Hello everyone....I came upon this forum today and was engrossed in it. I was itching to respond to some of the things i read but had to wait for my account activation.
First of all, I got married last July and went through all of the headaches I am reading about. This year my sister is getting married in October so I was doing some research for her.
For halls...everything that was said about Monty's is true. My wedding was held there and though our dealings with Dr. Qadri started out great, in the end my mom was doing continuous du'a that he doesn't mess anything up for us. Fortunately we had it good with the manager (Gido i think) and he did a good job for us. However, someone saw a van from Parwaz restaurant pull up in the back of the hall and some of our pans of food were being taken away. Thank Allah our caterer was a family friend and he cooked for 800 ppl when my wedding was for 600. Oh and in one of the threads someone said why Pakistanis do that...just to clarify...both owners of Monty's are hyderabadi from india and not pakistani. Pakistani waisey hi badnaam hai, aur tho na karain.
Decor - i went with Utsav Creations for my stage and she was too expensive in my opinion even though the stage did look good. However she really ripped me off as far as my stage floral arrangements went. I had asked for red roses with different blue flowers such as blue bom orchids and other blue wild flowers. Instead she gave me orangey flower arrangements and not a single rose in the month of July when roses are readily avialable. though the overall effect worked with the stage, it wasn't what i had specifically told her. She also stood my friend up after creating an elaborate design for her wedding. My friends and i made my own centerpices and they were simple.
makeup- i went with a very young girl named Areeba. She was from pakistan and i wanted traditional paki style makeup. I was happy with both my wedding and valima makeup. I insisted she use the paki stick foundation on me and thats the reason i chose her. Also i have two really good friends that have started doing makeup....they both are very good and give different looks. One is rabia sikander abbas and one is rabia zaman siddiqui. Both use MAC makeup. Mona Raja did my sister and my cousins' makeup on my wedding day and she did a good job for their party makeup. However when i went for a trial with her, i wasnt happy at all. As for zainab...i had booked her but like one blogger said...i was one of the brides this aunty stood up b/c she got married and couldnt stop giggling about her recent marriage (sorry for the bitterness but she is in her upper 40s to early 50s and her giggling about her honeymoon when i called her to ask if she needed to see my dupatta made me see red).
photographer - Sejal Photos (Pintu)....he was really nice, price was right, and his pics were nice...not like photographers in pakistan but good enough for a lifetime of memories...i have to say though...his video wasnt anything special. syed studios are a rip off....they quote you based on ur venue...if they think ur a rich party then they will charge u more for the same package someone who doesnt seem rich will get.
okay will write more later.
Do you have any more information about Areeba. I think i have heard of her before but not sure if its the same lady. Also, any sample of her work??
Thanks-