This is my first post on the forum and I come with great expectations.
Background (you may skip if have a short attention span)
I need help with planning for my Valima in Karachi during the second week of April 2012.
My budget range: PKR 350,000-450,000 (lower the better :D)
Guests: 250 (Adults)
I am actually looking for an air conditioned hall because it would be warm during mid April. In search of options, I have completely been left stumped because there is simply too much choice and everything starts seem to pile up beyond my budgets.
I am exploring stand alone options such as:
Majestic Hall (near Lal Qila) + Separate Catering
The Court (near Lal Qia) + Separate Catering
The Banquet (near Cant Station) + Separate Catering
The Imperial (not sure if its AC? on Shahrah-e-Faisal) + Separate Catering
And then Hotel options:
Pearl Continental
Marriott Karachi
Jade Hall at Arena (Not a Hotel, I know but includes a lump sum cost)
All these options are roughly falling within my budget but I am really uncertain about having catering done separately. But then, I can’t predict what the food at PC, Sheraton or Jade Hall would be like either.
**Questions for the reader:
**1) Purely for show off value, which of these venues rank the top: PC, Sheraton, Jade Hall, Majestic, The Court, Imperial, Banquet?
2) Who has the best catering for Pakistani food items: Fried Fish, Chicken Boti, Mutton Kunna, Pulao, Chicken Ginger/Karahi
3) If you are knowledgeable about wedding planning, then would you be able to chat with me on any chatting service such as gmail/msn and help me decide?
My suggestion is to go for Marriott, hire a wedding planner and go tention free of catering and etc, 2nd option Imperial Clifton / Shah rahe faisal
Best Catering : Hanif Rajput, United Caterers aka UC
Wedding planners; Zoraid Raza, UC, Nizam (of Imperial)
PS: Bridal Outfits: Panache by Aiman:D;)
Hmm according to me PC or any other hotel will be higher ranking but they dont allow separate catering service i guess. Secondly personally I love the ambience at Imperial and its AC too.
For catering, most people rank Hanif Rajput to be on top but personally I dont like their food much and there rates are too high as well, for the menu u r asking about, they will charge u PKR 500 per head approx to be on lower scale, so dont go for high scale caterer, be on medium scale and always ask the caterer to let you taste the meal before the actual event as it will be terrible if something goes wrong that day. Choosing HR will not give u this option
Thirdly u can go for a wedding planner, Zoreed Raza is best in town these days but he is too expensive, you can go for others as well like IRIS, Parifaire or other medium scale event planners. They all have websites and FB pages so visit them for further info.
I hope u r clear now.
If u need wedding invites and giveaways… contact us
could you please give a couple more names of medium scale event planners. and also if you could also please name some medium scale decorators
Thank you
United Caterers are medium scale event planners and caterers. They charged reasonably and negotiate as well. They were hired by my cousins recently who researched thoroughly and then finalised them/UC . and beleive me evrthing was too good the food tha ambiance etc.
Flower Palace at Zamzama: they are into wedding planning and r not very expensive. Actually it's upto u how good u 're at negotiating, even an expensive one can give you good deal.
well take a look at IRIS wedding planners or Parifaire event managers on net, they are good.
I have heard about UC as well and also Nadeem Caterers. Their are some near Dhoraji Colony as well, i dont know whether they are on FB or not but their work is good too. You can visit their offices to have an idea.
Also u can search for themes from net and discuss them with the decorators that at what cost they will replicate them......
You have this budget only for hall + decor OR hall+decor+catering ?
with 250 guests i don;t think you will get the the court as per their requirement you have must have minimum of 400 guests . I m not sure about the banquet but you can get the majestic (smaller hall) and the imperial in this buget (excluding food)
Majestic Banquet (smaller one), capacity max 400 guests with basic setup it would cost you 2.5 lacs (excluding stage and flowers setup)
The court: delux setup 1.5 lacs for hall + 400 rs per person for decor and sitting + 50K for stage + 30k for flowers
The court: VIP ( fancy one) 5+ lacs (for 400 guests).
The imperial : 2.5 lacs for the hall + decor , Nizam's are expensive so it might cost you 5 + lacs
They all 3 have a/c setup
If you have total budget of 4.5 (including food) I'd suggest you to consider Jade Hall. (arena wala). It also has a/c setup and it would cost 4.2 lacs for 250 guests
