This is the first review I have written in my years of using Yelp, mostly because my experience was so horrific that I think its important to highlight for future customers.
I had my wedding at Obsession, after months of visiting different banquet halls and discussing/negotiating prices I found Khalid and Saadia very comforting for the following reasons:
1) They were pakistani, like me, so we had an understanding of the cultural/traditional aspects of the wedding
2) They gave me a package deal, promising a great menu for a great price and a lot of decor included
3) We formed a good working relationship from the beginning/having mutual family friends/contacts
I was comfortable and reassured that the event would go very smoothly. However, as we got closer to the wedding date- Saadia became harder and more difficult to get in contact with, I would have to call Khalid only to be told to call Saadia again. Additionally, they had encouraged me to use their DJ services (some guy named Farhan) that they contracted out but 2 weeks before my wedding and no DJ had contacted me- despite my persistent attempts at trying to find out what was going on with the DJ. (No bride should be having to worry about these things 2 weeks before her wedding).
The day before the wedding I get a call from Saadia, she wants to confirm the menu for the wedding- the is the night before while I'm getting henna put on my hands. I'm automatically even more shocked, but she assures me that everything is under control. On the wedding day itself, since I am the bride, I am less involved with the operations of the hall- but the minute I enter the banquet hall I feel the heat. There is no air conditioning. And people are lined up outside the appetizer room waiting to be let in for appetizer (20 minutes delayed); I sit in the bridal suite and I can feel myself working up a sweat with the heavy clothes I have on and the layers of make up- my sisters and mother go repeatedly to find Saadia regarding the air condidtioning/lack of air circulation and she tells them that its being worked on- no one from Obsession management even came to apologize or check how I was doing through out all of this. Even though appetizers were put out 20 minutes late, they were picked up 40 minutes later (on the hour-as planned), to the point where Saadia asked my in-laws to leave the appetizer room (mind you- my inlaws had arrived 15 minutes before so she should have had the common sense to atleast take the appetizers).
After I made my entrance (the DJ messed up on announcing me, and with the spotlights) the groom and I stood in the dark for about 5 minutes as no one turned on the lights- Saadia was nowhere to be found and people were running around in complete darkness. When the lights turned on, I realized that both me and the groom were sweating, visibly, because the heat was even worse on stage, under all the lights. I asked multiple staff about the air conditioning only to be ignored, no one from Obsession approached me or asked me (again) how I was doing. My sisters and cousins were looking for Saadia and Khalid at this time, could not find either- Saadia had locked up the bridal suite (which had a sleeping baby inside) and had disappeared. So when it was cake cutting time noone knew where the cake was (the staff had put it inside because of the heat), as we're waiting for it to come out- two waiters come out carrying the cake (looking rather unbalanced) and place it on a small table- they realize they have forgotten the knife and plate so grab one from a nearby seating table.
Through out this time, there is no air conditioning, no fans, no ventilation. My sister is looking for the DJ, and he's left his station too (we heard later that he was parking cars outside because the valet was having trouble with a manual car). Finally Sadia reappears, my sisters ask her about the heat situation and she tells us its our fault because apparently one of our guests messed around with the thermostat and broke the air conditioning (?!?!?!). People are standing in the parking lot at this time because its too hot to stand indoors and are leaving early because of this. Dessert is served but the cake comes out 30 minutes after the desserts so most of our guests don't have any. My mom asks saadia about the leftover food and Saadia tells my mother (very rudely) that its not company policy to give any- this is after the night before the wedding she had confirmed with me that all leftovers will be packed and given to us. The DJ, before leaving, asks my sister for payment for his services (which were already paid for), my sister who is from out of Town gets confused and pays him too.
After I have left and my family is getting into their own cars, Khalid comes running out to tell my family to take the food. Overall, this was one of the most embarrassing nights of my life- to have all the people that are special to me come together for a party that was downright terrible. read more