Looking for a caterer in Western Massachusetts

January 3, 2012 2:51 PM

Can you recommend a caterer and wedding photographer in Western Massachusetts?

I am planning a wedding in Amherst, MA, and am looking for a caterer and photographer. Any recommendations? I've tried all the usual spots (Yelp, The Knot, Google, etc) but haven't found much in the way of recommendations. We have a venue.

posted by john_snow to Food & Drink (14 answers total)

Best answer: A good friend of mine is a pro wedding photographer in that area. She's in Northampton. Her website is www.cynphoto.com. Good luck and congratulations!
posted by Fiorentina97 at 3:23 PM on January 3, 2012

Looking for an event photographer in Boston, I contacted the New England School of Photography (under "Student Services - Find a Photographer") and had them place an ad for me, then Googled all the respondents to see what kind of reviews they'd gotten. Most of them also volunteered to provide references. (And they all provided links to online portfolios. There was only one respondent who did not also do wedding photography.) NESOP places the ad on their alumni boards and they've got alumni all over the place, including western Mass (some of the respondents I got seemed to range widely over New England). This is not the same as getting actual recommendations from people, obviously, but it provided a good starting base, particularly since it gave us a short-list of people we knew were actually interested in the job and available on the date we wanted.
posted by posadnitsa at 3:24 PM on January 3, 2012

Best answer: Check out Jordan Van Aken (and her blog). Based in NY, but travels and does beautiful work. I've been very happy with her.
posted by SampleSize at 3:36 PM on January 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Check out Marketplace catering in Sheffield. Might be a little far but excellent.
posted by iamscott at 3:39 PM on January 3, 2012

Best answer: I'm not sure how fancy you're looking to get for catering, but you might check The Black Sheep. (I grew up in Amherst - the owner's the father of a good friend of mine and I've been going to the Sheep for 20 years or so by now.) I think their options for wedding catering might go a ways beyond what's listed on the website - you might need to email/call to get more details on what's available?
posted by ethand at 4:06 PM on January 3, 2012

Best answer: My friend used Summer Street Photography and was really thrilled.
posted by cider at 4:14 PM on January 3, 2012

Tell us about your wedding - where is the reception going to be? How much are you planning to spend per head? What kind of food do you like?
posted by a22lamia at 4:29 PM on January 3, 2012

Best answer: Dani Fine Photography is excellent. We've had her take photos of Mrs. Plinth and I for our 5th wedding anniversary and we've had her take photos of our kids. Nice studio, nice people working for her.

For catering - depends what you're looking for. Between Amherst and Northampton you can get whatever type of cuisine you want. We ended up going with Viva Pasta in Northampton. It was delicious and they nicely detail-oriented (ie, no fettucine for the bride to keep her dress clean, tortellini instead). It helped that our venue had an industrial kitchen. I know one guy who had his wedding catered by Bub's and another who had an entire pig served up by Outlook Farm.
posted by plinth at 4:35 PM on January 3, 2012

Best answer: A friend of mine got married recently and used this photographer. My friend's photos were gorgeous and she said the photographer made everyone feel very comfortable.

Agree with plinth on the catering issue. A lot of places in the Amherst area have a catering sideline, so it would help to know what kind of food you're thinking about. (Viva Fresh Pasta is very good, though.)
posted by camyram at 6:26 PM on January 3, 2012

Response by poster: Thank you! This is very helpful. The photographer recommendations look great and I didn't realize there were restaurants that would cater. We'll be getting married this summer, so would like to serve lighter, fresh food--salads with local produce would be great, for example. No strong opinions on what, exactly, but it should be vegetarian-friendly and stuff most people will like; and something fancier than sandwiches. We'll be getting married at a private home that does not have a professional kitchen.
posted by john_snow at 6:56 PM on January 3, 2012

Best answer: We got married in Amherst 2.5 years ago. The place we had our ceremony made us use their caterers (The Red Barn at Hampshire), but we had our rehearsal dinner at The Night Kitchen up in Montague and loved it; not sure if they'll cater or not.

We got our (delicious) wedding cake from Sunrise Pastry Shop in Easthampton.

Finally, our (really excellent and not-too-expensive) photographer was based out of Boston- Sarah Bettencourt
posted by Betelgeuse at 10:08 PM on January 3, 2012

Best answer: I was at a wedding in the area a year+ ago in the Berkshires and it was catered by the People's Pint in Greenfield - the food was good and lots of local/seasonal ingredients. I think their rates were reasonable... and they have beer, too. :)
posted by parsley7 at 10:23 PM on January 3, 2012

FYI - Sunrise closed in 2011.
posted by plinth at 2:31 AM on January 4, 2012

Response by poster: Thanks all, I am marking as best answer everyone who gave a specific suggestion.
posted by john_snow at 9:04 AM on January 6, 2012