Here’s a post I wish someone had put up when I was planning my Nikah. Having had my Nikah in Karachi in June of 2013, there were lots of lessons learned and lots of ideas to share…Hope this helps all future brides with their planning. Good luck and congratulations!
Makeup - Sab’s The Salon:
DO NOT GO HERE!!! My makeup artist was Khalid…Khadir…whatever. He has zero talent. I could have applied my own makeup ten times better, using HD makeup which he didnt even have. For all you girls from the US, this guy used Revlon and mostly drugstore products on me. And the bad quality makeup showed in every single picture. His work was especially terrible for the high definition photography that takes place for all bridal events. The thick cakey texture of the makeup was visible in all my pictures. The base was terribly white with a grayish cast, this is how Revlon colorstay looks when a shade too light for your skin tone is applied, and yes this disaster showed up very clearly in most of the pictures. My eyebrows werent even cleaned up, he just brushed some eyeshadow on them. I repeatedly told him I did not like my eye makeup, but he refused to change it. I had asked for a black smokey eye and he used this ugly gray shadow and completely disregarded what I wanted and did whatever he felt like doing. My hair came out equally bad, and the girl doing my nails only applied one coat, I could clearly see the white of the nail still slightly showing through. They did all this because the salon was closing at 7:30 and it was close to that time, even thoigh I had been there since 4:30. I had no trouble getting an appointment here when I called a week before my Nikah was to take place because my relative is related to Sab’s. I got the engagement makeup package for 13,000 I believe. All my Nikah pictures are ruined. I look terrible. I wanted to cry because this day was such a special once in a lifetime day and Sab’s salon RUINED IT. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND SAB’S SALON TO MY WORST ENEMY. As for asking Sab to do the makeup herself, the front desk girl told me Sab no longer does makeup. They don’t do model bridal makeup either, which is also what I wanted. It’s a much more modern and beautiful bridal look which other salons do do. I saw Khalid/Khaidr’s portfolio book with makeup looks he has done, and I thought I was getting a really great professional. Now I realize, that book was filled with pictures of brides from magazines, etc, Khalid has probably never even been near any one of those girls. The book also contained no pictures of real life brides he might have worked on, and I really should have realized this for the red flag that it was. You have been warned. Consider any other salon and remember to ask to see pictures of ACTUAL BRIDES they have done bridal makeup on.
Nikah venue - Hotel Mehran for 125 guests
I liked this hotel, it was very decent considering every other venue we wanted was already booked. My first choice was Karachi golf club, definitely check that out if its available! The entrance is nice, like a proper hotel should be, the lobby is very decent, and the hall was just straight down the lobby and to the left, I think it was called the Kanwal Room. The food here was REALLY GOOD. At first the hotel did not provide a guest bridal suite and we really had to argue with management to fix this stupid mistake, and after a long wait they did. Make sure everything is written/documented on your receipt or invoice so you dont get cheated like we almost did. We received a room on the fifth floor and this is where my Nikah took place. The decorators and florists for Hotel Mehran are very average at best. The venue was nice, but the decorators ruined it. Also on strike days, do not expect the hall to be decorated on time. Not sure if I recommend this place, definitely recommend their food though. Cost was 100,000 for the hall and decorations for the night, not sure if this included food or the bridal suite.
Nikah Outfit - Saba Qazi
Cost 65,000. I only had 2.5 weeks to get something. I knew what I wanted - a contrast color, banarsi mix A-line pinkish gold nikah outfit, and could not find even something similar anywhere. I looked at Samson’s, Makkah, many of the bridal stores at the base of Tariq road, all these places had very average common old style outfits. I did love Jabeen’s selection but Jabeen’s takes time because they do all the work after the order is placed. I can only recommend Jabeen’s when it comes to bridal shopping in Bahadurabad/Tariq Road and only if you have 3 months or more…Then someone said check out ready made’s at Zamzama and FINALLY! I walked in to Saba Qazi at one point, the sales girl was showing the outfit to another customer and I knew I had to have it! I tried it on and it was BEAUTIFUL! I chose to have it altered which I now realize was a mistake, because once the kaam has been done and the oufit is stitched, having it altered actually ruins the fit because the kaam does not allow for proper alteration of the outfit. It gets in the way of the sewing. There’s a lesson for you guys. After alteration it did not fit nearly as well but it was beautiful. One more thing to keep in mind, the clothes in stores are often displayed against a white or light colored background so they appear one way in daylight in these settings For your bridal event, at evening, in dim or colored lighting, the outfit will become washed out to a great degree. This is what happened with mine. It was fawn colored with silver kaam, really stood out in daylight in the white background of the store, then looked very pale and washed out the evening I wore it. I wish I had picked a brighter richer color. If you don’t ave a lot of time, a party or heavy ready made outfit from designers on Zamzama will be a great option for your lighter events like Nikah, Mehndi, etc…For bridal, I think Zamzama is too much but that really depends on your personal budget. I felt like I could make a custom outfit I liked much better than what I was getting from the designer bridal selection.
Jewelry - DO NOT BUY ANY REAL GOLD/DIAMOND JEWELRY FROM PAKISTAN.
We went to all the major jewelry stores for m my Nikah ring and I swear ALL the jewelry in Pakistan looks cheap. It looks fake, like flea market stuff. Even the diamonds were slightly yellow. We went to Asim Jofa diamond gallery, and the styles were so old fashioned and lame, nothing like the engagement ring styles you see in America. I don’t know why this is, but just don’t risk buying your jewelry here. It is cheap looking and you will be embarrassed to wear it out, I know I am. I have a diamond Nikah ring whose diamonds look gray and tarnished after just wearing it one evening. If you are a Pakistani local, go to Dubai and buy quality stuff there. If you are from US, UK, You are much better off buying from Dubai or from your home country.