Constellation Reviews
Reviews
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![Liana]()
Liana Sent on 10/22/2023Scrumptious!
The price at the New York Botanical Garden includes a lot more than just the lush backdrop. The food was sumptuous, the cake (included) was beautiful and delicious, and the service was top notch. Plus the linens, tables, silverware, and pretty much all the tables and chairs you’re going to need are all included in the cost. We received numerous compliments from our guests. Working with the catering staff leading up to the event was a dream. Our poised, attentive, and experienced coordinator had a great disposition, and the team that ended up working the wedding was polished and professional. Would give more stars if we could. We could not be happier! -
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![Marie]()
Marie Sent on 01/20/2022Great Food!
Constellation was great to work with! -
![Eric]()
Eric Sent on 09/25/2021Incredible Reception at Grounds for Sculpture
Constellation Culinary catered our rehearsal dinner and wedding reception at Rat's Restaurant at Grounds for Sculpture, and we're so glad they did. The selection and quality of the food is amazing - we received compliments saying that the food was "not just good for a wedding, but actually incredible". We felt safe with all of the choices we made and were incredibly satisfied with the result. Although event planning during a pandemic is challenging, their staff was flexible and helpful throughout the changing circumstances. Would highly recommend. -
![Luci]()
Luci Sent on 02/29/2020Taste Bud Heaven
We were so blown away by our menu options with Constellation Culinary. We had pages to choose from and there was something for everyone! The presentation was fabulous and professional. From cocktail hour, to our sit-down reception, to dessert, and even late night snacks, our guests were raving about the food and how they couldn't possibly eat another thing (but then did). We worked with Lauren and she was great from the beginning! Everything felt easy and with Lauren as our point of contact, the night was seemingly effortless. Thank you to Lauren and the Constellation team for their expertise and professionalism, our bellies were extremely happy all night! -
![Kyra]()
Kyra Sent on 01/22/2020Best caterer!!!
We got married at the Horticulture Center and had Constellation as our caterer, and everything was incredible. We worked with Gail, and she was extremely responsive and helpful throughout the entire wedding planning process. On the wedding day, the food was so great, we had lots of our guests saying that some bites were the best they've had. The service was also excellent, everyone got their dinners in a timely manner and the bar staff was efficient and courteous. We had an amazing time and we can't thank Gail and Constellation Culinary enough for making our wedding day so amazing! -
![Amy I.]()
Amy Sent on 08/09/2019Absolute heaven.
We were so blown away by our menu options with Constellation Culinary. We had pages to choose from and there was something for everyone (including pescatarians and vegetarians). The presentation was fabulous, and we almost had too much for our guests to eat! Everyone kept commenting on how delicious the food was, which was wonderful to hear. The sit-down three-course meal was delicious, allowed everyone to choose their main course on the day, and included several mini-desserts. We even had a pizza food truck at the end! Everything was fresh, light, and beautifully presented. We couldn't have been happier with how everything turned out. Thank you so much, Constellation Culinary! We were in heaven. -
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![Madeline]()
Madeline Sent on 07/06/2013Stephen Starr served as caterer for my June 15, 2013 wedding at Greystone Hall and if there were an option for 10 out of 10 stars that is what I would give them. Starr already had such a fantastic reputation prior to my husband and I choosing them as our caterer and we were blown away by both the taste and presentation of the food on our wedding day. Three weeks later and our guests continue to rave about the food! From the pink lemonade served at our cocktail hour to the serving of the cake, the whole evening ran seamlessly. Starr's cuisine so incredibly delicious and beautiful and the entire planning process with Leila and Ashley was fantastic. I cannot recommend a more spectacular caterer to use! -
![Tamlyn]()
Tamlyn Sent on 09/21/2020Incredible!
We were connected with Heather at Constellation when we first booked the venue for our micro/COVID safe wedding back in May. She was awesome to work with from the start and we were so excited about menu selections.
In August (about a month before our wedding), we got some news from our venue that made it pretty much impossible to be able to say our "I Do's" in the place we'd planned. They gracefully let us out of our contract and Heather swooped in on a white horse and saved the day - not only did she get us in contact with another venue for the SAME date and time, but she worked with us to reimagine the space and timeline for our ceremony/reception.
The staff the day of was attentive, kind, incredibly personable, and made the event go off without a hitch.
I've already told Heather a million times in person, but we are forever grateful to her and the rest of the Constellation team. The food is incredible and memorable, but the staff is really what puts Constellation on top. -
![Brian]()
Brian Sent on 04/28/2021Wedding Blues
My wife and I had our wedding ceremony at Grounds for Sculpture followed by the reception at Rat’s Restaurant this past March. Although there were some good points (mainly the wedding ceremony & our wedding party speeches), we were left feeling incredibly dismayed and disappointed with the way our wedding day was prepared and handled by the management staff at Constellation Culinary Group and Rat’s Restaurant.
As we were planning our wedding during the pandemic, many changes were implemented to ensure the safety of our guests and the staff. Although it proved to be challenging in navigating through this ever-evolving scenario for all of us, it was poorly executed by the management staff of CCG and Rat’s Restaurant. Before I dive into the events that unfolded, I wanted to preface the reader that the reception is handled by two separate entities: Constellation Culinary Group & Rat’s Restaurant, which leaves a lot of room for error & miscommunication. I also want to point out that they keep the restaurant open for patrons, so we did not have a fully private event.
9 days prior to our wedding day, the Sales Manager whom we've been working with since we booked the venue in December 2020, informed us that there’s a no dance mandate. We called her right away since it was the first time we were hearing this. She claimed that she did mention this via email in February (only a month before our wedding). We checked our emails and didn’t find a single trace of this being mentioned.
In the original email when we had first inquired, we were told that there was availability for the ceremony, reception, AND dance floor. The no dance mandate was never mentioned prior to us finding out. To say we were upset and blindsided to learn about the no dance mandate 9 days prior to our wedding day is an understatement. She didn’t even offer an apology. Presumably, the call did not end well and we were told to take the time to think of what we wanted to do moving forward. The sales manager not only failed to communicate this crucial detail with us but also offered no solution to the mess she created.
We called our DJ right away to find out that he was informed the same day and that she mentioned that we already knew, which was not true. We were beyond upset and livid with how this all unfolded.
The fact of the matter is not about us not wanting to abide by CDC guidelines and restrictions that were in place in NJ, but the lack of communication on behalf of Constellation. We would have planned our wedding so differently had we had known from the start. We would have treated this as a post-wedding dinner vs reception. We wouldn’t have needed to book more than one space and would have reduced our guest count. Our vendor bookings would have been so different. We wouldn’t have booked a DJ nor would we have needed the 4-5 hour reception time. We would have saved thousands. Ultimately, we spent money on a DJ that would be playing music in an empty room where guests couldn’t even gather in. This disaster left a very sour taste in our mouth.
Kathy, the Director of Catering, stepped in and & did her best to alleviate our stress. She even apologized on behalf of the Sales Manager’s mistakes. The Sales Manager didn’t even offer us an apology & she blatantly avoided us on our wedding day, making no eye contact. She did defend the Sales Manager & said that the no dance mandate wasn’t broached in writing by the state as a restriction during the time of our booking. I did my own research & found out that this “no dance mandate” was in place since Summer 2020, which was in writing.
On the day of the wedding, it was so disorganized. There were so many issues, but to name a few, the staff was rude to some of our guests (some were told to quiet down for restaurant patrons when we were the ones celebrating a wedding), the Event Manager for the ceremony complained loud enough about having to light our candles for the ceremony aisle that our guests heard, we felt that they skimped us on the hors d’oeuvres during cocktail hour especially since they were served French-style, the schedule was non-existent that my wife had to flag someone at 9PM to ask to cut the cake as we were nearing the end time of our “reception.”
Overall, we fully were aware that gathering in groups was a concern for us and that we took the COVID-19 guidelines very seriously. Ultimately, we wanted all of our guests, as well as the staff, to feel safe and comfortable in an environment that followed state restrictions but it was just poorly executed. You would think they would follow up with a call or email after our wedding, especially knowing how much stress & anxiety they’ve caused us leading up to it, but we’ve received nothing.
I advise anyone planning their wedding to double or triple check with state guidelines on your own and don’t rely on any establishment to get that information for you.
I was indecisive as to whether to post this review, mainly because the wedding ceremony held at Grounds for Sculpture was beautiful and we do not want to expend such negative energy toward our wedding memories. That said, it’s been a little over a month after our wedding, and when we reflect on that day, we are still left feeling disappointed that we chose CCG and Rat’s Restaurant.
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