Embellished Catering Tampabay — Local services in Temple Terrace

I unfortunately have waited almost 3 months to try and make this right with Steve Morgan the owner of embellished catering out of Tampa before I made this post to warn brides to not hire this company. This is not to bash them it is to give an honest review and warn other brides and vendors. We paid a total of 5k dollars for a customized wedding menu for 80 People that also included a coordinator of all of the details and any decor they brought. Savannahs communication was great with a few hiccups up until the day after my wedding I stopped hearing from her.

About 2 months or so before my wedding I gave the final headcount of 20 Less people than quoted- I was ignored from this but I kept a log of everything. The day before my wedding the venue still had not been able to reach them. Finally the morning of my wedding they set some people to set up but Savannah didn’t even show up until a little bit before the wedding so I couldent even address my concerns or see some of the things she was bringing. (I still gave an additional tip because I didn’t even know all of these things happened. This obviously was a huge dent in the money with 20’less people.

Day of the wedding came- my charcuterie board was left outside with flies all over it so it wasn’t touched, servers communicated to my guest they were eating crab rolls when it was supposed to be lobster (it definitely looked nothing like lobster) okay minor detail it is what it is.. None of the food looked like our tasting; most of it still tasted good so life goes on . The day after my wedding it’s brought to my attention they forgot a WHOLE build your own pasta bar (3 sauces, toppings, Pasta etc) I wish someone had told me that day. I was furious. I was finally able to contact Steve 2 days later and address all of my concerns and he did get back to me and apologize and things were an oversight (but why wouldent you come to me that day?) he said he would discuss it with his team. He got back to me, gave me some excuses on the presentation/miscommunication with servers etc, said he met with his team to only better themselves and said he would refund us $650.. I’m sorry what? Yes some money we are thankful to have back but I did express to him I thought this was unacceptable especially after a huge lower count of guests and missing a huge complete entree in our event- he wouldent have even said anything to me had I not brought it to his attention, His immediate response was “sorry was try to make everything great but we are a non profit” Wait, since when? I have every single email from the beginning and in my contract and signature it never once mentioned non profit until it conveniently showed up that day. I waited to get our initial refund before I contacted him again except one time having to message him asking where it was because honestly I was nervous it wouldent even show up. I heard shady things from this business after I had booked them (including changing their name) but I disregarded them and felt like I had established a relationship with them and it “wouldent happen to me”.

After 3 months we finally received our check and waited for it to clear- I then messaged him again explaining I just felt we were taken advantage of and got a summary basic email back”thank you for your concerns it only helps us for the future- I hope you give us another chance in the future” and magically the non profit signature no longer existed? Very weird…

Maybe I’m wrong but I feel we were completely taken advantage of for the lack of people and everything missing, I just don’t want this to happen to another bride in the future.

They are located out of Tampa but do travel. (Also I have every single email since...

Our wedding was on October 1st, after searching high and low for a catering company we stumbled upon Embellished Wedding & Events/Talk of the Town Catering. We were in a time crunch because we found them two months prior to the wedding however, they were able to work with us and promised to do everything in their power to make our wedding what we hoped it could be. When I say our team (Savanah, Lauren and Jason) exceeded our every expectation, I mean EVERY expectation we had! The level of communication that was provided through every step of the planning process was greatly appreciated. The ability to provide everything we were looking for both our decor and menu selections while staying within our budget was amazing. Savanah took time out of her already busy schedule to meet us for the dress rehearsal the night before the wedding and put all of our minds at ease regarding the events taking place during the ceremony. The day of our wedding ran smoothly with only one minor problem when setting up the decor. The wind had been blowing over the pipe & drape set up and Savanah called us immediately to let us know of the solutions she had for us. When we arrived to the venue, everything was absolutely STUNNING! Our sweetheart table was beautiful and our guest’s tables were minimally/elegantly decorated to tie the room together. The ceremony space was set up and decorated better than we could have imagined! We were stunned and could have stared at the detail put into this space all evening. Our guests were raving about how elegant everything looked!

When it came time for appetizers, cocktail hour and food we could not have been happier! While our photographer was working with all of us in the wedding party for photos, we were not forgotten about and were brought trays of each appetizer to sample. We were each asked if we’d like any drinks from the bar and they were brought to us. Dinner was AMAZING! Our guests have repeatedly told us how happy they were with the Buffett selection and the portions provided. My husband and I were seated first and Savanah made sure we had ample time to eat our meal while also bringing us our signature drinks from the bar. It was all delicious, cooked perfectly and there was plenty for everyone to eat!

At the end of the night, Savanah and Jason worked together with their team to breakdown and pack up all decor from the venue. Our venue was left spotless and the few boxes of decor we had brought was neatly packed away!

My husband and I could not have envisioned a better wedding day and we are forever grateful for Savanah, Jason and Lauren’s dedication to making it a success! Thank you to each of you for your outstanding personalities, dedication...

Edit in respond to Steve: I tried endlessly to communicate with your planners, with Dawn, and with you in what we wanted. I created a mood board and we had endless conversations where “our notes were lost” and we had to start from scratch. If you notice in Steve’s comments, there’s no accountability. It’s always the fault of the bride, the groom, the family. The reviews here say it all - this company is a scam.

I want to start off by saying that Savanah is truly the best coordinator out there. She’s thoughtful, quick on her feet, solution driven and kind. She is truly the glue that holds this operation together.

Everything else about this company is a nightmare. The day of, our florals looked nothing like what the florist and I had talked about for over a year. Monthly conversations..all for nothing. Looking at my photos I am just so sad about what could’ve been if she just took the time to care. I just read in a review response that they were stopping working with her….no one told me that prior to my wedding.

The food was horrible. Low quality, extremely salty, and slow to come out. Which is surprising since they say they’re going back to full catering and no more wedding planning because that’s their “speciality”…

Although, I will say they made me a special dessert I requested and those were great.

The DJ they connected us with emailed us 4 months out and said they refused to work with embellished anymore and said if we wanted to use them, we’d have to ask for a refund and then pay them directly. Savanah was wonderful in this process while Steve made it extremely difficult just by being careless.

On top of it all, Steve highly suggested doing speciality drinks to keep the bar line down (our bar line was out the building because they insisted we only needed one bartender even when i asked for two). They knew our two speciality drinks 8 months ahead of time. Day of, none of their “bartenders” knew how to make an old fashioned. This was something my husband looked forward to for months, and they couldn’t even get it right. How embarrassing.

We were sold by Steve’s imagery of being able to have an affordable yet classy wedding. The only thing that made our wedding the best night of our lives was our family and friends. They were so easily accommodated throughout the whole weekend, I only wish we could’ve given them the wedding we intended.

I truly wish you all the best. I didn’t want to write this review, however I feel it’s necessary given the recent...