Personalised Mehandi designs- Make a Signature Statement
Make a Signature Statement for Mehandi
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Make a Signature Statement for Mehandi
The application of henna is a pre-wedding tradition that has withstood the test of time.
For those who don’t know about it, Henna or Mehndi, is a temporary herbal paste traditionally made of henna used as a hair colour and for body art.Having its traditional significance in enhancing beauty, Mehandi is also said to bring joy and luck. Being a significant ceremony, it is no surprise that every bride wants the day to go seamlessly. From the choreographed dances and appetising delicacies to the intricate details of the henna designs, everything needs to be perfect.
There are many henna patterns and styles prevalent around the world, including the Indian, Arabic and Indo-Arabic mehndi designs, pakistani and persian henna designs, and now the personalised mehendi designs. In earlier days, Mehandi or the Henna Ceremony was the day before the Marriage where women gathered, applied mehandi on the bride, pulled a leg or two, and shared their wedding and happy marriage’s wisdom with the bride.
Style your Bridal Mehandi your own way
While containing the same happy aura, this custom has now evolved into a more aesthetic affair, making every bride crave for an artist who can create mesmerising designs. But flawlessness is hard to achieve with so many artists saturating the market. To help you choose the best henna artist, we get some tips from a few experts in the field.
Neha Assar found her calling as a mehandi artist and became unstoppable. A perfect mix of brains, talent and creativity, you can feel the passion and focus oozing out of her designs. Being well-experienced in this field, Neha swears by a simple guide to picking a henna artist which should be every bride’s holy grail.
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Steal some Advice from the Mehandi artists
She says there are four main things to look out for in a quality mehandi artist. These are:
- Ensure that your artist is using 100% organic, natural, chemical-free mehandi paste.
- The artwork should stay on for at least two weeks. It's not like makeup where one can wash it off.
- The colour of the mehandi stain is crucial. The mehandi artist you choose should be able to guide you on proper aftercare. Mostly it's up to the bride to take care of the mehandi in order to achieve the darkest hue possible.
- Having a mehandi artist that you can share a great conversation with helps on D-day.
She recalls her experience as a travelling henna artist in California. She says: “The best part about being a henna artist during a destination wedding is the fact that the bride selects me to be there to adorn her. As an artist, it means the world to have a client that is willing to take you to their wedding, wherever it may be.”
Another expert, Neeta Desai Sharma, travels around the world to adorn brides with her talent. “I have seen brides cut corners by booking a local artist, and most of the time local artists don’t use good products, their design might not be that great. Having a professional henna artist with good skills at your wedding is far better.” Neeta is a strong believer that as the festivities of the wedding fade away with the ebbing whispers of congratulations, the henna of the bride is what remains as a reminder of the memorable day. “I love how the mehandi ceremony fits into the celebrations of Indian weddings, and cherish my role as one of the many spokes in the wheel, making a couple's special day truly memorable,” she says.
Neeta recommends a very pragmatic approach to tackling the joyous day. “The henna day should be scheduled a comfortable 3-4 days prior to the wedding. As most brides want to dance their hearts out on this day, their mehandi should begin 2 hours before the guests start arriving. You have to reverse engineer the wedding phases planned after the mehandi, and what simply cannot happen once the paste has been applied. For example, it might not be the best idea to get waxed after the henna is applied!”
And the final tips for a smooth pre-wedding party have been provided by artist Sona Mistry. She says: “I have to know my clients and what they want. For this, I try to get to know the backstories of my clients. Each couple goes through a unique journey to find and choose love, which inspires me to create something that is one-of-a-kind and breathtakingly heartwarming.”
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Sona has an extremely simple, but highly effective, advice for choosing the henna artist: stalk their socials! Everyone has a social media presence, and so do their businesses. Once you create a list of your potential hand painters to tattoo you with your personalised mehendi designs, go through what they post on their professional social media handles. Pick up on the vibes of the artist through their communication style. This will make the elimination process easy and help you set your eyes on your suitable henna artist.
Facts about Mehandi
Q1. Where did Mehndi originate from?
While some believe that Mehandi has been in India since the Vedic times and described as one of the solah shringar(16 jewels) of a newlywed bride, some say it was brought to India from Middle East and Egypt areas by the Mughals. We sure have evidence in the art from the Mughalian Era in India depicting the prevalence of Mehendi. Most women from this era had their hands and feet henna-dyed, irrespective of their marital status and social class.
