New York-New York City

Beware of Shehnaai Couture and Events

 

Shehnaai Couture and Events was by far my worst wedding vendor experience.  I ordered my wedding sari and lengha 8 months before my wedding and put down a 75% deposit (which the owner, Shirin Vinayak, claimed was standard).  I was promised swatches to approve within 3 months of the order, and the final product 2 months after that. 

  This is what happened:   (1) Swatches were never made. (2) Shirin and her assistant lied constantly, alternating between saying the swatches were on their way or the swatches were in production. (3) The deadlines were missed by months. (4) The lengha was made in the wrong colors, without my approval. (5) The final lengha (remade in the right colors) was of such poor quality that I was unable to use it for my wedding. (6) The sari didn’t arrive until 1 month before my wedding (7 months after I ordered it). (7) The sari was a completely wrong color. (8) Shirin refused to rectify the situation at all until I got my (very well connected) florist involved – then she agreed to refund my deposit.   Do not be fooled by Shehnaai’s showroom or the sample dresses on display – the final product is subpar at best.  Worst of all, because of all her lies about when the dresses would show up, I ended up having to get my dresses from other vendors at the absolute last minute, something no bride (especially one who was looking for dresses 8 months in advance) should have to do.

 

Re: Beware of Shehnaai Couture and Events

  • anniebeewedanniebeewed member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    So sorry to hear but thank you for sharing! Sounded like an awful experience that no one should ever have to go through.
  • edited December 2011
    Definitely -- I just wanted to make other people are aware, because it was pretty stressful to have to deal with.
  • I have posted this elsewhere, but I wanted to throw my two cents in - especially since I spent many more cents!  My experience was not as difficult as the one above, but it was on the dissapointing side: 


    I had an Indian wedding in Boston and was unable to go to India to buy clothes prior to the wedding. We had surveyed the swath of stores in New Jersey but were unable to find something that was a good fit for me (and made my female relatives happy). My mother had found Shehnnai Couture online and we made an appointment where we picked out a lovely custom made lengha that complimented my body type and overall I was very happy with the dress when it arrived (on time). The skirt was supposed to have a second hook added to it after my fitting which wasn't done (the blouse had been taken in appropriately) The skirt was a bit loose, but it was three days before the wedding and it looked stunning the evening of the reception and in photographs. 

    Unfortunately, by the end of the evening, several stiches had come out after wearing it for 6 hours. We sent the dress back, marking the parts of the lengha that were unraveling as well as listing them in an email. Only some of the repairs were made, so we sent the dress back a second time. Given we spent over $4000 on the dress, we required signature for delivery confirmation which I believe was reasonable. The second time we sent the dress, it was not picked up for several weeks and the post office mailed it back. 

    Overall, the dress was very beautiful, but I wish it had been of better quality. Even if this was an anomaly, I wish this business owner had dealt with the situation more professionally than telling us she would take care of it and really not doing so twice now. If you were in the position I was in and unable to go to India - you can find a very nice lengha here. I would recommend having a more formal contract drawn up (as I did for another lengha I had made subsequently) - the Knot has a nice article on standard things that should be included. 

    I know a lot of people complain on these sites when things don't go the way they expect. I think its important to recognize that things will go wrong- the important thing is how your vendor deals with it. For example, the Boston Fire Department did not approve my centerpiece arrangements, a week before the wedding, my florist pulled together something just as gorgeous. My engagement ring band cracked where it was resized - yes, awful - but my jeweler was appropriately mortified that this happened, remade it at no cost and very quickly. We have subsequently bought other pieces from him (which there hae been no problems) because we valued his professionalism. If Shirin Vinayak had acted in the same manner when I had problems with my dress, I would have definitely gone back to her for other outfits. I contacted her again and if there is a reasonable response I will update this post.
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