Hey Guys,
So I’ve been a silent lurker on here for quite a while, and after my recent wedding in Karachi, which I so could not have pulled it off without the info found here, figured it was high time to put in my two cents in here as well!
I ended up at a different salon each day, Bina Khan for the Mendhi, Rukaiya’s for the wedding, and Allenora (Aliya Tipu) for the Walima.
The experience at Bina’s was similar as to what I would expect of a salon based in Jersey. The assistants took care of my hair and nails, with constant input and supervision from Bina, and Bina obviously took care of the makeup and everything else. She’s a total doll, and I was incredibly satisfied with everything. But one thing to be be careful, she can have an attitude, I saw it with a couple of other brides who were there.My mendhi was on a Wednesday night, there were at least 5 other brides, and 2-3 girls in for regular stuff, and the salon is kinda small, but at the sam time, they service was incredibly efficent. But As long as you make sure to speak your mind, and express what/how you want in a friendly manner, you’ll have nothing to worry about!
For the wedding, I had originally put in a deposit for Mubashir Khan, but as he closed down shop, I was forcedto go elsewhere, and ended up at Rukaiya’s due to a friends recommendation. Rukaiaya is supposedly an old name in the industry bust she just recently opened up a salon in the Clifton area. My Wedding was on a friday night, and there was only one other bride there with me. Rukaiya gave me 110% attention, and took care f everything. She also let my photographer come in for those getting ready shots (majority of the salons in Karachi do not allow this). So i actually enjoyed the getting ready aspect, and it totally calmed my nerves, which is a feat in itself especially on the day of your wedding. Plus, the staff is incredibly professional and friendly (which is rarity!)
As for the Walima, Im still kind of on the fence in recommending Aliya. Everyone loved the makeup, and looking back at my pictures, it did look nice. Aliya only does the makeup (make note: the foundation/base is done by one of the staff girls), everything else is done by the staff, which unfortunately is incompetent, Allenora’s is an assembly line. As soon as i walked in i was taken to get my nails done, and then sat there for close to two hours, waiting for hair :-/ And even then I was the annoying bride who made them redo my hair twice. There were close to 18 brides there, everyone kinda had the same look in the end, they looked great but the same. Aliya does know what shes doing, but she is quite pompous. So at the end of it the work is good, but service not so great, so its really up to what one is willing to put up with.