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Weddings

About

Let’s Pretend Catering is a wedding and special event catering company located in Burlington, Vermont. Relying on a network of local farmers and food producers, the chefs use only the freshest Vermont cheeses, produce, and meats to create high-quality, custom menus. Owners Daniel Samson and Liane Mendez began their catering journey in 1998. With their attentive, caring service and focus on creativity and menu design, the culinary team at Let’s Pretend Catering is here to make it easy for you to enjoy hosting and planning your wedding reception.

Cuisine

Every dish is handmade with a focus on quality and creativity. With an expansive culinary repertoire, the chefs at Let’s Pretend Catering specialize in preparing a variety of cuisine, including:

  • American
  • Asian
  • British
  • Cajun
  • Caribbean
  • French
  • Indian
  • Italian
  • Latin American
  • Local
  • Mediterranean
  • Mexican
  • Middle Eastern
  • Southern
  • Southwestern
  • Spanish
  • Vietnamese

Services Offered

Delivery, set up, and clean up are provided along with catering services throughout Vermont. Catering services include but are not limited to:

  • Buffet
  • Cake cutting
  • Cocktail reception
  • Dessert
  • Family style
  • French service
  • Hors d’oeuvres
  • Outside cake
  • Plated
  • Servers
  • Stations
  • Tastings
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Frequently asked questions

Which of the following are included in the cost of your full service wedding catering?

Delivery
Set Up
Clean Up
Cake Cutting
Dessert
Cocktail Reception
Server(s)
Tastings

What event services do you provide?

Delivery
Set Up
Clean Up

What catering services do you provide?

Breakfast / Brunch
Buffet
Cake Cutting
Cocktail Reception
Custom Menu
Hors d'oeuvres
Plated
Server(s)
Stations
Tastings

What types of cuisine do you cater?

American
Asian
BBQ
Caribbean
French
German
Greek
Indian
Italian
Latin American
Local
Mediterranean
Mexican
Middle Eastern
Seafood
Southern
Spanish

What dietary needs can you accommodate?

Gluten Free
Lactose Free
Nut Free
Organic
Vegan
Vegetarian

Reviews of Let's Pretend Catering

J
Jeff Sent on 06/25/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Grand Isle - Byrne wedding

Lets Pretend was fabulous from helping to organize event to on site support. Food was next level and I can not thank the staff , especially Liane who were wonderful from start to finish. Can't say enough great things about this catering firm
Jeff
Olivia
Olivia Sent on 10/27/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Exceptional Food & Service

I cannot say enough amazing things about Let's Pretend Catering! They were one of the first wedding vendors that we booked for our September 2023 wedding a couple of years back and was a fantastic decision. Firstly, the level of professionalism of this catering company was top-notch. From initial consultation and communication to our menu tasting to on the day, the team was exceptional. It's a great feeling when you feel like your vendors have everything under control and with Let's Pretend I knew that they always did. They would coordinate directly with Vermont Tent ensuring that they had everything they needed and matched the aesthetic and our vision for our wedding day. They listened and applied all changes to be exactly what we envisioned for our wedding day menu from small garnishes to the dishes or how things were served. On the day, they were constantly checking in with me to see if I needed anything, making sure I was eating enough, they even made me a mini cheese board to make sure I was able to enjoy the cocktail hour food or that my dinner was still hot after we snuck away for sunset photos. Overall, they made sure that everything was running smoothly. I truly felt that myself, my husband, and our guests were so well taken care of by the Let's Pretend team. Lastly, the guests seriously could not stop RAVING about the food at our wedding. Saying that it was the best wedding food they've ever had and was absolutely incredible. We've received several requests for recipes for some of the items served at our wedding because, even a month later, people are still talking about how good the food was. Food is such an important aspect of your wedding celebration. We opted for family-style dining because we wanted it to feel like a dinner party with the people who matter the most to us in our lives and it was absolutely perfect. Let's Pretend Catering delivered on all fronts and we could not be happier with our experience with them.
Meredith
Meredith Sent on 02/22/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Phenomenal food + delightful staff!

The food at our wedding could not have been more perfect. Let’s Pretend Catering is the best wedding food I have ever eaten, hands down. They were also amazing to work with. My husband and I had a wonderful tasting with them at their location in South Hero. All of our selections were perfectly executed on our wedding day. Their staff was delightful and attentive, even going so far as to bring my husband and I our own appetizer plates while we were taking photos during cocktail hour. I highly recommend Let’s Pretend Catering for your wedding or event – I promise it will be the best decision you make!
Polina
Polina Sent on 09/28/2020
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing Wedding Catering

We had to replan our whole wedding to downsize due to COVID - which, ultimately is a decision we do not regret. As a result, we had to find new vendors, and catering was a big one to shift. Luckily, we found Let's Pretend and had them cater our new, smaller wedding. We did not get to do a tasting due to timing.

Let's Pretend was incredible. Before even getting to the food and service, Brandi and Liane were communicative, informative, and answered any and all questions I had. The options presented looked delicious, and we quickly decided on LP for our wedding day food. It was a decision we do not regret in the least. Everything we got was absolutely delicious - the hors d'oeuvres, the meal, the late night snacks we decided to get. Our guests raved about everything to us after. The service was incredible as well - our day did not go exactly according to plan, but everyone was so wonderful, and accommodating, and we actually had a tray of apps brought over to us during our photos without us having to say a word, which was so thoughtful. Everyone was constantly making sure myself and my husband had everything we needed. They took precautions to make sure their servers were safe during all this as well.

Overall, I do not have a single complaint about Let's Pretend and the service on our wedding day. Without hesitation, I would recommend them if you're looking for delicious, seasonal food that everyone would like!
Sarah
Sarah Sent on 02/17/2020
5 out of 5 rating

The best food and the best service

Im so happy I hired Let's Pretend Catering for our special day. They were so easy to work with and really helped tie all the final pieces together.

The food was DELICIOUS! They source everything from local farms and vendors which was really important to me. Our friends and family were raving about how good it was for weeks. They even did our wedding cake! I can't recommend them enough!
S
Sarah Sent on 10/05/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Absolutely perfect

We had an amazing barn wedding here in Vermont with multiple amazing vendors, but throughout the evening and even days after the wedding, our guests are still going on and on about how amazing the food was. Let's Pretend exceeded all of our expectations. They incorporated some of our family recipes into the appetizers and everything was cooked absolutely perfectly on the day of the wedding. They even brought a tray of all the appetizers to me and my (now) husband to make sure we were able to try everything. We cannot recommend Let's Pretend highly enough - worth every single dollar. Thank you guys!
G
George Sent on 08/25/2019
5 out of 5 rating

Phenomenal!

We cannot recommend Let's Pretend Catering enough! We live in Los Angeles, planning our upstate NY wedding from afar, which meant we didn't get to partake in any tastings. Let's Pretend was recommended by our wedding coordinator and we couldn't be happier with the results. Brandi was fantastic to work with throughout the process, guiding us through their robust menu, offering fantastic suggestions despite our admittedly vague criteria. Their staff was phenomenal, paying great attention to detail and our guests. Our wedding was held at an old family property with a... let's say, vintage, kitchen, but it wasn't an issue at all for the Let's Pretend Team. They came in early and, I mean this in the best way possible, it was like they weren't there. Never in the way, but always where you needed them. They even helped move our chairs from the ceremony to the reception area. Now... the food! We've been to plenty of weddings where the food is just fine. Without the opportunity to do any tastings, you could imagine our trepidation about going into our big meal blind. But Holy. Cow. Every damn menu item was absolutely delicious. From starter salads to desert, everything was perfect. We went with family style dishes which were a huge hit with our guests, allowing everyone to serve themselves just the right amount of food (though, much to our delight, there was a tiny bit of leftovers for us to snack on the next day). We did a coffee station and desert bar, and lemme tell you, their sweets were phenomenal. They damn near put me in a coma. All said, amazing food and an awesome staff. We would recommend in a heartbeat!
K
Kendall Sent on 10/21/2018
5 out of 5 rating

Delicious food and amazing service

Since our wedding, I have received an incredible number of compliments on our food. It truly was delicious and showcased all that Vermont has to offer. But, equally important, the overall level of customer service that we received from Let's Pretend was spectacular. From helping us plan out the timing of the whole day, to the menu, to all the little questions we had along the way, to the execution of the big day itself, everything was flawless and every single employee we interacted with was extremely nice, flexible, professional, and accommodating. They are lovely people who make amazing food and who really know how to bring an event together. They gave us great advice backed up with tons of experience. I cannot recommend them more highly.
M
Megan Sent on 11/18/2017
5 out of 5 rating
We can’t say enough wonderful things about the Let’s Pretend Catering team. Working with them for our wedding was genuinely one of the best decisions and most enjoyable aspects of planning our wedding. We credit Let’s Pretend for being a huge part in making our wedding special and memorable. We worked with the co-owner Liane, who was immediately helpful and friendly, after my first inquiry, Liane supplied a complete quote with the price of everything broken down, including the price of the staff. Throughout the entire process, Liane was on top of every single detail and stuck to our budget.
Liane took over all the coordination for the wedding day and made everything so easy for me. She was calm and always made me feel like the situation was 100% under control. She worked with all our vendors and created a timeline for the entire day. It was clear that she was a professional and that any surprises that came up wouldn't faze her in the least. She understood that our goal was to have people on the dance floor as much as possible, and she made that happen by sticking to the timeline, and providing a generous amount of staff to make sure everyone had their food in a timely manner, all without making dinner feel rushed.
The food! We already knew we had made the right choice, but after our tasting we were positive we had. Everything at the tasting and our wedding was absolutely delicious. For a few of the dishes we made some changes, and Liane immediately had ideas on how to adjust the menu to make it perfect for us. Everyone loved the food, and are still raving about it, especially the prosciutto wrapped chicken! It was an even bigger bonus that the food is all “farm to table,” so everything was fresh and seasonable.
Liane oozes total professionalism, kindness, hospitality, and is so sweet and such a joy to be around! You will be in the best possible hands with her team. We are so grateful we worked with Let’s Pretend.

E
Elizabeth Sent on 10/20/2017
5 out of 5 rating
Hiring Let's Pretend to cater our wedding was one of the best decisions we made! Liane was incredible -- she was so on top of everything and happy to accommodate our every request. The food was amazing (our guests couldn't stop talking about it!) and despite a few curveballs, Liane and her team remained calm, collected and positive and were able to roll with the punches. Let's Pretend truly went above and beyond to make our day just perfect. Thank you so much Liane and team!
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Awards

33
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2018 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2016 Winner

Professional Network & Endorsements

1 Endorsement
Officiant Carmen George Officiant Carmen George Wedding Officiants

I love the owner Leanne. She is incredibly positive, organized, professional and smart. You are in good hands if you hire them.

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Map

Addresses map

Let's Pretend Catering frequently asked questions

At Let's Pretend Catering, the cost of the full wedding catering service includes:
  • Delivery
  • Set Up
  • Clean Up
  • Cake Cutting
  • Dessert
  • Cocktail Reception
  • Server(s)
  • Tastings
Let's Pretend Catering offers the following event services for weddings:
  • Delivery
  • Set Up
  • Clean Up
Let's Pretend Catering offers the following catering services for weddings:
  • Breakfast / Brunch
  • Buffet
  • Cake Cutting
  • Cocktail Reception
  • Custom Menu
  • Hors d'oeuvres
  • Plated
  • Server(s)
  • Stations
  • Tastings
At Let's Pretend Catering, you can find the following types of cuisine:
  • American
  • Asian
  • BBQ
  • Caribbean
  • French
  • German
  • Greek
  • Indian
  • Italian
  • Latin American
  • Local
  • Mediterranean
  • Mexican
  • Middle Eastern
  • Seafood
  • Southern
  • Spanish
At Let's Pretend Catering, the following dietary needs can be accomodated:
  • Gluten Free
  • Lactose Free
  • Nut Free
  • Organic
  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
Let's Pretend Catering is recommended by 99% of couples who have used their services. Their overall rating is 4.9 out of 5 with the following breakdown: 5 in professionalism, 4.9 in quality of service, 4.9 in average response time, 4.9 in flexibility and 4.9 in value.
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