Elegant Occasions Catering & Event Planning

I wish we could give you 10 stars! We had a perfect day!!! The food was marvelous, the music was just what we wanted, the room was beautiful, it was all so well organized and orchestrated by you! Gina and Elegant Occasions! We really need to thank everyone, Elegant Occasions, Elite DJ, Love’s in Bloom, Lunds Photography, THANK YOU ALL!!!

When my fiancé and I selected Elegant Occasions, several months ago, we would have given Gina and her organization a «5» for being on top of it — she was fast, efficient and made time to speak with us a couple of times, ironing out the details of our wedding and dinner, which was to be in October this year. Once the contract was signed, that was it.
We also signed a venue contract, operated by the Parks and Rec of Moraga for a Saturday in October. Reviews were mixed on the venue, but when we started drilling down, realized that the negative reviews were correct. The limitations on alcohol were ridiculous, but what clenched it for us was that we were not permitted to have amplified music. We had secured a jazz vocal artist and her instrumentalists. We were told that they could not have amplification, so having music in our ceremony on the lawn, was out. The artist would be forced to remain indoors, along with her band, while we were outdoors for the ceremony and dinner. We felt strongly about this, and there was no give /​take with the venue.
We gave Gina a heads up that we were trying to find another venue for this date in October, but it didn’t look good. Gina was quick to share with us that we would 15% of our TOTAL purchase (we pre-​paid) if we cancelled. We kept in contact with her, assuring her that cancelling was the last thing we wanted to do. Her reply, «That’s too bad, let me know what you decide to do.» I didn’t expect her to offer up a counseling session, and I understand she is busy with her business, but look — we’re both middle aged adults, and after 50 years, this date and event was was really important to us. We searched and searched, and could not find a venue to accommodate us on this date in October — venues book quickly. We really were out of luck. Our only option was to have a ceremony without the music at the original venue, or reduce the guest list by well over 50% and have it in our backyard. We did not really want that. We asked Gina if we could use the funds for a smaller venue or use it at another time, with the original guest count. In short, Gina’s answer was, «No.» Her email stated we could not transfer money «to a different party» but we could move the money to a different location on «the same day» — our problem was that we could not find a location! Our contract didn’t appear to be transferable, nor were we permitted to change the date. We felt a lot of pressure, and figured that if we could not find an appropriate venue, we would have a destination marriage, but would use Elegant Occasions to cater a Reception Dinner when we returned. According to Gina’s email, it didn’t appear she would allow us to take that deposit and apply it to another venue on another date. We really were stuck.
Nice, don’t you think? I get it, we signed a contract. The contract was clear that we would lose a certain percentage if we cancelled — thing is, we tried to reschedule to use her catering services, and were not permitted, we felt locked in. So, in the end, we lost $ 775 AND she is now free to book another event for our date in October. Way to go! Sorry, but we were the ones to lose money on this… an event which did not occur.
Just a word to the wise, read your contract — and be 100% committed and sure of your venue and date. There is absolutely zero flexibility.
I work in Hospitality, but not food and beverage. Offering exemplary customer service, and being workable, compassionate and understanding can make an organization the «tiffany» of whatever service they are providing. Unfortunately, we feel our experience defined their goal — and that is not to be the best, but to CYA and reap the benefit of a former customer’s misfortune.

Perfection, down to every last detail. Elegant Occasions catered my son’s wedding this month and I was so impressed. I had numerous people tell me that it was the best food they’ve ever had at a wedding, and I would have to agree! The set up was beautiful, everyone was so professional, the table settings were gorgeous, and did I mention the food? DELICIOUS! I would highly recommend Gina and her team for your event. You will not be disappointed.

Gina and her team were the absolute best! They really went above and beyond to make sure our wedding was amazing. Gina with all her expertise took the stress out of everything in the weeks before and worked with us to get every detail perfect for the day of! They made sure the bridal party was all provided with food and drinks from the bar so we could focus on having a great time. This team is so professional with their setup and matched our colors perfect. Most importantly I am still thinking about the food prepared by Chef Rob! It was SO good. I would recommend them to everyone. Even if you don’t do a tasting and just book them like we did for our wedding– you can be certain that they have great food, amazing service, and are worth every moment!

Amazing! They made our wedding day go just perfect! I would recommend them to anyone and everyone! They really went above and beyond to take care of us! And their food is to die for! Kept us all happy and well fed!!’

Gina and everyone at Elegant Occasions Catering are amazing. They helped our wedding vision come to life. From planning our menu, to providing excellent food and service the day-​of, every minute of working with them was a success. Even their table setups and décor were great. Their waitstaff is extremely pleasant and on top of things, and the food was definitely some of the best I’ve ever had anywhere. Everything they did was perfect, and I would recommend them to anyone. I can’t thank them enough for how beautifully our wedding turned out because of all that they did for us. Thank you so much.

No Doubt the Best Cater in the Bay!
Elegant Occasions was amazing and everyone can’t stop raving about them! Gina is the most organized amazing lady! She helped us organize our day and get everything straight and was the perfect person to relinquish control too (extremely hard). From making sure everyone was were they were supposed to be to the to-​die-​for food! They have a working relationship with Elite Entertainment and they flow together so well! Everyone on the same page and keeping us on track. We had the buffet setup with tri-​tip and a amazing apricot chicken with amazing sides. It was PERFECT! Gina also made sure we actually ate food and had 2^nd’s! (WE ACTUALLY GOT TO EAT! :)) Go with Elegant Occasions if you want amazing food and a organized contact.

I can go on and on but if you read all the other reviews I can tell you that they are all 100% correct. Gina and the crew are amazing, as the other reviewers share we to have had many of our guest state how great the food was and the staff serving was excellent. They went out of there way to make sure everyone was taken care of at our Daughters wedding last week. From setup to clean up everyone helped provide a stress free day.
Now let me tell you that if you go seek others you may speak to the person in charge but who will show up when it is time for your event. Gina was onsite when we arrived early and starting directing her crew. Chef Robert was busy preparing in the kitchen and the staff was setting up the décor on the tables as instructed. Once the ceremony was over everyone was active serving all of our guest and do you know who was in the middle of it all making sure everything was just perfect? Gina is not only going to help you plan your event she will be there making sure you are taken care of as promised.
When our time was up at the venue Gina was right there making sure we did not run overtime and the crew cleaned up everything as we discussed during the booking so our family only had to take home our decorations and the gifts. Gina’s crew was able to sign off the venues check list for the clean up and done.
This is customer service at it’s best. I now know why Elegant Occasions has such high ratings not only on Unilocal but numerous other review organizations. Gina thank you again from our family for helping our daughters wedding run smooth and stress free.

Gina and Robert were amazing and I couldn’t recommend this place more.
We had a tasting a couple months in advance where the food was nearly perfect, and they took our request to heart for the big day, so everything was wonderful.
The quality of food was on par with a nice restaurant and Gina was very helpful in planning out how things would work out for the big day.
Don’t waste your time shopping around; you can’t go wrong with Elegant Occasions.

Gina and her team did an amazing job catering our wedding reception! The food was fantastic and the service was incredible. They arrived early, worked very hard all night and then even wrapped up the leftovers for us. I highly recommend using Elegant Occasions for any event you are having.

We went with Elegant Occasions Catering and Event Planning for our November wedding at the Benicia Clock Tower. After meeting with Gina and doing an initial food tasting, we were sold on the food, and after speaking with her about what we wanted to do for the reception, we were sold on Gina. She was the point of contact throughout the whole wedding planning process and was so helpful when it came to planning the reception from top to bottom. The quality of client service was incomparable! Elegant Occasions was our one stop shop for on-​site catering, buffet table décor, linens, chairs, china, silverware, glasses, champagne toast, bartenders, servers, setup, cleanup, wedding planning and day-​of coordination. I’m sure I missed a few things, because they did SO much and they did it VERY well!
Every time we’ve seen friends and family after the wedding, they all tell us over and over how the good the food was, how their waters were never less than half full and how fast the bartenders were with handing out drinks. Gina, Chef Rob and the Elegant Occasions Catering team covered every base and were nothing short of amazing. I would DEFINITELY recommend them. Thank you so much Gina and staff for everything!

Gina and Elegant Occasions are the real deal. They catered my best friends wedding for which I was the maid of honor as well as the event planner. I was at the site early. Gina and her crew arrived on time and were very courteous and professional. They didn’t interfere with the space we needed to prepare the fresh centerpieces.
When we met with Gina at her office, I knew she was the real deal when she helped us with all the little details like hashing out the seat numbers and table chart (where all the tables would be placed in the room). She also got a feel for what my decoration plans would be as she wanted to coordinate the food tables with the centerpieces (which looked amazing!).
She went above and beyond to cater to the bride and groom and me and the best man, which was so nice after spending the entire morning setting up the venue! She even helped me break down the decorations at the end of the night! I mean that’s what I call service!
Gina is a gracious, funny and caring lady! I hope to collaborate with her again in the near future! Thanks for an amazing night.

Gina and Elegant Occasions are absolutely fabulous! I had them cater my wedding this past Sunday and they did an incredible job — the food was soooooo delicious (my guests couldn’t stop raving about it), the staff and service were impeccable and professional, they were incredibly organized and attentive, and you can’t beat the price. Included are linens, china, flatware and glasses, beer, wine and soft drink bar, cake and gift table, and I’m sure some other stuff that I’m forgetting. We did the finger foods reception (onion canapés are ridiculously good, I cold eat a million of them) which was wonderful, and we rented stand up cocktail tables from them as well to help contribute to the casual «cocktail hour» feel of our reception.
While we were getting our pics taken, our guests were served and once we came in the staff appeared at our sweetheart table with huge plates of food for me and my new husband and wedding party. They were extremely attentive all night, I’m thrilled with how it all turned out.
This is a third-​generation family owned business and they definitely know what they’re doing! Gina and co., I can’t thank you enough for the food and service — you helped make our wedding day an amazing one!

Gina is amazing! We had Gina and Elegant Occasions cater our wedding this weekend but they were more than just our caterer — they setup our tables (physically), placed all the center pieces as we designed them, we rented our chairs and linens from them, they setup all our misc. tables (memories, candy bar, welcome/​escort table, gifts table), we also rented standing cocktail tables from them, and a small table to be in our table for our unity shots table.
Prior to the wedding we had staged and took photos of each of our misc. tables and we were able to deliver boxes (and boxes, and BOXES) of décor, with photos of what each table was designed to look like and they were able to setup said tables on the day-​of exactly as we had designed.
The food prepared for the evening was phenomenal. Honestly a lot of the time I don’t associate wedding food as being particularly good, but everything was so delicious. We had the tuscan rubbed tri-​tip and basilico chicken, both of which were amazing. As for tray-​passed appetizers, we got their bruschetta, pear and brie toasts, and they were even able to accommodate our out-​of-​the-​box request… of tray passed bacon, and believe me nothing says classy like tray passed bacon, which I believe even Gina will say was a GIGANTIC hit.
Throughout the night the staff was attentive to our guests, taking plates, getting drinks, moving tables out of the sun and into the shade, and making sure everything ran smoothly. On top of this, she had worked with some of our other vendors, like our DJ (Mark Welch from Mark Welch Entertainment, another highly recommended asset), which was able to make things run much more smoothly together.
At the end of the night, we paid for Elegant Occasions’s cleanup service and they took care of all of their stuff (tables, glasses, food, etc…) and re-​boxed ALL of our boxes of décor for us. At the end of the night, certain décor we decided we’d never need again and rather than throwing it away, Gina offered to take it off our hands and use it for another future client, putting it to use rather than just junking it.
Every step of the way, Gina and Elegant Occasions was easy to work with, very accommodating, and just stellar in every way. Can’t recommend these guys enough. If you’re in the area, and looking for caterer, you’re doing yourself a dis-​service to not atleast give these guys a call and see what they can do for you.
Thank you to Gina and all of Elegant Occasions for making our wedding day the best day of our lives!!!

Elegant Occasions was one of the best choices we made when it came to planning our wedding in April 2014. Food was amazing (people are still talking about it) service was fabulous, and the staff was great! We can not thank Gina enough for all of her help leading up to the wedding as well as day of. We can not recommend them enough.
If you are looking for your wedding caterer look no further!
Elegant Occasions thank you for all your hard work and tasty food. I wish I had more of it to eat right now :)

Elegant Occasions did my wedding on 5÷17÷14
There are literally no words to express how thankful I am for what they did for mine and my husbands wedding.
Gina had so much patience with me since I can be very indecisive. Gina, her family, and staff are so helpful. My family, my husband, and I are so grateful and thankful for everything she did for us on May 17^th 2014. All we kept hearing from her on the day of the wedding was her ask what we need help with, and her saying
«oh I will take care of it». She literally takes away your stress. She constantly is making sure that you are doing good and well taken care of. Her husband is wonderful and took great care of us every time we had a meeting with Gina prior to the wedding. Their food is SO good, we had the affair to remember package. We had tri tip, chicken, and added the shrimp tree which guests loved (Gina even saved me, my husband, and my immediate family shrimp so we could enjoy it after cocktail hour), and we also added mashed potatoes. Everyone loved the food, it was perfect. It was presented in an elegant way with having flowers that match your colors of the wedding. The way they present their food makes it look so good and perfect for a picture.
She ALWAYS makes sure her brides eat. She made sure me and my husband got food first and definitely made sure that we ate and had any refreshments that we wanted. She also makes an effort to work with your other vendors such as the dj and anyone else that is part of your wedding. We had so many compliments for literally having the best wedding that people have been to in a while and for having wonderful food. There was such a variety that everyone was happy. They have their staff dressed and serving guests. It was truly amazing and we can not thank them enough for their patience and literally make our day the best day of our lives. Gina and her family are wonderful, they have so much included in their packages that it helps ease your mind and makes planning for a wedding less stressful, and more cost affective. They deserve to have so many more ratings, they truly go above and beyond to make sure everyone is comfortable, well fed, and stress free. Thank you Gina, your family, and team for EVERYTHING!

We used Elegant Occasions Catering & Event Planning for our wedding in August of 2013. From the first time I called and spoke with Gina about her company and services, I knew my search was over.
Gina and all the family and staff at Elegant Occasions were magnificent! They not only made us feel comfortable and worry free, they exemplified it!
If you are looking for a company that can get the job done, has tons of experience, family operated, efficient, classy, and has some of the most delicious food we have eaten, then look no further.
Give Gina a call, and the rest is a breeze.
We thank Gina and all the staff for making our wedding reception what we had envisioned. We had the best time, and all of family and friends raved about all the food.
We look forward to working with you again in the future, possibly an outdoor Crab Feed :)
Many Thanks,
Vince and Dina

If I could give 10 stars I would! This is hands down the best catering company in the Bay Area.
My wife and I were married back in August Gina and her staff were amazing! They made our wedding so perfect!
Gina you are the best. We don’t know what we would have done without you. Your professionalism and knowledge is wonderful. You helped us so much throughout our entire process.
Now to the food. All I can say is amazing! (Especially the onion canopies!!!) every guest raved about our food. I know a few are going to be calling for some events they have coming up.
All and all if you are looking for a caterer in the Bay Area look no further. This is number one! You will be so happy and so will all your guests.
Thank you guys,
Adam & Kristina

**this review is from our wedding in 2011 – I just realized I never completed & posted it! Oops, they deserve excellent reviews!**
Ok, wow.
We chose Elegant Occasions to cater our wedding in Sonoma last October and I can’t imagine a more fantastic experience.
We were acting on faith and a few reviews that this would be a good catering experience – we planned our wedding from another state and never met with Gina or tasted the food prior to our event. That being said, Gina was a rockstar about communicating with us, and would even follow up with me if I dropped the ball on getting information to her. We even had some drama that effected the catering, and Gina remained professional and went out of her way to accommodate our needs.
As you can see from the website, there are many fantastic and diverse food options to choose from for your event. The prices, considering what they include from set-​up, unlimited beer and wine, day-​of coordination, gratuity… etc are unbeatable.
And the food – oh, the food! So delicious. We have been to many weddings before & after ours and we can still say that the food at our wedding was the best by a long-​shot. Our guests raved about it as well. Not only did everything taste amazing, it was beautifully displayed.
The service by Gina and her staff at our wedding was impeccable. They were attentive and polite. Gina seemed to know what we wanted before we even did, and we never had to ask for anything.
If you are looking for an excellent caterer, go with Elegant Occasions. You’ll be so happy you did.

I was impressed by the food, service, and the planning that took place on the day of my friend’s wedding at the gardens at heather farms in walnut creek. They even decorated the buffet tables nicely with flower arrangements that matched the color scheme of the wedding.
The team was able to set up and take care of loose ends like setting up the name cards table, and planning the time of the day’s events from dismissing tables, to prompting the bride and groom to their first dance, greeting tables, bouquet toss, etc. Basically, they were the caterer plus day of reception coordinators. The whole staff was friendly and helpful.
Lunch Buffet Menu:
Roquefort Caramelized Walnut Salad (Delicious)
Peppered Rice Salad (Cold and hard, least favorite thing of the day)
Tri Tip w/​Horseradish (Delicious, perfectly seasoned and loved it)
Chicken Romano with Artichoke Hearts & Wine (Pretty Good in a creamy white sauce)
Grilled Vegetables Drizzled with Warm Basil Aioli (Good, but served cold to room temp– loved the roasted garlic!)
Fresh Fruit with Strawberry Mousse (Super delicious, I had seconds!)
Dinner Rolls with Butter (I really liked the plain roll, it was perfect)
This was probably one of the best wedding foods I have ever eaten, but for sure the best wedding BUFFET foods I’ve ever eaten.
We also had an open bar: fruit punch, beer assortment, chardonnay, a red wine, water. You can’t go wrong with open bar!
Champagne toast– the champagne was dry, not sweet at all, kinda salty, not the best. I’d stick with the apple cider.
Cake– super cute and decorated nicely, I think we had a vanilla cake with raspberry filling. The cake’s texture was kind of corn mealy and wet, which was strange to me, but it tasted ok.