Bridal Mehndi Artists Share Their Most Memorable Wedding Experiences

Irrespective of the diverse communities and cultures across India, the mehndi ceremony is a common ritual when it comes to weddings. In fact, henna art for brides is an important part of weddings in South Asia. Over the years, we’ve seen some incredible mehndi patterns on brides, all thanks to the talented henna artists who have made a name for themselves with their unique craft. But even these experts cannot escape the wild chaos that is a wedding!

From brides forgetting they have undried mehndi on their hands to deal with last-minute make-up emergencies, these bridal mehndi artists have seen it all. We spoke to some of the top names in the country and here’s what they have to say about their most memorable wedding experiences…

Bridal Henna Artists Share Their Most Challenging Experiences

When the bride’s sweet disposition saved the day

“My journey into mehndi art was entirely accidental when I started four decades ago,” recalls celebrity mehndi artist Veena Nagda, “I first applied mehndi for a family member’s wedding and that was when actor Poonam Dhillon spotted my work since then there has been no looking back.”, The artist, who has worked with celebrity brides like Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor, and Priyanka Chopra, recalls her most memorable wedding experience, saying, “In so many years of my journey there have been multiple incidents where I had to redo the entire mehndi because of some silly mistakes by brides, but I never complained because I really enjoy my work. But there was this one incident where I put my foot down. There was a bride who had selected her design very carefully and had maintained utmost patience throughout the application process. But as soon as her groom entered the wedding venue and the music started playing she went ahead and started dancing and spoiled the entire design. Though I was constantly telling her to wait for a while, she paid no heed to my requests. I was furious at her carelessness. I told her that I won't reapply the whole thing again. But the girl’s sweet reaction dissolved all my anger. As she was aware of my previous work, she told me that my mere presence at her wedding was a blessing for her and it was ok if I chose not to apply it again. Though outwardly I kept a straight face and was furious at the girl because she had spent so much money and all of it had been wasted, her sweet and innocent manner of acknowledging her mistake dissolved all my anger.”

When the bride’s mehndi caused a mini make-up disaster

Celebrity bridal mehndi artist Usha Shah recollects one of the silliest incidents that happened during a wedding., “I had applied mehndi onto the bride's hands very diligently and was confident that the design would come out well the next morning but in the morning I got a video call from the bride where she showed me the imprint of the henna design on her face. I had to struggle hard to hold my laughter in! She had slept during the night in such a position that the entire imprint of the design got copied onto her face. I immediately reached the wedding venue and instructed her makeup artist on how to conceal the henna imprint on her face. The MUA followed instructions and our collaboration saved the bride from embarrassment on her wedding day.”

When the bride tried blaming the Henna artist for her mistake

Bridal mehndi artist Anjum Kousar and her mother Ayesha Taj, also a henna artist and a forever inspiration, have found themselves confounded by brides many times in their journey.  “One of our brides had done Jagua Henna, which is also known as the black henna. She was in a hurry and we were repeatedly asking her to pause and let the henna dry, but she did not listen to us. She had the entire design customised with tigers and animals. So, the next day when we saw the design her hands were completely black. Brides fail to understand that black Henna takes time to show up and you don't see the design immediately. Though we were asking her to pause and dry it for a while, she self-assured that it would dry on her way to the event venue. When it didn’t turn out the way she wanted it, she tried blaming us that we should have told her about how black henna works. My mother and I put our foot down and told her it was an act of negligence on her end!” recalls Ayesha, adding, “My advice to all brides opting for black henna is to allow it to dry and then remove it with the help of a breathable Mefix tape so that the design does not get runny even if the temperatures get hot.”

When the mehndi artist had to make a quick escape from the venue

Surat-based bridal mehndi artist Harin Dalal recollects one of the incidents where he was left with no choice but to escape from the wedding venue.“In the many years of my journey, there was one incident where the client had multiple functions on one day. So, right after the mehndi was done, the music started playing and the bride dived into the pool while her mehndi was still wet and it got washed away! I was scared that I would have to redo the entire thing. Luckily I had a flight to India that day and another booking, so after informing a few family members, I quietly sneaked out of the wedding venue!” he recalls, “My advice to all to-be brides is that please don't keep your Mehndi ceremony in between your wedding festivities. Allocate proper time for your Mehndi as it is a time-consuming and intricate process.”

When the bride’s good intentions spoiled the mehndi

“My earliest association with Henna art happened in my school days,” says bridal mehndi artist Komal Kishor Khot “I started my journey after college and it has been ten years since I am doing this. I have had many memorable and funny incidents during this decade. One of the most memorable events was when the bride wanted to protect her mehndi but ended up spoiling it further. The bride applied a cling wrap onto the design while it was still semi-dry to shield it from getting spoiled. The entire mehndi got smudged. So, the only thing that I could do then was carefully scrape out the smudged portions of the design to prevent them from spoiling further!

When the bride was too tipsy to pay attention to her Mehndi

Bridal Mehndi artist Sona Mistry converted her love for art and mehndi into a career and has charted a successful journey as a bridal mehndi artist. She reveals that one of the most memorable experiences in her journey happened when a bride couldn’t handle her alcohol!  “The bride had gulped down two bottles of alcohol and she was not in her senses. So, she placed her Mehndi wet hands onto her embroidered lehenga! The music was on full volume and this bride was sloshed. I tried holding her hand and tried to adjust the damage that had been done, but she was really eager to go and dance and refused to cooperate with me. So, I decided to finish the design as soon as I could and I left the venue. Since then I advise all brides not to get drunk during their mehndi functions!”.