So i’ve been a semi-active member on this site for a few months now and have gotten SOOO many ideas esp from the wedding section thanks to you guys and all the pics you post.
I am getting married iA at the end of Dec in Lahore but I live in the states. Unfortunately due to school and then work immediately after I will not be making a trip to Pakistan before the wedding (will be arriving around 10 days before) and now it has finally hit me that it will be almost impossible to get something made that I like.
I have tried to contact several designers and I just feel that they don’t take you seriously at all over the phone or email. Their prices are crazy and honestly I can’t justify it to myself to spend 4 lakhs on my bridal for one day. My upper limit is 200k which I feel is quite reasonable for girls living in Pakistan who have the option of going personally to the designers and getting the kaam lessened or somehow talking their way into having certain designers fit their bridal in their budget.
I am now beginning to freak out after having contacted so many designers who just wont come down or even consider anything under 300k and these are not the HSY level designers but more so still up and coming or not as famous yet.
Does anyone have any suggestions for designers who are good about communication (though ive heard all designers are nightmares these days)? I don’t mean high end necessarily but anyone who has decent work and flexible with budgets and communicates well with people who place orders from abroad.
I would really really appreciate the help since I know you guys have a lot of info on this and could help me out
same situation .. and near the same budget for mine .. and samee time to be gettin married .. and i have already started looking out too ... so far outa all iv contacted i like sana rehman and nayna online's responses and they are quite helpful and can work in the same budget happily ... u do need to understand that this can be the most daunting haunting lengthy process so .. be patient and dont cross off anyone on ur list of potentials until u cannot take them anymore.. have samples sent over no matter what .. ull be safe :)
same situation .. and near the same budget for mine .. and samee time to be gettin married .. and i have already started looking out too ... so far outa all iv contacted i like sana rehman and nayna online's responses and they are quite helpful and can work in the same budget happily ... u do need to understand that this can be the most daunting haunting lengthy process so .. be patient and dont cross off anyone on ur list of potentials until u cannot take them anymore.. have samples sent over no matter what .. ull be safe :)
Yes I absolutely want to consider everyone because in our situation its not the best designer and or the best kaam because we have to meet them in the middle. Its more the one who can communicate best and deliver what they say minus the face to face communication. I will check out the two resources you mentioned...thanks a lot and good luck! This will definitely be very stressful :-/
My sister just went to Lahore and she's ordered from Karma. They wouldn't go lower than 2.25 lakh even after a lot of haggling - she ordered both the barat and valima joras from them. Also, have you tried Fahad Hussayn in Lahore? - he might be willing to work with your budget. Also, a friend ordered from a designer in Karachi but that was 2 years ago or more. She paid 2 lakh at the time but the prices might have increased now. So it's do-able but you have to hunt down the designers and have someone go see them in person.
My sister just went to Lahore and she's ordered from Karma. They wouldn't go lower than 2.25 lakh even after a lot of haggling - she ordered both the barat and valima joras from them. Also, have you tried Fahad Hussayn in Lahore? - he might be willing to work with your budget. Also, a friend ordered from a designer in Karachi but that was 2 years ago or more. She paid 2 lakh at the time but the prices might have increased now. So it's do-able but you have to hunt down the designers and have someone go see them in person.
yea prices have sky-rocketed and its ridiculous to know people have to spend so much with these designers! :( the problem is that I don't really have anyone who can go see the designers in person either so I was hoping I could speak to someone over email/phone and coordinate for the bridal. Anyhow...thanks for the ideas! Fahad is a close friend of my cousin's but most of his designs have been worn in my family already so I can't pick out any others that I like right off the bat and since i'm not there in person I can't go in and have him customize either...its too difficult
Yeah I know what you mean. I only ordered my bridal a year and two months ago and prices have gone up so much since then too! And they're always blaming inflation. If you can't find anyone else you know will be good for sure, I would think Fahad would be a good bet for you. I saw a pic of a dress he designed for a friend's cousin's wife and it looked pretty decent. Plus, his work is all over the place these days and he's def rising. If you get a discount and have something customized and designed just for you, that would def be nice. :-)
So i've been a semi-active member on this site for a few months now and have gotten SOOO many ideas esp from the wedding section thanks to you guys and all the pics you post.
I am getting married iA at the end of Dec in Lahore but I live in the states. Unfortunately due to school and then work immediately after I will not be making a trip to Pakistan before the wedding (will be arriving around 10 days before) and now it has finally hit me that it will be almost impossible to get something made that I like.
I have tried to contact several designers and I just feel that they don't take you seriously at all over the phone or email. Their prices are crazy and honestly I can't justify it to myself to spend 4 lakhs on my bridal for one day. My upper limit is 200k which I feel is quite reasonable for girls living in Pakistan who have the option of going personally to the designers and getting the kaam lessened or somehow talking their way into having certain designers fit their bridal in their budget.
I am now beginning to freak out after having contacted so many designers who just wont come down or even consider anything under 300k and these are not the HSY level designers but more so still up and coming or not as famous yet.
Does anyone have any suggestions for designers who are good about communication (though ive heard all designers are nightmares these days)? I don't mean high end necessarily but anyone who has decent work and flexible with budgets and communicates well with people who place orders from abroad.
I would really really appreciate the help since I know you guys have a lot of info on this and could help me out :D
if u have an idea of the look you want, i can have a great copy made of that for you and youll be more than satisfied with you in 200-230 K. i guess im known enough on the wedding forum so i dont really need to intro myself. done a lot of research and had a lot of clothes made recently for my own wedding later this month so i have gotten ahold of a lot of good workers and kaam walas here in lahore. I can help out
Congrats on your upcoming wedding! :)
I don't know about Lahore, but when I went to do my shopping in Karachi (end of last year), I did find that certain places were willing to give me outfits withint 7-10 days. I did not go to high-end designers so I can't say anything for how they work, but here is what I found:
- I told them I was on a time crunch and 2 places offered to have an outfit ready within 7-10 days
- if you go this route, you have to be open to colours/style... i.e. I went to Shakeelz and he said he'd have an outfit in 10 days except that I couldn't get the colour combination I wanted - it would be an order that someone else placed and he'd tailor it for me and then get a new piece made for the original bride.
^ The point of the above isn't to recommend that you leave your outfit until you get to Pakistan, I would suggest NOT to leave it so last minute... but, I just wanted to let you know that there ARE options so don't stress out :) It'll all work out - as impossible as it may seem sometimes (I repeat this to myself constantly too :p)
Its funny you mentioned the 7-10 days range and waiting till the last minute because for my nikkah my outfit was made by my in laws and it didn't turn out quite as they expected so basically I had 5 days to have a new one made and a designer made one for me in 3 days and it was a very heavy peshwas and heavy dupatta so I know its possible but she said her kaarigars sit at her house and do 3 shifts cuz her ada's are at her home (its huge) lol but I also had to pay the price for it and a lot more than I ever imagined paying but at that time I had no other choice so this time I definitely wanted to allow myself a wider range of options and time so I wouldn't have to compromise on the price and go broke! lol
I've heard shakeelz does a great job...I wish I had time to go to Khi but at this point if I can even make it to lahore 10 days before it will be a miracle with my profession :-/ Thank you so much tho for the info
if u have an idea of the look you want, i can have a great copy made of that for you and youll be more than satisfied with you in 200-230 K. i guess im known enough on the wedding forum so i dont really need to intro myself. done a lot of research and had a lot of clothes made recently for my own wedding later this month so i have gotten ahold of a lot of good workers and kaam walas here in lahore. I can help out
Hey Demesne,
I may very likely be contacting you in a few weeks but won't you be extremely busy since you said you are getting married at the end of this month? I don't know how you would make any time but if you were planning on giving me direct contacts to these kaam walas or kaarigars that might work. However I don't expect you to do that. The problem is that I am not quite positive on what I want. I am very close to picking one outfit to have copied but I'm just scared as to how good it would turn out to be. I could PM you the pic and you can tell me if it would be hard to copy colorwise, cut and the kaam and all that. Thanks a lot! :) Goodluck for your wedding!!!!
I may very likely be contacting you in a few weeks but won't you be extremely busy since you said you are getting married at the end of this month? I don't know how you would make any time but if you were planning on giving me direct contacts to these kaam walas or kaarigars that might work. However I don't expect you to do that. The problem is that I am not quite positive on what I want. I am very close to picking one outfit to have copied but I'm just scared as to how good it would turn out to be. I could PM you the pic and you can tell me if it would be hard to copy colorwise, cut and the kaam and all that. Thanks a lot! :) Goodluck for your wedding!!!!
Well considering your wedding is in December I think this could be managed easily. I expect to be free from my own commitments by end April and time to look at other projects on the side. Plus I totally feel for your situation as a bride myself :) don't worry whatever happens things will work out. As for how good copies can be, I guess it would depend on the picture you send. I have gotten stuff copied from pictures etc and made a lot of clothes these past few months in formals and semi formals etc as well as my walima dress. Since they turned out great I'm thinking this would too.
Feel free to PM me. Mama hasn't recovered from wedding fever. Post my shadi I expect she'll be up for helping out as well if that's how you want to go about it. Think about it, chose your dress in the meanwhile.
Also aras, I would recommend you visit Lahore for a week three months or two months before your wedding. A good dress can be made within 6 weeks but to be safe let's give it two months. That would be ideal if you were here. You could chose your dress yourself. I'll share shop and karigar information with you so that you are in safe hands (I am a Lahori) and once you leave, I'll stay on top of it and be the one sending you pictures of your dress while its being made. So that when you come before wedding, you go straight for fitting and if any alterations need to be made, they are done. That I think would be an ideal situation.
Also aras, I would recommend you visit Lahore for a week three months or two months before your wedding. A good dress can be made within 6 weeks but to be safe let's give it two months. That would be ideal if you were here. You could chose your dress yourself. I'll share shop and karigar information with you so that you are in safe hands (I am a Lahori) and once you leave, I'll stay on top of it and be the one sending you pictures of your dress while its being made. So that when you come before wedding, you go straight for fitting and if any alterations need to be made, they are done. That I think would be an ideal situation.
Ideal situation ho sakti tou kya hi baat thi :( but the problem is I cannot make a trip to Pakistan due to my days off I can only either take off the max amount around wedding time or come early and then have like a week for the wedding which will be sheer chaos and craziness. So that's why i'm so worried and confused because I can't make a trip :(
Its incredibly sweet of you to offer to help...I really appreciate it. I'm not sure if you can help me out without me making a trip but I'd love your help if so! Let me PM you the pic
Ideal situation ho sakti tou kya hi baat thi :( but the problem is I cannot make a trip to Pakistan due to my days off I can only either take off the max amount around wedding time or come early and then have like a week for the wedding which will be sheer chaos and craziness. So that's why i'm so worried and confused because I can't make a trip :(
Its incredibly sweet of you to offer to help...I really appreciate it. I'm not sure if you can help me out without me making a trip but I'd love your help if so! Let me PM you the pic
kher dont be worried or confused. good thing is that you have come here with lots of time to spare. once i get a bit free, and later on after my wedding ill send you pictures of my walima dress which i got within the budget you mentioned and got it done from these karigars rather than a designer. so that will give you an idea of if you want to go this route, ie enlist my help.
