First of all, congratulations to all the May brides...Im so excited for you. Mine is in June...28th Inshallah. So, I dont have too much time either. I better get to crackin myself. My outfit will be here March 30th Inshallah so Ill be scheduling MUA after that as Ill have my dupatta to take to the trials with me.
$75 is too much for a trial
$25 is good for a trial but Im not coming across many nice things about Zareen so think about that. You dont need an extra headache girls.
This Kaaya salon is sounding pretty good to me.
I was able to get a hold of Mehwish and spoke to her about my dates. She said she is available for now. But I cant book yet because my outfit isnt here yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Another number I came across for stage decorations/centerpieces/flowers is Sheeba: 847.217.5596. I'll be calling her tomorrow to see what she is all about and Ill post what I know here.
I was at the Dulhania Bazaar too. We should have had meet! LOL. It was fun although I expected a larger crowd but that could have been because of the cold weather. It was fun but mostly a lot of overpriced services.
Zulfi ---thanx for teh zeerum info. i will look into that!
Bonbonniere--Yes we should've met! lolz....it was fun! and you are right things were way over priced!
yea $75 for a makeup trial i thought was also too much.
I had emailed Mehwish but not heard from her yet....can you give me her phone number plz? thanx!
defn. let us know about sheeba....did u read about amer? I have to call and find out myself too.....
Time is running out we really need to get going :D
June 28th is around the corner as well.....i'll be getting married on may 24th! inshAllah!
^ thx Bint, that really helped. I am so out of date on these things, koi haal nahi! :)
& no it isn't the 17th, but ur close :D It's on the 22nd.
& ya, I guess I'll have to call Saleha and ask her about the March thing. Like I said earlier, when I spoke with her for the first time, she said that she works on the first come first serve basis..so essentially who ever signs her contract first, gets the date. After all, I'm sure there are brides out there who are just as unsure and inquiring all over the area ;)
Seeee. Well I was a bit close lol. The way you said "Koi haal nahi" reminded me of so many things. Anyways. I found the price list. I basically asked him the prices & wrote this on a piece of paper for future references. Also His stage set up actually starts at $500. I guess I had $800 in my mind because that's how much I plan to spend for the Mehndi stage decor. Here it goes.
Hand Gajra $5.00
Hair Gajra for every 1 foot length $5.00
Bridal flower set $50.00 This includes gajras for both hands, ear rings, tikka & hair gajra.
Flower garlands $25.00 & up
Centerpieces $25.00 & up
Seeee. Well I was a bit close lol. The way you said "Koi haal nahi" reminded me of so many things. Anyways. I found the price list. I basically asked him the prices & wrote this on a piece of paper for future references. Also His stage set up actually starts at $500. I guess I had $800 in my mind because that's how much I plan to spend for the Mehndi stage decor. Here it goes.
Hand Gajra $5.00
Hair Gajra for every 1 foot length $5.00
Bridal flower set $50.00 This includes gajras for both hands, ear rings, tikka & hair gajra.
Flower garlands $25.00 & up
Centerpieces $25.00 & up
Thanks for the tips Mazhala :)
wow bint, his prices look quite reasonable, nahi? Khair am sending fiance to him, ab dekho what he says to us :) will update by this weekend!
Who is this guy? with the gajras and stuff.....? :) so that I can also call him and tell him when i need it....."ah. so much to do....
oh, I emailed Mehwish Khan and she replied her makeup is $500 w/ jewlery setting/dupatta.
I emailed saleha and she said $150-200...she seems very nice. I am just figuring out when to do the trial....I liked her work on fb....it was very nice!
Who is this guy? with the gajras and stuff.....? :) so that I can also call him and tell him when i need it....."ah. so much to do....
oh, I emailed Mehwish Khan and she replied her makeup is $500 w/ jewlery setting/dupatta.
I emailed saleha and she said $150-200...she seems very nice. I am just figuring out when to do the trial....I liked her work on fb....it was very nice!
It's a lil weird that the make-up artists ur contacting are quoting u cheaper prices than they have to guppans in the past :D I have dealt w/Saleha and her base price is $200 and trial price allag.
Similarly, Mehwish Khan has been said to charge atleast $600 for makeup and all, are u using some coupons?:D
No problem janab. His prices are reasonable no doubt about that but I am sure if we were to really look around we might find some lady who does all this from home for even cheaper. But that’s another hassle. As I mentioned before I know how stressful wedding planning can be & the least I can do is help out a bride
About the MUA’s prices. I am sure they must be following this thread closely now
Mehwish the price quotes you got are a wow considering what we have gotten. You are the only Guppan besides Bon/Psquared who got a response from Mehwish. That’s a wow. lol.
The guy I mentioned is Rami. Posted his web address before too but here it goes again Welcome to Rami’s Mandap he lives in Skokie. That’s where his office is but he also has clock/watch store on Devon & Western & takes clients from there as well.
okay i just got back from karachi. i had no internet due to the roving blackouts and loss of net.
Bint, thanks for the info. I had such a short time i just grabbed whatever i could get b4 i left. i was so sick 90% of my trip anyways :p Kakashan was a goldmine for getting awesome clothes made, but you definetely need a good couple of weeks to get things done right.
This thread has really evolved since ive been gone!
It's a lil weird that the make-up artists ur contacting are quoting u cheaper prices than they have to guppans in the past :D I have dealt w/Saleha and her base price is $200 and trial price allag.
Similarly, Mehwish Khan has been said to charge atleast $600 for makeup and all, are u using some coupons?:D
lolz BBLaila! No i'm not! I don't know maybe they like my emails that I send?!
I guess, they want to attract business, and want to give us the best prices because they know if they don't offer a good price someone else might...! :D
lolz BBLaila! No i'm not! I don't know maybe they like my emails that I send?!
I guess, they want to attract business, and want to give us the best prices because they know if they don't offer a good price someone else might...! :D
hehe...Mehwish, will you write an e-mail for me please, pretty pretty please???:D Saving 50-100 dollars in ajj kal ki economy is quite a deal. Have you set up trials with Saleha and Mehwish yet then? Keep us posted on how that goes.
& do let us know again what is the final price they quote you, because then the rest of unsure guppans can at least give a reference and try a work out a bit of a bargain, I suppose ;)
Waise as I mentioned earlier, when I spoke with Saleha, she said her prices were def. non-negotiable. So don't know if this tactic would work at all :D
yes, lets see how it goes. I have not decided the date on trials i am still thinking is it too early to do the trials, then i'm thinking its not too early and i shud get going on that....
who have you considered for makeup?
do you remember how much saleha charges for trial makeup?
it is surely too much, lekin as I mentioned before, Saleha has made it very clear (to me atleast) that her prices are non-negotiable. I guess if you try asking her if her prices are fixed, you'll probably get the same answer :) No harm in inquiring politely nonetheless...
& I just wanted to mention my tiny experience with amna siddiqui:
So I called her about 3-4 weeks ago and got a call back from her within a week (still no response to her e-mail btw) and we had a really good chat...she sounded really enthusiastic and I gave her my e-mail to send me a final quote and everything based on the conversation we had.
Wo din aur ajj ka din, I still haven't heard back from her and it has been over a week. It is very sad that she has been so unprofessional in her consultations, especially since she has so much talent and I absolutely love her work. I wonder if she is simply not interested in covering my wedding, since I did not ask her to cover the entire event ( like mehndi, barat, valima) and wanted her just for one day for a couple of hours. In any case, she could have sent an e-mail saying that she cannot do it or make up something, rather than be very enthusiastic over the phone and then just keep the client hanging.
Wow! I had no idea so many girls were getting married in May, Inshallah! Congrats to you all!!! BTW...if anyone is looking for a stage decorator, may I suggest the person I am using. His name is Amer. VERY reasonable prices. He definitely works with your budget, and he is one of the first desi stage decorators that will use modern flair, but keep traditional desi touches with good taste. As long as you have an idea of what kind of theme/colors you want, he will work with you and create a vision that is personalized to your own taste, but budget friendly as well. I have his contact info, 630.825.9902. He lives in the Carol Stream area. In fact, Syed Studios referred me to him.
Also, another tip for girls that are going to Kaaya for their trial makeup...make sure to bring print outs of bridal makeup pictures. Also, you may want to bring your own false lashes in case they dont provide them (they do provide them for the actual wedding day, but i dont think so for the trial makeup day). They might do your makeup in the back room, but make sure to step out to the front of the salon every once in a while to check your foundation/eye makeup in brighter light. If you have a specific shade that you definitely want to use, u can bring the eye shade/lip color in and see if Maria has something that would match. My outfit being very bright red, she opted to give me a lighter, matte lip with a heavier eye.
Let me know if you need anything else!
Mazhala, if you don't mind me asking, what prices did Amer begin quoting you for just the stage? I mean, did he start off around $1500? Or did you get the whole package from him (ctrpcs, lighting, aisle, etc).
I'm asking because, I know while $1500 may be reasonable for some, it might sound a lil overwhelming to others...so just trying to gain perspective.
I actually got a whole package deal from him. Because of some certain circumstances, the wedding is going to be a "joint" event. Therefore, we ended up getting a package (including center pieces, stage, floral arrangements, and decoration for sweet table). His prices seemed more reasonable than another company we went to, Dream Occasions.
