How name-your-price offers work on Bandobast

Why name your own price?

The usual way to book a caterer or decorator in Lahore is to call five of them, explain your event five times and wait for quotes that are hard to compare. One sends a menu with a per-head rate, another quotes a lump sum, a third says "come to the office". By the time you have three numbers, a week has gone.

Naming your price flips that. You say what you want and what you are prepared to pay, once. Vendors who can do it at that price say yes. Vendors who think it needs more tell you what they would charge and why. You spend your time choosing, not chasing.

What goes into a request?

Start from the request page. You will be asked for:

• The service you need, such as catering, a venue, decor, photography or bridal makeup.
• The event type: Mehndi, Baraat, Walima, Nikkah, Mangni, Aqiqa, birthday or a corporate event.
• The date, the area of Lahore and the number of guests.
• Your price, and any notes: menu items, colours, timing, things you do not want.

The more specific the notes, the closer the offers will be to what you want. "Walima, 250 guests, DHA, chicken karahi, mutton biryani, one sweet dish, chai counter" gets better replies than "Walima food".

How do I pick a fair price?

Look at a few vendor profiles in your service before you post. Vendors list a starting price on Bandobast, so browsing caterers or venues gives you a rough sense of the floor. Real prices then move with the date, your guest count and the area. A Saturday in peak shaadi season costs more than a weekday in a quieter month.

If your number is very low, you may get fewer acceptances and more counter-offers. That is still useful: the counters tell you what the market thinks your event costs. If you are building a full budget, this guide to splitting a shaadi budget helps you set a number for each service.

What happens after I post?

Your request goes to verified vendors in that service who cover your area. Each one can do one of three things: accept your price as it is, send an offer at a different price with a note on what is included, or pass. Vendors have 24 hours to respond.

You see offers arrive on your request page. Each shows the vendor's price, what they include, their rating from past Bandobast bookings and a link to their profile. You can chat with any of them, ask for menu changes or photos of past work, and send a counter-offer if you want to meet in the middle.

Every vendor who can see your request has been checked by our team, either in person or on a video call, with their contact details and recent work reviewed. That does not replace your own judgement, but it means you are not starting from a random list of phone numbers.

How do I compare offers properly?

Price is only one line. Before you accept, check:

• What is included. For catering: menu, crockery, staff, serving counters. For decor: stage, flowers, lighting, entrance.
• What is extra. Generators, transport, extra hours, GST on some services.
• The cancellation policy on the vendor's profile.
• Reviews, which only come from families who booked and finished an event through Bandobast.

For catering in particular, use our list of questions to ask a caterer. It covers the details that change the final bill.

What happens when I accept an offer?

The booking is created and the vendor is asked to confirm. You pay the advance to Bandobast by bank transfer, upload the receipt, and the date is locked. We hold the money until the event is done. How Bandobast protects your payment explains that part in full.

Need more than one service? Post one request per service, or use the event planner to set up the whole event and request offers for each service from there.