My review will likely be a little long, but my experience with Merri-Makers Catering was nothing short of exceptional, and in a time when there are a lot of brides feeling unsure, I hope that this provides some comfort and confidence in your decision-making because if you book with Merri-Makers, you will not be sorry. When I booked my wedding at The Mallard Island Yacht Club for June 19, 2020, at that time Merri-Makers was not the caterer for the property yet but were going to be as of 2021. In the early days of COVID-19, my original wedding date was cancelled, and we picked a back-up date of July 24, 2020. Just about 8 weeks before the new date, the original caterer ended up having to close their operations and Merri-Makers took over earlier than their scheduled date. As stressful as it was to have to start over with a new caterer on top of everything else, I cannot even begin to express how much it turned out to be the greatest blessing in disguise. We were introduced to Gianna, who over the course of the next 8 weeks became our lifeline, our greatest cheerleader, our strategist, and most importantly, our friend. I can’t imagine anyone else putting in the time and effort that she did and being so dedicated to making our wedding how we were envisioning it and keeping it within the ever-changing constraints set by the state. At one point we had 3 different plans, layouts, and menus. She had a back-up plan for her back-up plan and she and the team at Merri-Makers were not going to give up on giving us our dream wedding. We ended up bringing the entire wedding completely outside, utilizing the beautiful veranda for our seating instead of the ballroom and it was gorgeous. We were able to have all of our family and bridal party there to celebrate with us, and it was the perfect evening. I haven’t even gotten to the food yet, which was absolutely fabulous. We have two big (and opinionated) Italian families, and all we heard from everyone was how incredible the food was. I’ve had multiple people tell me that the filet was not just a good “wedding filet,” but one of the best filets they have ever had, period. There is a reason Merri-Makers has been around 40 years, they are the best at what they do. The best part of all of this was not only did everyone walk away saying that it really felt just like a completely “normal” wedding, but because Merri-Makers took every precaution possible (temp checks, masks, gloves, sanitizing stations, etc. ) every single guest at my wedding also walked away completely safe and healthy. There just aren’t enough words to express how grateful we are to Gianna and her staff at Mallard Island, as well as all of Merri-Makers for making our dream wedding happen. If you are considering Mallard Island, or any of the Merri-Makers properties, do not hesitate at all and know going in that you have the best of the best catering your special day.