History and Background

Mehndi is famed for its medicinal properties and use in body art around the world. The word originates from the Sanskrit word mendhika referring to the plant from which it is derived. References suggest that mehndi had its presence in varied cultures apart from India such as Egypt, Asia Minor, Middle East, and was even used by Cleopatra, pharaohs, and Prophet Muhammad. However, the body of art of mehndi had its roots in ancient India from where it spread to different nooks and corners of the world. Discovery of the henna plant’s cooling properties led to the popularity of use on the skin. The plant has even been used to color wool, silk, animal skin, human hair, and more.

Lawsonia inermis, the botanical name of the mehndi plant, is generally found in tropical climates on the Indian subcontinent. Fresh henna leaves, as opposed to powdered henna, have no odor. The leaves of the plant are used to produce a paste that leaves a dark reddish-orange color after application.

The dried leaves of henna are crushed to produce a powder that is then mixed with water, eucalyptus oil, and lemon juice to create a smooth pastelike texture. The paste is left to rest overnight and then poured into a plastic cone for application.

Application and Design

The tip of the cones are cut according to the desired thickness of the line. Cones are then squeezed lightly to apply uninterrupted designs, all ranging from simple to ornate depending on the individual’s taste or the occasion.

When having mehndi applied, it is best to wear short sleeves to keep the hands and arms exposed. From stunning, intricate designs to checkered and geometric patterns, the design options are endless. For minimalists, Arabic designs are elegant. Having mantras etched is the latest fad. Wedding motifs such as elephants and palanquin are the all-time traditional favorites. The feet are not to be forgotten – mehndi done in a prominent motif in the center is quite popular.

Once applied, the mehndi is left to dry for color blending and uniformity. To enhance the color outcome, a mixture of lemon juice and sugar is applied to the Mehndi. Once dry, the mendhi naturally crumbles and falls off. Using water to remove the mehndi is not common practice as this can make the color lighter.

Mehndi as a Ritual

In South Asian weddings, the mehndi event is a ritual where henna is applied on the bride’s hands and feet in anticipation of the wedding ceremony. Not only limited to the bride, all the bridesmaids and guests have beautiful designs done on their hands and arms from hired professionals. The ritual involves the ceremonial singing of traditional songs to the beat of drums and dholaks. Mehndi designs for the bride are elaborate, intricate, and as part of the tradition, it often includes the name of husband-to-be for him to seek on the wedding night.

For some, weddings are a time for doubt and stress. Anxiety and nervousness might be overwhelming, but given mehndi is scientifically proven to be a cooling property, the art of applying henna is a way to calm the bride’s nerves.

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Unique photographs taken at an Indian weddings are made up of warm glances, shared laughter, loving stares, bold colors, elegant mandaps, and unique table settings.

Whether a stolen glance or a planned pose, couples and their families can relive the celebrations through heartfelt moments captured by photographs. Weddings are special events that are celebrated for an entire lifetime through photographs.

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If you think the beginning was romantic, imagine how the proposal enfolded for these two. Darshan planned the surprise proposal with all the minute details. Darshan made arrangements for Anu to fly to Texas, order Torchy’s Taco (the couple’s favorite food) ready at the hotel, and took her to their final spot in Hermann Park in Houston. While there, he got down on one knee for the romantic proposal one month before Anu graduated pharmacy school. Soon after they set their wedding date for July 14, 2019, and immediately began planning. An Indian wedding without a wedding planner is almost impossible and especially when Anu and Darshan were planning five events and a 1,200 person wedding! One early decision the couple made was to hire K.I Weddings as their planner.

The real fun began with pre wedding events including the Mehndi, Vidhi and Garba. Anu and Darshan wanted to be sure their romance was reflected in their wedding events. What comes to your mind first when you hear the word “love?” For most Hindus, Radha-Krishna represent an epitome of love, selfless love. So Anu decided the centerpiece for the garba would be a murti of Radha-Krishna dancing surrounded by candles. The dandiya and the stage had two panels of large peacock feathers that Krishna wears on his head.

The symbolism of love continued on their wedding day. When Darshan arrived at wedding place on a black convertible Corvette driven by his brother, they experienced some light drizzle during the baraat entrance. According to Hinduism, rain is tied to luck and an abundance of love and blessings from heaven for couple’s bright future together.

Anu paid attention to every tiny detail while planning her wedding day decor. The décor was blush pink and white floral with gold touches that helped Anu’s dress stand out. She also had an open mandap because they have a large family and each one had a role during the ceremony

The reception décor was modern with green boxwood and gold with geometric shapes and circles. Flowers were white hydrangeas. Anu’s dress was blush pink so they incorporated that with a touch of pink flowers on the stage.

And finally this romantic union of two souls displayed the true epitome of love when the couple began their first dance performance with the song “Jab Koi Baat Bigad Jaye” that translates to “Whenever something goes wrong, Whenever there’s a problem, Stand by my side, My Beloved.”

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Shreya and Sagar married on September 15, 2018, at the Gujarat Cultural Association in Nashville, Tennessee. They planned their entire wedding themselves along with help from family and friends. Their wedding celebrations began with a colorful mehndi ceremony. Shreya chose a Moroccan theme for the function, where the venue was decorated with many colorful umbrellas. They went with matkas and diyas as the centerpieces for the tables.

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The couple had an indoor daytime wedding, where they followed a traditional color theme of red, cream and gold. Shreya and Sagar chose an open oval-shaped mandap, which was decorated with floral cages lined along pillars that were donned with lotus flowers. A suspended Ganesha done with carnation flowers provided a beautiful backdrop to their mandap. The aisle was one of the best parts of the wedding décor. It was a 2-foot raised platform that was about 60 feet long and was decorated with red rose petals and lined with floating candles.

For the reception, Shreya and Sagar chose a more elegant and modern color theme with touches of black, crème and gold. They used accented bookshelves to provide a backdrop for their stage, which was decorated with floral-shaped cylinder glasses and candles. The centerpieces gave the room a fresh floral feel, complete with cascading flowers, hydrangeas, roses, orchids and Manzanita branches.

The bride and the groom danced their way into their reception, with their DJ providing them with special lighting effects and Bhangra dance beats. For their first dance, Shreya and Sagar chose country singer Brett Young’s “In Case You Didn’t Know.” Their dance playlist included Punjabi and Bollywood tracks, along with American hits from the 80s and 90s.

What’s more? As Shreya has a huge sweet tooth, there was a 32-foot long dessert table at the reception filled with a large variety of Indian and American sweets.

Posted on: 02-26-2019 by: Deshvidesh

Priya and Yogin wanted to be sure their wedding celebrations were everything that they had dreamt of and more, so they planned the events on their own with help from their families. As both of them are from Atlanta, they chose the gorgeous Sheraton Atlanta Hotel as the venue. Yogin’s family hosted the mehndi and sangeet night. The couple chose colorful décor for both events, which were simple yet vibrant.

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The wedding ceremony was held during the day indoors. The elegant and royal theme matched Priya and Yogin’s wedding attire. The aisle leading to the mandap was decorated with flower petals and candles. Priya and Yogin also had a personalized hashtag that they made a part of the décor – #YoPriMarryMe.

Their wedding ceremony was filled with many beautiful and fun-filled moments. The couple had their first look at the pool courtyard. During the varmala ceremony, while Yogin stood on his friend’s shoulder, Priya’s family brought out a ladder for her to match his height. And after the saath pheras were over, Yogin picked Priya up in his arms, which was definitely an “aww-worthy” moment for their guests.

At the reception, the couple made a grand entry to the song “Bring Em Out” by T-Pain. The couple’s first dance was to Haley Reinhart’s version of “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

Both families had something special prepared for the reception. Yogin’s nieces and nephews did a special dance performance. Priya’s brother-in-law entertained everyone with his melodious singing. Priya also danced with her bridesmaids and was joined by Yogin for one of the songs. But the highlight of the evening was when Priya’s sisters and cousins surprised her with a special dance tribute with a medley of songs to which she had danced at other events.

Posted on: 06-2-2019 by: Deshvidesh

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Planning a wedding is never an easy task. But what makes the day memorable is when both partners come together to plan a celebration that is nothing short of perfection! Khilna and Sunny Patel did all they could to be sure their wedding was perfect!

Khilna and Sunny met through mutual friends, and after a while realized that their bond was much more than just friendship. After spending some time together, they knew they wanted to be with each other forever. With a surprise proposal that involved their closest friends, view of the city skyline and a hidden camera, Sunny sealed the deal.

On August 18, 2018, the couple tied the knot at the The Westin Atlanta Perimeter North, in Atlanta, Georgia. They planned the entire wedding themselves, with Sunny close friend Beena Patel playing an essential role. Beena was a huge help to Khilna and Sunny as they went about shortlisting and managing vendors, themes, timelines and all details.

Khilna and Sunny chose to host a daytime wedding, with traditional red and gold colors as the theme. The mandap’s base was covered in flowers, while the aisle was decorated with elephant statues, flowers, and candles in water vases. Sunny made his way to the venue in a Lamborghini Huracan Spyder, and Khilna entered the ceremony in a doli.

The reception featured an all-white floral theme with gold accents. The couple also added a fun, DIY detail to their reception decor. For the table numbers, they used photos from their pre-wedding shoot, and on the back of each photo they stenciled out the numbers with glitter.

For Sunny and Khilna, dance and music was the most important part of all their wedding functions. They wanted to be sure their guests enjoyed themselves dancing through the night, which they did thanks to their DJ who played Bollywood hits, Bhangra, Hip-Hop, Spanish mixes, and house music. Even for their entrance to the reception, the couple did a surprise dance performance for their guests. The evening ended with another wow moment for their guests – a flash mob of over 50 people taking over the dance floor.

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Posted on: 12-4-2018 by: Deshvidesh

Susan and Nirlep’s story is one of an online friendship that became a love marriage. The couple first began chatting online, during which time both Susan and Nirlep developed a fondness for one other and decided to meet in Augusta in 2016. While Susan lives in Cordele, Georgia, and Nirlep Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the distance of a six hour drive didn’t keep the two from meeting frequently. The two dated for almost a year and traveled together to beautiful locales such as Charleston, Savannah, Atlanta, and Las Vegas.

After dating for some time, Nirlep proposed to Susan on July 2, 2017 in the most unique way. He wrote the proposal in the form of a prescription on his pad and handed it to her because for Nirlep, this was the ideal way for a physician to propose to a pharmacist. After handing her the prescription proposal, Nirlep got down on one knee and placed the ring on her finger. Though nervous and overwhelmed, Susan was thrilled for the proposal. After the proposal, the coupe joined friends on a trip to Spain.

Susan and Nirlep hired Nadira with Envi Event Planning to coordinate their wedding. As they wanted a destination wedding, they decided an event management company would ensure their families did not go through the stress of planning such a big wedding. The couple decided to hold their wedding at The Grand at Moon Palace in Cancun, Mexico, on the beach on February 18, 2018 as their wedding date.

Pre-wedding events rituals included a Grah Shanti puja and a welcoming dinner for everyone.

The beach wedding was attended by 200 guests. Décor followed a white and red theme. Nirlep entered in a golf cart while “Aje Se Tera” from Padman in played in the background. Susan made her entrance to “Din Shagna Da” from the movie Phillauri.

The bride and groom’s first dance at the reception was “The Way you Look Tonight.” Susan and her father danced to “Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.” “Dheere Dheere Se” was the song for the cake cutting dance. Dance performances entertained guests as did a mix of Hindi and American songs.

The couple took extra care in choosing the food for events as both families love great food. Some extra flavor was added by Susan’s family as they arranged for special Indian snacks. Susan’s sisters and cousins played a big role in making the wedding a lovely event. It was a great vacation and wedding weekend for everyone who attended.

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Rachna Patel fell in love when she met Siddhant Desai at the Albany Garba in 2009 while they were both in high school.

The duo lived in neighboring towns, but never spoke. They started dating in 2010, got engaged in January 2017 and hitched in Georgia on November 25, 2017.

It was a romantic proposal for Rachna at the picturesque Hoboken Park in NYC. Siddhant hired a professional photographer to snap pictures against the city skyline as he got down on one knee. Rachna was shocked as Siddhant had a proposal ring, and not the engagement ring. She got two rings!

The two were married at Chehaw Park & Zoo in Albany, Georgia, with 400 guests in attendance. Rachna wanted an outdoor wedding and the zoo was their favorite. With tall trees, an open green field and river behind the hall, it was the perfect venue.

The pre-wedding events were pithi and grahshanti and were held in the zoo hall. The mehendi was organized at the Araamda Inn, and the garba at the Hilton Garden Inn & Suite in Albany. Rachna and Siddhant didn’t hire a wedding planner as so many family members and friends helped them. Decor was done by Mandap World.

The wedding began regally with Siddhant arriving in a black convertible Bentley and Rachna in a doli. At the wedding, baby elephant installations were erected at the mandap entrance. The bride and groom were dressed in floral outfits. The tables had flowers and tall crystal candle columns.

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Warm glances, shared laughter, loving stares. Bold colors, elegant mandaps, unique table settings. Weddings are special events that are celebrated for an entire lifetime through photographs. Whether a stolen glance or a planned pose, couples and their families can relive the celebrations through heartfelt moments captured by photographs.

Special thanks to the photographers who contributed these beautiful images: Anand Event Services, Digital Dream Studio, Fine Art Productions, Sona Photography, and Zamana Lifestyles.