by many people for a long time. We cannot thank you enough for helping to make this happen. "When the going gets tough, the tough get going" Kudos to Avalon - Cyndi & Mike

I couldn't have been more pleased. Avalon Caterers took care of everything!! I worked closely with Carolina to plan my wedding and I couldn't have done it without her. Carolina listened carefully, gave great advice, and the execution was flawless. I can't say enough about Avalon. All of my guests RAVED about the food- it was delicious! The service, the food, the champagne, the evening ALL we perfect. Thank you!

Fabulous food, fabulous service! Working with them was wonderful!

We hired Avalon about 6 weeks prior to our wedding of 125 guests. Meeting Lauren Seppi was complete breath of fresh air. She is fun, responsive, professional, and accommodating. She appreciated our limited budget and worked around our specific requests, such as splitting the menu with a third party Korean caterer. My parents loved the tasting and were quite impressed with the quality of the food. At the wedding, Lauren and the staff were extremely professional and we were all delighted with their service. There was one major downside: at the end of the night, there were multiple thefts reported by my wedding party. My maid of honor had her pocketbook stolen and two other bridesmaids had about $80 each taken from their wallets. The staff at our reception site told me she saw a man wearing jeans helping the Avalon crew break down the chairs and tables. We were never able to apprehend the perpetrator, and I understand that Avalon conducted a thorough internal investigation, but I was extremely upset at this outcome. I am disappointed in having to write this poor review, especially because Lauren and Anita were wonderful to work with. I have no hard evidence to believe their crew was responsible for these thefts, but I don't know how else someone not in wedding appropriate wear could have gained access to the building and helped to break down the equipment. But for this incident, Avalon would have received 5 stars across the board.

Avalon seems to be a great catering company. I should begin by saying that the staff at the event was very polite and helpful and that the event manager for the job was incredible to work with. She was fun, and into the ideas I had for how I wanted the event to be. She went above and beyond in terms of listening to my wants. My husband and I were so excited to use them for our reception after we had a tasting at their location. After the event was over and people began talking about the food however, it was a different story. At our tasting EVERYTHING was so delicious, fresh, and beautiful. At the reception, the food was not the same way. It was a disappointment to see that and feel I made the wrong choice. After calling the company to discuss the matter, I received some resistance to owning up to the fact that things were not up to par for my event. They reluctantly and in a very nit-picky way refunded some money. After arguing, I did receive an apology. If the food is prepared the same way for your event as for a tasting, then you're in good hands. If it is not, then don't expect to have the best food at your reception.

Carolina was wonderful! I changed my menu several times and she was very patient and prompt. The food was outstanding and exceeded my expectations. I designed my own wedding cake and they followed my design plans exactly (plus the cake tasted amazing). I would highly recommend Avalon to anyone planning a special party or event!

We worked with Kevin, who was very helpful throughout the whole process. He has lots of ideas, and is willing to do almost whatever we wanted. He worked with us to stay on budget, and even recommended our wedding coordinator. Their food is fantastic!

I called a couple of caterers - one came out to the house, but never got back to me and another sent a young girl that knew as much about weddings as we did. Based on the Wedding Wire reviews, we selected Avalon and worked with Kevin Peck. Everything was wonderful! Kevin went above and beyond to help get exactly what we wanted for table linens, china, chairs & flowers. And the food was amazing!! The guests raved about everything - especially the corn souffle. Kevin kept the evening flowing smoothly and even dressed to coordinate with the wedding colors!