Brides and grooms are guaranteed to agree- Good food at your wedding is a must! Today our Hawaii Bride Kristina gives you the low-down on what to expect from a wedding caterer and why she chose local fave Downtown for her Big Day...

Pacific Bride Guide got an email from reader, Kelly, last week asking about wedding food catered from Downtown at the Hawaii State Art Museum. I was lucky enough to work with General Manager Keoni and the staff at Downtown for my own wedding and I’m happy to share my experience. Here is just a little photo from my wedding, courtesy of Pacific Bride Guide vendor and my favorite photographer, Christie Pham, to tantalize you… (more photos below).

Now, some people come to weddings to see the dress, or to check out the good looking bridal party, others are family members there to wish the happy couple off… But, no matter who it is, everyone is also there for the food! So while we’re on the topic, let me just state that your menu is probably one of the most important facets of the wedding planning. They say that your food bill should be about 25%-30% of your total budget. Add in the bar tab, reception site, and you are talking a good 50% of your funds! So yes, this is important, brides!

I’ve been to my fair share of local weddings where they served the standard buffet that was sub-par. What I can tell you about Downtown is that it will not be ordinary or lacking in inventiveness. Their food is amazing and their presentation is even better. I worked with GM Keoni to decide on the menu. Since TOWN and Downtown are two of my favorite restaurants in our beautiful state, I already had my go-to dishes in mind. Downtown is all about fresh ingredients, so Keoni outlined the plan for food, but waited on the seasonal produce to confirm the details.

I had a gallery hour for our guests to walk through the wonderful spaces at HiSAM, and in the sculpture lobby we served wine and appetizers. Our appetizers were Kamiya papaya wrapped in prosciutto and mint; ahi tartare on Ho Farms cucumber; and crostini of roasted grape, mascarpone, and rosemary. Everything was delicious!

For dinner, I choose to go with stations to enhance guest mingling and minimize the need for many staff members, thus saving on cost. We had two stations full of antipasti dishes including a watercress salad with pear, gorgonzola, and walnuts; bitter greens with pine nuts and raisins; tomato and avocado with ricotta just to name a few.

One of Downtown’s specialties is the massive cheeseboard with assorted cured meats, dried fruits, and bread. This was a hit and had a line throughout the night.

Our entrees consisted of 2 selections: braised pork with the best polenta I’ve ever had and olive oil roasted free-range chicken with fingerling potatoes. Downtown is also known for their slow cooked, melt in your mouth meat entrees and ours did not disappoint.

For dessert we had a seasonal fruit warm dessert made by downtown. I have to admit that by that time I was stuffed and so tired, I don’t even remember what it was. But, I know it was delicious because we got a lot of compliments. Coffee, tea, and non-alcoholic beverage service were provided by downtown as well.

Also for dessert, we catered individual pieces from JJ’s French Bistro and Bakery on Waialae Avenue, known for their chocolate pyramid. This was a wonderful little treat for our guests since we didn’t have a large cake to pass out. Our petite cake was also made by JJ’s and it was so yummy.

Downtown was nice enough to receive all of these desserts and display them in their elegant, understated way. This is just an example of the exceptional service you will get from Keoni and staff. I felt that working with them was like working with friends – they cared about my event, and were very real as opposed to being corporate and robotic. I do know that downtown is growing in popularity every day and Keoni is swamped, so make sure to check in every now and then.

I hope that answered some of your questions, Kelly! Have a great day!

Thanks, Kristina! And have a great weekend! For more stellar Hawaii caterers, click here...

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delectable food photos were shot by the amazingly talented Christie Pham.