Celebrations at the Bay

Where do I even begin?! From start to finish, Catering by Uptown and Anne Portell were absolutely amazing! My wedding day was so much more than I ever dreamed of-- in large part, because of Anne and her awesome team! I am so grateful for all of the hard work, professionalism, and amazing service, provided by Catering by Uptown, and of course, Anne! All of our guests are still talking about how awesome our food was. We couldn't be happier with the outcome of our wedding day.

-Taylor

I would use this company again My planner and coordinator Shandra was super I recommend her to anyone using uptown catering

-Constance

This company is AMAZING. They are a family own catering company that has many contracted venues throughout MD. They have so much versatility and customization that every wedding they do is different and special. They put the bride and her people first and have amazing service! They really care about your wishes and ideas and will help make anything on any budget possible. PICK THEM!!

Chesapeake Bay, but you can also hire them to cater any venue of your choosing. We chose Celebrations at the Bay before we realized that we would get Catering by Uptown along with it! Best decision we made for our wedding! The food tasting within itself took up an entire evening and included tasting all the hor d'oeuvres they made along with a dual entree to try. It was all extremely delicious, that wasn't even everything they had to offer! We received a big booklet containing every single option they had (we went with the filet and cake) and we and our guests were not disappointed! Everyone and I mean EVERYONE absolutely LOVED the food! To this day they keep talking about how amazing everything tasted.

They even have wedding coordinators who are on point! They helped to make sure our dream wedding come to life! Sandra was our coordinator, and she was AH-MAZING! I am a very particular person and was an extremely particular bride, I had a vision and Sandra helped bring it to life! She even hand-picked the staff so that our day would run as smoothly as possible. Thank you Catering by Uptown and Sandra for providing the best food and service that we could have asked for on our wedding day!

-Kendall

My husband and I were beyond impressed by the professionalism and attention to detail by the CBU staff the day of our wedding at Celebrations at the Bay. Even with some last-minute changes (like a crazy thunderstorm in the middle of a planned outdoor ceremony!), Aimee our day-of coordinator was fantastic at keeping us both on the same page and was both available and approachable the entire night. She even brought me and my maids some wine to calm my nerves and made sure that my husband and I were well fed. Speaking of which, the food was absolutely delicious, the cake looked beautiful and tasted great, and the venue looked amazing and was set up exactly the way we had wanted. Thank you for making my wedding day the best day of my life!

-Rowena

These folks are the absolute best!!! They take the hassle of wedding planning out of your hands. I would say that they were worth every penny I paid because they made everything as seamless as possible for me, and that says a lot coming from me because I tend to stress out about the littlest of things.I just want to say thank you to Kristina, Sandra, and every member of the team for helping me make my wedding day an absolute success!

-Tolu

We had our wedding in the ballroom at Celebrations at the Bay on June 26, 2016, and could not have been happier. The venue was beautiful, and we were able to enjoy the sunset over the Chesapeake as our backdrop. The food was excellent! Our guests are still raving about how beautiful the wedding was and how much fun they had.

Our day-of coordinator, Eileen, was wonderful to work with and made sure everything ran smoothly. She demonstrated meticulous attention to detail and even made sure the garden was cleaned up and looking beautiful at my mother's request. Our planner, Laney, was also very friendly and responsive and accommodated all of our requests. We attended a group tasting event and were a little disappointed that some of the food was overcooked, but Uptown reassured us by giving us a private tasting where everything was prepared perfectly. They also allowed us to make alterations to the standard menu items and provided specialized meals for our guests with severe dietary restrictions. We only wish it could have lasted longer, since we were all having such a great time!

-Elizabeth

My husband and I had a great experience with Celebrations at the Bay and Uptown Catering.

Celebrations at the Bay is a great alternative to high priced DC venues. We reserved hotel blocks at Annapolis and provided shuttles to and from the venue. It worked out perfectly.

The ballroom is perfect for a small to medium sized wedding. The view, deck for ceremony, and windows in reception ballroom provide a lot of natural beauty, which decrease the need for decorations. And to that point, the venue provides a package service, which includes catering, booze, linens, table settings, pretty gold chairs, the basics for centerpieces, lights and lanterns, and lighting, etc. This package approach was perfect for our 6 month engagement as it consolidated a lot of the decision making process. The venue was also very helpful in keeping us at our budget, although we were flexible in making that happen (chose to get married on a Friday, which worked out great for us!)

They also provide a day of coordinator (mine, Bethany, was awesome!!) and before then are very communicative over email and phone. I never went more than a day or two without a response and I was a very active e-mailer. :)

The day of went perfectly. I had an issue with a late vendor and Bethany took the reigns on dealing with it and moving timing around to make everything work. And some little things I hadn't thought through, she had already thought of and covered or told me what I should do. The catering service and food were also perfect, lots of compliments on both. I never felt like I needed anything.

Overall, I highly recommend this venue and/or catering company, particularly for those wanting a package experience (with plenty of opportunity to customize) at a venue with a lot of natural beauty.

Thank you to Bethany, Celebrations, and Uptown for a great wedding experience!

I had my wedding at the Celebrations at the Bay location. The day was absolutely perfect! Literally, nothing went wrong. If it did, then the venue took care of it without me knowing because everything was great! Mary was my coordinator for the day and she was as nice as she was organized. I really didn't have to do anything but sip on wine, get dressed, and say I do. EVERYTHING WAS HANDLED FLAWLESSLY. I received constant comments about how amazing the crew was and that nothing was left undone and no one needed anything because the staff was ready and available.

I got married here in March and I couldn't imagine anything more spectacular. I first met with Christina who was simply amazing. She answered all of my questions and even helped me with the design of my wedding. I must of talked to her every other day asking her questions and she was always there with an answer or suggestion. Then I had Karen for my day of coordinator who made sure everything went smooth. She was just so awesome to work with. I give this place 2 thumbs up. We planned a wedding in only 3 months and not once was I stressed with the planning. They have it all very detailed and organized. I highly recommend them!

Celebrations at the Bay was the first and only venue my husband and I looked at! As soon as we arrived and saw the location and amenities we were sold! Most people choose this location for an outdoor wedding, but since we got married in December we obviously got married indoors. Our ceremony took place inside the Ballroom with the beautiful water back drop behind us. The cocktail hour was in the smaller ante room while the fabulous staff flipped the ballroom over into our reception area! The staff at Celebrations and Uptown are amazing!! Every single thing on the day of our wedding went perfectly!!

We worked with several people along the way and they took care of every need and worry we had. I was so nervous with 150 people and 15 tables that it would be too crowded and no one would have room to dance, but I was soo wrong! The ceremony was beautiful, the cocktail hour was simple and elegant, and the reception was to die for. They made my dream come true!! And the food....OUTSTANDING. Every single guest raved about how delicious everything was from the cocktail hour, dinner, cake, and the chocolate fountain! I still can't get over how amazing it all was - I know everyone says their wedding day is the best day of their lives but ours truly was and I'm not sure it can ever be topped (some of our guests even said it was the best day of their lives too!!) and it is a lot in thanks to the amazing people at Celebrations and Uptown!!

Rachel and Bethany - thank you for making the last few weeks before my wedding stress free and smooth! The rehearsal was perfect and Bethany helped through every step and made sure she knew exactly how we wanted everything! And Rachel - thank you for making my wedding day a dream! You were amazing!! Everything that we requested/needed was done without even asking! You were always there to support us and make sure everything was perfect. I can't thank you enough!!

Celebrations and Uptown are the perfect location/choice for ANY event!!!!

-Jennifer

I really wish that I could give Uptown more stars! I loved working with them and loved, loved, LOVED the food. We just got back from our honeymoon and we really wish that they were a restaurant and we could go and get dinner from them.

I got in touch with them almost as soon as we got engaged. I was looking at one of their venues, which we ultimately didn't even use. Their staff were so kind, patient, and helpful. They ended up helping us decide where to do our reception (not even at one of their venues). We did our tasting well in advance of our wedding and then couldn't WAIT to eat at our wedding.

It's true that on the day of, you don't have a lot of time to eat and drink. However, we had the amazing Jeff Ditter as our catering coordinator the day of and he was always close by to hand us a drink or to give us a plate of our passed appetizers with our dinner because we just wanted to eat more of them! They were extremely professional and really wonderful the day of. There was plenty of food and the food was beautiful and delicious. We opted to have them do our open bar (even though they are flexible in terms of if you want to buy your own alcohol) and they provide incredible value.

You can get your cake through them and we chose to do that. It was delicious and absolutely beautiful! Again, we want to just go buy a cake and enjoy it at home :)
Uptown knows what they are doing. They know how to do it right and they will provide you with guidance and advice while still making sure to keep your vision. We loved them and want to host parties again just so that we can use them again!

PS. Get the lobster bisque martinis for your cocktail hour. BEST EVER!

-Sarah

Catering by Uptown and Celebrations at the Bay were absolutely amazing! The venue, food and service were great, professional and beautiful! They made our day turn out perfectly!

-DeLisia

Our wedding was held at Celebrations on the Bay with Catering by Uptown. The food was AMAZING and our guests still rave about the selection and quality, to this day! The services were just as great as the food... everyone was extremely professional, friendly, accommodating and flexible. Catering by Uptown ensured our wedding day was everything we wanted and more!

-Liz

My inquiries were first answered by Jeff and the first sentence in his email to me was "I can't believe I'm getting so much for this price" and he couldn't have been more correct. From the moment we contracted with Uptown their attention to detail and personalization was great. I loved how easy they made everything with the setup on their website, it was great. The day of the wedding was no different. When I walked into the reception area and saw how beautiful everything was set up I was in awe. The food tasted as good as the day I had the private tasting. My day of coordinator was there at all times to make sure everything was perfect (and it was). If you're looking for a caterer who pays attention to detail and wants to ensure you have your dream wedding Catering by Uptown is the way to go.

-Racquel

My coordinator Eileen was the BEST!!!! She was very attentive to me, and every detail of my anniversary party for my parents!!! The food was great. The venue was beautiful, and most of all everyone had a wonderful time. I don't have any complaints!!

-Angel

Wondering, my wedding was amazing. Celebrations at the Bay is an amazing venue with a great few and a wonderful staff. The food a staff are all amazing. They were very accommodating and provided us with anything we asked for and my guests are still talking about them. I will cater with them for anything and everything if I can.