The Black Tie Company

My husband and I recently got married and had our reception at their Portland Club venue. It was perfect! We had 140 guests, but still wanted a cozy and intimate space. It was exactly what we wanted. It felt as though we had the chance to all get together in someones beautiful big old home. Amy Collins was who we used to plan everything through. She was EXCELLENT! Always on top of her game and a pleasure to work with. Even on the day of the wedding she was more than willing to move the cocktail hour back a bit so the bridal party could enjoy some of it after doing photos. Afterwords, we all went up into their antique billiards room for the after party where we had grilled cheese and tomato soup (a signature meal of my husband and I) at hand for late night partying :) Highly recommended.

I was married on August 28th on Peaks Island, and food was one top priority for our wedding – Black Tie did not disappoint! All of the food has to be transported from Portland out to Peaks Island, which made me a little bit nervous, but everything was amazing – both in taste and preparation. Their staff is also top notch, they made sure that our guests were happy throughout the evening, and if they saw someone had a need, they stepped right in to help.During our cocktail hour, both hot and cold butler passed hors d’oeuvres were served, as well as a full stationary display. My favorites were the lobster bundles and the grilled pear with Roquefort on a baguette. We then served a plated, 4 course dinner to approx. 60 guests, with a poured wine service:• First Course: a chilled melon-berry soup (amazing presentation!)• Second Course: a salad of baby spinach, figs, and bacon• Third Course: choice between crab cakes and a Carpaccio with lemon olive oil• Fourth Course: choice between roasted butternut squash ravioli and spicy puttanesca sauce over orchiette pasta• Dessert: chocolate and red velvet cupcakes, topped with edible flowersPaula was our coordinator, and she was wonderful to work with. She responded promptly to all e mails and requests (including the addition of a guest late Friday night just before the wedding!). Much more than “just” a caterer, Black Tie also assists with your total event set up, and really guides you through the wedding planning process.I would highly, highly recommend Black Tie Catering to any bride who loves truly great food and service.

We had our reception at the Portland Club, catered by Black Tie Co. Part of the package deals that the Black Tie Co. has includes a day-of-coordinator. The Portland Club was the perfect backdrop for our reception. The house is gorgeous with plenty of side rooms for your guests to explore - the bar, the living room (appetizers) and the front room (which we used as a child's room). The food was delicious and the staff was very flexible and accommodating with the menu options. They seem to love to try new things. Paula, our event coordinator, also loved to research options and find menu items, decor, cake pictures, etc. that fit with our vision. She found the most decadent vegetarian torte with whipped goat cheese that, together with chef Jason, they made come to life. It was delicious!Paula was very quick to reply whenever I had a question. If she didn't reach me by phone, she always left very detailed messages or sent an email to ensure I had my answers as quickly as possible. The reception decor was beautiful when we arrived! I had a lot of extra favors and left a note that they could be used as additional decoration throughout the venue, if they saw fit. They did an amazing job of using the favors as little accents on the cake stand, the guest table and a couple of other places. It was such a nice touch and better than what I envisioned. They also add many candles, at no extra cost, to the entire venue, which really adds a nice, romantic touch to the entire scene.

Black Tie catered our rehearsal dinner. The food was great except for the dessert. We had a carrot cake that wasnt worth the calories (to quote one of my guests)- it seemed rather stale. Black Tie gave us a gift certificate as a gesture for the bad cake. Otherwise, the food was great and they were easy to work with.

I have mixed feelings about Black Tie. The planning process was great -- I was planning my Maine wedding from NYC, and Amy Collins, the event coordinator, was great. She provided vendor suggestions, was able to meet with us a few times, gave lots of guidance, and always answered my emails quickly and thoroughly. So, I was disappointed when Amy had a colleague act as our event captain, but open-minded because Amy assured me that this person would provide the same level of service. THis was not the case. Our event captain wasn't invested in our event AT ALL. She paid absolutely no attention to our rehearsal, and throughout the whole process acted annoyed whenever I asked a question -- when I could find her to ask her a question, that is (and we were a very low-key crowd). At the end of the evening, we felt very rushed to leave and get on the ferry. I was used to a level of professionalism from the planning phase, yet didn't get it for the most important part, the wedding/reception itself.To end on more of a positive note, the cake was delicious -- everyone raved about it.

We picked Black Tie because they had the exclusive catering rights to the venue we wanted (Harbor View - Jones Landing). Paula (our event coordinator) and the chief were helpful in making sure our food selection is exactly what we wanted. Paula did a great job of helping us stay within our budget and suggesting great dishes that fit our theme. Paula worked with us from start to finish and acted as the day of Wedding Coordinator (everything from set-up, food and bar preparations, timing, lining up the bridesmaids, etc). Highly recommend Paula Cano and Black Tie.

We had our reception at The Portland Club, which is catered by Black Tie. Amy Collins was our coordinator and she did a wonderful job. We have absolutely no complaints. Everything went off exactly as we had discussed- and if it didn't, we didn't notice it. The attendents were extremely attentive to us and the food was excellent. I was also blown away by our cake. I think this ended up being one of my favorite parts of the evening. The cake came out gorgeous (just like our picture) and it tasted wonderful.While Black Tie may be a little costly, the catering and service was well worth it. We wouldn't change a thing about the day.

The Black Tie Catering Co. did a fantastic job with our wedding. Amy Collins was a great planner and organizer and helped steer me in the right direction. I had not clue how to plan and wedding and she surprised me and my husband with how well everything turned out. Thank youKristen and Jan8-2-2008

Sadly, I can not give Black Tie a good review in my experience. They catered my wedding and we were disappointed. Aside from not showing up at a few of our preliminary meetings (we traveled from CT to Maine to meet them at an appointment, and the person wasn't there.), there were also other bumps in the road. At the reception, the lead Captain was rude to me and my guests. They also were not ready for us when we arrived (we were 10 minutes early....but we couldn't help that...the church got out a few minutes early. Were we supposed to stand outside and wait? I think they should have been ready for us...but they weren't.) So we hung around starving to death waiting for them to bring out the appetizers and set up the stationary appetizer stations. They were also supposed to pass around my signature drinks on trays to alleviate lines at the bar, and they didn't do this. The stationary appetizer station was never replenished, so it looked very bare and empty during the cocktail hour. We had a lobster buffet, and we were told there would be a separate plate for the lobster, and a seperate plate for all the side dishes. But when we go to the end of the buffet to get our lobster, they just plopped it on top of our side dishes (salad, potatoes, vegetables, fruit, etc....it all ended up tasting like lobster!). They also didn't give us fresh butter for our lobster, we had to use the butter from our steamers. (which doesn't sound like a big deal, but the butter had grit in it from dunking the steamers in it). To top it all off, Black Tie LOST MY FAVORS!!!!!! I spent over $400 on custom Godiva chocolates with candy lobsters on them, in white boxes with our picture on it and tied with a ribbon. They LOST THEM. So my guest never got them. They found them the next day and after a bit of an ordeal (I obviously had some things to complain about!) They ended up mailing them to us...but the arrived completely melted and I had to throw them out. There was no way I was going to be able to give them to people. The candy lobster melted off the chocolates and made a red gooey mess. Black Tie was at some times difficult to reason with after going back and forth on the phone trying to work out a solution to the issues. We did get apologies, but sometimes that is not enough. We did get back a small refund, but nothing close to what we thought we deserved. This was not at all fun to deal with after a wedding, and trying to get ready to leave for the honeymoon. Save yourself the trouble, and don't use Black Tie! You've been warned!