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Alankar Event Planners & Decorators Reviews

Alankar Event Planners & Decorators

Alankar Event Planners & Decorators

Northborough, MA
4.2 out of 5 rating, 22 Reviews
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Reviews

4.2 out of 5 rating
4.2 out of 5 rating
22 Reviews
83% recommend it
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    4.2 out of 5 rating
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Awards

22
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2018 Winner
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    Urvashi U. Sent on 09/07/2019
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    Shobha and the entire Alankar team was phenomenal!

    We planned a multi day, multi event wedding and Shobha and her team went above and beyond to make it absolutely beautiful! From our first meeting with her, she was very calming, with great ideas and a desire to help us reach our personal aesthetic. She is so flexible and knows many of the Boston venues well- her experience shows and we could not be more happy! Thank you to her and her team!
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    Shanti Sent on 12/18/2017
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    Went to a wedding for my cousin her decor is amazing the most beautiful indian wedding i have seen in a long time.
    My cousin was so happy she went with Alankar no complaints i will be using her for my wedding when i start planning.
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    Anita Sent on 12/12/2017
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    Shobha auntie is the best.. i didn’t need to do anything i picked out my decor and she did the rest.. my wedding day was beautiful and i owe it all to her and her team!! If you want to feel secure on your big day Go to her..
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    Akansha Sent on 09/24/2017
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    Shobha Aunty is amazing!! She has so much variety in decor and she is the most straight forward person you will meet.
    She recently did an event for me and i was blown away by her creativity and also generosity she literally goes out of her way to make her clients happy.
    I will never recommend anyone else she is the best!!!
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    Rashmi Sent on 09/04/2017
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    Shobha Auntie is a master! From the first consultation my mother and I had with her we felt comfortable and safe - suddenly this whole wedding planning process felt doable. She is creative, practical, and has an eye for simple, elegant, beauty. She worked with us to bring me the exact decor that we wanted. The statues and details she added were perfect. The mandap was beautiful and fit perfectly with our venue and mixed crowd. We are so grateful to her.
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    Rita Sent on 07/20/2017
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    Shobha was amazing for someone who has multiple set ups she is awesome to work with. When asked for an opinion she tells you the truth there is no sugar coating which is what you want when you are dealing with someone.
    People don't understand that in this line of work you have to work with hotels sometimes you can only go to setup when the hotel says it's okay.
    She has been in business for over 25 years. She has great opinions and decorations... if you want to feel like royalty on your day go with Alankar.
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    Natasha Sent on 07/05/2017
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    Shobha was very flexible and I got exactly what I wanted. Her decorations are modern, elegant and to die for. Everyone loved our decorations and It is the talk of the town. Shobha was flexible - I was only able to meet late at night due to my schedule, she was able to work with my schedule to meet me around 9 or 10. Thank you Shobha for going above and beyond.
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    Dina Sent on 09/11/2015
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    Shobha was phenomenal to work with. I had a vision for my lebanese wedding, to incorporate decor and design (Indian Inspired) but keep a modern twist on it. Shobha saw my vision, and went above and beyond to meet and exceed my expectations. All my guests were blown away when the saw the stage, backdrop and centerpieces. Thank you Shobha for helping make our Fairy Tale wedding a reality! xoxox Dina & Jad
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    Chitrang Sent on 06/29/2015
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    Shobha Aunty – thank you so much for making our dream wedding a reality!!! If anyone wants the ABSOLUTE best in the business, Shobha Aunty is your person! I’m sure there are many brides out there that have started planning their weddings since childhood. But Shobha aunty – you made it a reality and even better than imagined! From our very first meeting, you had great ideas and recommendations that made our wedding exceptional. All your decorations were new and innovative. We even challenged you to create a whole new reception set. The end result – absolutely stunning! Everyone was extremely amazed at how beautiful and elegant the decorations were for all three events. We are still getting compliments about all your work. There is no doubt that you are #1 Decorator in Boston, but from our experience we think you are #1 in the whole Northeast. We are very glad that you were part of our big day. We would highly recommend you to all our friends and family! Thank you for all your hard work and making our wedding weekend a huge success!
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    Ashti Sent on 08/04/2013
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    Alankar made our wedding so exquisitely beautiful. We were getting nonstop comments of how grandiose and beautiful our Mandap was. Alankar also did all of the center pieces for the reception and I could not have asked for anything more beautiful and classy then what they delivered. Alankar stayed right in our budget, not a penny more. However Alankar gave us extra then what we had ordered and never asked us for more money. I merely had to say what I wanted and Alankar delivered more then what I was imagining. I am extremely grateful for all that Alankar did for our wedding and I cannot wait to recommend their services to every bride. Truly the best decorators in the area.
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    Shruti Sent on 01/23/2013
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    We hired Alankar for an outdoor sangeet, an outdoor evening wedding and a reception at a country club. Shobha was absolutely amazing since the day we met up with her. Since day 1 she was very helpful with everything. Not only does she do an amazing job at the decor but she also helped us with any other vendor information we needed in the area. She went out of her way to give us everyone's contact information. What's the need of an event planner when you have her! She is a one stop shop and we loved her for that. A three day wedding is not easy to plan especially none of the events were small and Shobha made it so easy for us.

    On the sangeet day we had picked out certain decor and things but she went and put extra stuff that we weren't even expecting to make it perfect. Every single day things were done way ahead of time there was no stress about anything. She made sure to have us look at everything each day to make sure we were satisfied before she left. I also loved the fresh garlands she got for the varmala. Everything was absolutely perfect and we have no regrets that we went with her services.
  • User1033959 Sent on 12/03/2012
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    We were very vague about what we wanted, and overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices, but in the end we told them what we were looking for and what we wanted our wedding style to be and they delivered EXACTLY that. We were both surprised and very pleased, the decor was perfect and there were a lot of little touches that we really loved.
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    Shri Sent on 08/24/2015
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    Nothing was done in writing, no contract but the output was more than we asked for. When you work with Shobha, just tell her your wishes and leave the rest to her.
  • User2030197 Sent on 02/03/2015
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    I hired Alankar decorators for 2 of my wedding events. Shobha is extremely sweet and works with all budgets. She's extremely helpful in not only giving ideas but working with you to make your special night beautiful. I got tons of compliments on my wedding decor and could not have asked for more.
  • User1000510 Sent on 11/02/2012
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    Shobha Shastry is the best - plain and simple. I wouldn't do an Indian wedding without her. She anticipated every need. She was flexible. Despite being super busy, she always took my calls and calmed me down with all of my urgent requests. She is simply amazing.
    The mandap she created was magical. The garlands were straight from India. Every person who came to the wedding has thanked me and said they have not stopped talking about the wedding. Shobha was the visionary behind it. Once you hire her, you can stop worrying about a thing.
    I didn't use her as a wedding planner but ultimately she provided mandap, flowers, horse, ganesh. It turned out after I called many other vendors, it was easier, cheaper to do it through Shobha. Can't say enough good things about her.
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    Akshay S. Sent on 08/07/2019
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    Beautiful Decoration

    The decor we decided on was put up on time and with some nice touches that we didnt expect. Shobha and her team did a great job transitioning from the wedding setup into the reception setup.
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    Sri Sent on 04/13/2020
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    Alankar is the best bet for fulfilling your Indian wedding vision

    Shobha aunty has been in the business for over 25 years, serving the entire Indian community. When you meet her, you understand why she has been around for so long: she knows how to connect with people, she's tough, and she has an extensive network that helps you get what you need. I and my family are super into DIY, but with Indian weddings, and multiple outdoor and indoor venues, it became clear to us that we needed to call in a professional. Compared to all the other vendors, Shobha aunty had the most diverse inventory, completely understood our vision, could accommodate our needs, and worked so well to make it happen. We didn't trust anyone else the way we trusted her and felt at ease with her. Initially she was difficult to reach, but once our wedding date started to come up, she was very prompt, attentive, and was very clear about what she could get done for us. We knew we were in great hands.

    Just to give an example of what I'm talking about, we had initially thought that we'd need to shop around for different florists, chair company, and Indian wedding decor. She immediately assuaged our concerns, and told us her vendors would give her a price much less than what he had researched and found on the market. Her chair vendor, for example, gave us an excellent deal on garden chairs - the day before, she called me to let me know that some of the chairs had some paint, so she negotiated with the chair vendor to give us the more expensive Chiavari chairs instead at no extra cost. She knew exactly what we needed for our fusion North-South Indian ceremony and provided all the materials we needed for all our multiple outdoor and indoor venues.

    One word of advice when working with Shobha aunty: go over every single item you need beforehand, and WRITE IT DOWN. That was key to making sure we got exactly what we needed and budgeted for. Indian weddings can have so many unexpected last minute additions, so listen to her advice and also be very clear on what it is you need beforehand.

    My mother and Shobha aunty became very close in this process, and I felt like I was dealing with a family member rather than a vendor. She means well, and we felt like she really cares about delivering a great product to her clients.
    • Alankar Event Planners & Decorators 1
  • User1043141 Sent on 12/12/2012
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    Working with Alankar this past year for my wedding was a great decision. Shobha Shastry (owner) was able to put my vision to life! I enjoyed working with her because not only was she professional, she was warm- I felt I could discuss anything with her! Definitely recommend :)
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    Ankita Sent on 09/03/2018
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    We decided not to move forward with Alankar because we weren't able to get a contract and even a written response from Shobha for weeks when asking for a quote for our wedding weekend.

    When we went to go meet with her, we viewed some of the pictures she had done for other weddings and so it definitely seemed like she and her team were capable of the work. However, we couldn't get a solid price point to work off of and it made me nervous that I was trying to budget in decor and not able to understand how much her work would come up to.

    I followed up over email a few times for a quote and about different elements that we would like to see. Sometimes I would get a response saying something along the lines of we'll get back to you or we can definitely do that. But I never was able to get a definitive answer and/or a solid contract. Not something I wanted to deal with over the course of wedding planning.

    Alankar Event Planners & Decorators's reply:

    miss. dasgupta
    we met briefly in my office. you showed us a design you were looking to settle on. we had told you that we are in the process of getting egis manufactured in india and we cannot give you the price until we have a quote from the vendor.
    you did not have the patience to wait for few weeks to get this. we do not quote until we know the price.
    while meeting us you had mentioned that your budget on mandap was 4500......with such info we did not feel throwing a number at you without the quote.
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    Dharsan Sent on 03/22/2022
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    Unprofessional

    She is a very unprofessional vendor. She did not return text messages or phone calls throughout the whole process. We scheduled a visit to her studio (about an hour drive away) and confirmed with her prior to going, and she did not notify us to cancel and just didn't show up. We discussed the design and our budget several months prior to the wedding day which she accepted verbally. She declined to sign a contract. She did not confirm her services the week leading up to the wedding despite several text message and phones calls. The day BEFORE the wedding, she stated that the cost would be significantly higher than previously agreed upon for the same design. We took out several design requests to bring it down to our desired and previously agreed upon budget. The day of the wedding, the decorations were done incorrectly and not as requested months ago (pictures given to explain our requests) or the day before the wedding. She initially asked us to drive an hour to provide payment at midnight the day of the ceremony and later agreed to receive payment after the ceremony. DURING the ceremony, she was asking for her payment from several family members. This was a terrible experience with Alankar Decors with several situations of unprofessionalism.
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    Sushant P. Sent on 03/21/2020
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    Mandap fell, almost ruining the wedding

    The mandap fell halfway through the ceremony. 4 large stone pillars, and shattered glass everywhere. Any one of the wedding party could have been seriously injured, and if that had happened, the rest of the ceremony and the reception would have been canceled.

    Thankfully, nobody got hurt, and we were able to remove everything, suck in our emotions, and carry on (without a mandap). Shobha never apologized to the bride/groom, did not offer any sort of refund, and claimed it wasn't her fault it was the wind's fault. Well your structure should be strong enough to withstand a little wind, and the video clearly shows the flimsy side extension collapsing first, and then bringing down the main pillars.

    She said she was going to retire soon after our wedding. Hopefully that's the case.
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    Madhu Sent on 09/04/2016
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    My daughter got married in July, and we were very excited initially about working with Shobha. However, several things happened that left us frustrated with our experience working with her on the wedding.

    1. Her communication was poor. She was very slow to respond including on the day of the wedding, always keeping us on the edge.
    2. She did not give us a written contract, despite persistent requests and promises she would do it, until a few days before the wedding. This was incredibly frustrating.
    3. The price she verbally quoted was far less than what appeared on the contract.
    4. Her people showed up to put decorations up for the wedding just a couple of hours beforehand, which was nervewracking for the coordinator and people at the venue. She did not connect with them at all, and would not answer her phone. And the mandap was not constructed the way that was shown in the pictures.
    5. She said terrible things about the other vendors we hired and made us very nervous about the wedding.

    Ultimately, this was an incredibly poor experience and we would sadly recommend that others think twice before working with her.
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