Catering
Intimate Wedding flat-rate buffet or family-style service for groups of fifty or fewer guests across the Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay region. A fixed-package small-wedding program designed for elopements, micro-weddings, vow renewals, and intimate receptions of fifty or fewer guests. This is a single flat-rate package rather than a per-person tier. Built for couples hosting a small-group wedding at backyard venues, vacation rentals, intimate restaurants, beach sites, and small banquet rooms across the Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay, and San Benito County footprint.
Menu structure. The Intimate Wedding program can be served buffet or family style. The menu opens with three chef-passed appetizers and continues with two seasonal salads, two entree selections from a chef list that includes tri-tip, salmon, herb-roasted chicken, hand-rolled lasagna, Mahi-Mahi, and a vegetarian course on request, one accompaniment from the starch list, a garden vegetable, fresh dinner rolls with butter, and full dessert and cake service. Couples bring entree preferences during the menu lock stage and the chef team writes a one-page menu document for the program insert.
What is included in the flat rate. The flat-rate package covers food for up to fifty guests, china place settings, silverware for hors d'oeuvres, buffet or family-style, and dessert courses, one stemmed water glass per guest, polyester linen napkins and full-length linen tablecloths in over thirty colors, a banquet captain, front-of-house service staff, a back-of-house service team, and an on-site kitchen team. Service covers a ten-hour on-site window (three hours setup, six hours active event, one hour cleanup). Champagne pour service, tableside wine and water service, and cake cutting service are included at no additional charge. There is no corkage fee. Two vendor meals are included free of charge.
Service style and event flow. The buffet option runs the standard chef-plated buffet line. The family-style option drops platters on each table for guests to pass and share. The flow runs: cocktail hour with passed appetizers, seating call and toasts, main service (buffet by table, or family-style platters tableside), and dessert and cake service tableside. The team coordinates timing with the planner, DJ, and venue manager so the small-group flow stays personal.
Dietary and allergen accommodation. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free, kosher-style, nut-free, and organic accommodations are available across the program. Because the group is small, the chef team can prep custom plates for guests with severe restrictions or specific preferences. Ingredient lists can be supplied during the menu confirmation stage.
Tasting and planning support. Tastings for the small-group program are available on request and are scheduled at the planning team's commissary. A custom menu design pass is included at no extra cost. The planning rhythm runs contract signing, a check-in roughly sixty to ninety days from the event for menu lock and guest list confirmation, and a two-week-out finalization pass for final guest count and dietary cards.
Pricing transparency and what is additional. The flat-rate price covers up to fifty guests with the inclusions described above. A nineteen percent service charge plus applicable California city and county sales tax are added at booking. A delivery fee applies based on travel distance from the Watsonville-area kitchen. Extra guests above the fifty-guest cap (up to ten additional) are billed at one hundred dollars per person; above sixty guests the program moves into the per-person buffet tiers. A plated upgrade is available at a flat $1,050 staff upcharge and requires either a commercial kitchen on site or rental of a commercial convection oven, warming box, speed rack, and a dedicated covered prep tent. Bar service is sold separately as a starting $5 per person plus $475 per bartender add-on. Specialty entree upgrades (premium seafood, Filet Mignon at market price, short ribs) are quoted at booking. The family-style upgrade is included on this tier at no extra charge (other tiers carry the family-style upgrade as a $10 per person line).
Venue compatibility. This package suits backyard ceremonies, vacation rental properties, small estate gardens, intimate beach venues, vineyard tasting-room receptions, and small banquet rooms across the Bay-to-Monterey corridor. The team prefers venues with at least a level prep area, water access, and vendor parking. Mobile-kitchen setups are routine for outdoor sites without commercial kitchens. The planning team will confirm venue compatibility during the discovery call. Service runs Santa Cruz County, Monterey County (excluding Big Sur), and most of San Benito County. Travel outside this footprint is quoted case by case.
