Designed Events

Designed Events catered my wedding on 11÷21÷15 and I have experienced their service at several other events. The team at DE goes above and beyond! They are not your traditional caterers and it was certainly not your «typical» wedding food. The menu was tailored to our needs and liking and was the quality that you would expect from a high end restaurant. They checked in with me several times before the wedding to make sure everything was taken care of before the event. The day of, the food was amazing and just as I remembered it from our tasting appointment. Mark made sure to come and check on me the day of to make sure I was satisfied with everything. All of their staff is extremely kind and went above and beyond to ensure our day was perfect. All of our guests raved about the food and commented on how nice the staff was. In addition to the amazing food and service, their prices are very reasonable compared to other caterers. You will not be disappointed if you chose Designed Events for your catering needs!

As the event manager this year for the Propeller Club, we had held our Holiday Gala for the past couple of years at an area hotel and wanted to make several changes for the 2015 event to add a touch of class.
I hired Designed Events Inc to plan, decorate and cater our business club’s Holiday Gala in December 2015. This was the first time I worked with Designed Events, and I was very impressed.
I primarily worked with Mark Shine on the event. Mark was always professional and courteous. He conceptualized the classy and elegant décor inside the event venue, an historic building in Downtown Jacksonville, with dozens of candles in the bay windows, white linens, fresh flowers on each table, intricate wreaths, and pine placed strategically. He was gracious to conduct multiple walkthroughs at the venue before the event to ensure all details were covered.
He also booked an entertaining DJ for the evening, who inspired our club’s members to dance for the first time in the last four years of holiday parties.
Designed Events’ service staff was also professional, handling every request promptly, whether it was moving tables, moving chairs, packing up to-​go boxes for some guests — everything was handled swiftly and correctly. Bar service was equally swift and professional.
Dinner and dessert were delicious. But don’t take just my word for it. We send out a survey after each event the club holds, and on the survey for our 2015 Holiday Gala, all respondents — 100% — liked the food served at the event.
The menu included: hors d’oeuvres including smoked trout torta, bruschetta and fresh fruit skewers; dinner buffet including cape cod salad, asian glazed salmon sides, southern pan chicken (highly recommend!), chimichurri steak kabobs, sesame asparagus, roasted fingerling potatoes, and assorted artisan breads and rolls; dessert including petite eggnog cupcakes with ginger snap crumbles, pumpkin gooey butter bars, and chocolate peppermint cream shooters (amazing!).
For setup and breakdown, Designed Events staff were on time and efficient. They handled all equipment with care, considering that we were in an historic building with strict rules on the delicate infrastructure.
Designed Events’ pricing was fair and billing was straightforward.
Overall, I highly recommend Designed Events!

Avoid these guys at all cost, there are plenty of qualified caterers out there!
I just hired this caterer for my wedding on November 20^th and was so surprised when they totally dropped the ball and ran out of food before all my guest got a plate. I had a buffet for 136 guest and only 106 people got the menu I paid for. The Caterer ran out of steak with 3 tables to go (30 people) and offered them chicken in place of the steak. They also ran out of asparagus and potatoes before everyone went through the buffet line. They never once offered me an apology or partial refund and simply stated that my guest were «pigs» and ate too much. I am still in the process of disputing my total bill through the court system and my credit card company. Don’t be fooled by these guys. Everything will seem ok until they actually have to cater your event. I continue to hear from guest that didn’t receive food and were told by the catering company that they ran out and had nothing else to offer them. I am completely embarrassed by the entire event and wish I would have known the lack of professionalism and execution by this company. P. S, Designed Events (John Montgomery and Mark Shine) called and offered me $ 5 per guest that did not receive food… What a joke.