Annnd the wedding posts begin!
The kickoff event was mehndhi night, which was held the Thursday before the wedding. Mehndhi is also known as henna. Instead of explaining exactly what it’s all about, I’ll create a more vivid image by sharing some pictures.
BEFORE
The green you see in the picture above was just glitter. The mehndhi artist thought it would look pretty in the pictures.
AFTER
So, I was really restless all morning. I just wanted the fun to start!
The mehndhi artist arrived at the house around 4:00 pm and started right away. I’m happy to note that she was really fast. If I remember correctly, she was done with both my hands and feet in a little over two hours.
Once friends and family members started arriving around 6:30 pm, they too got mehndhi put on their hands.
A good friend and former colleague of mine told me to look around every now and then and soak in moments from each and every event. And I did just that. I still remember seeing my sister showing off her mehndhi, my grandmother looking on with such happiness in her eyes, my parents laughing and mingling with friends and family members, my friends getting their own mehndhi done, and my family filing in one by one.
Something else I remember about this night was the anticipation for the fun to come. I could feel the excitement radiating from most everyone there. It was truly a night to remember!
Before heading to bed that night, Purvi and I spent a good 15 minutes rubbing off my mehndhi best we could. I then rubbed some Vicks Vapor Rub on both my hands and feet, slipped on some plastic bags, and called it a night. My friends helped me wash my face, take off my contacts, and do a few other things (they’re the BEST!).
I woke up the next morning praying that my mehndhi was dark red. And it was! There’s an Indian saying that the darker your mehndhi, the more your husband loves you. I would say that I’m pretty loved!
Next up…the vidhi (the religious prayer event) on Friday morning.
Have you ever had mehndhi put on your hands?
Ah I love these recap posts- your mehndi sounds like an absolute blast! More than the the decor/food/etc, the best part about weddings for me is being surrounded with all the people you love! I love the way mehndi looks but I can’t stand the smell of it…don’t know what I’m going to do when my time comes haha! I’ve heard that applying lemon juice on top of the mehndi helps darken it…either way, it’s clear that Vishnu loves you A LOT :)!
this is so cool to read about!
Wow, gorgeous Mendhi!
What beautiful art! The glitter was a cool thought too! I can’t believe it only took 2 hours. I love learning about these traditions. 🙂
Girl, your mehndi is RED. Really dark RED. Yes, he loves you. YAY! Actually for my wedding I used a mehndi tattoo, I just can’t stand the smell of mehndi .. hope my hubby still loves me though. Beautiful event. I can’t wait to see the rest. Keep em’ coming! 🙂
Gorgeous, love your mehendi and the color is really nice and dark.
I am just catching up on all our previous posts, hope I haven’t missed too much 🙂
Your Mendhi look really good!!! I love getting mendhi done for weddings also. I had no idea the darker it gets the more your hubby to be loves you…that is too cute. I usually put lime or lemon on it when it is drying. I had no idea that you could put vicks on your hands and feet. I’m so going to try that next time someone gets hitched. Have a good rest of the week XX