Booking a mehendi artist online has replaced the old way of asking a neighbour or searching through wedding WhatsApp groups - but it only works well if you know what to look for. Start with the portfolio, not the price. Any real mehendi booking platform should show you actual photos of an artist's past work, not stock images. Scroll through at least 20-25 photos before deciding - a thin portfolio is a red flag, no matter how good the first three photos look. Check reviews for consistency, not just star ratings. A 4.8-star artist with three reviews tells you less than a 4.5-star artist with thirty. Look specifically for mentions of punctuality, hygiene, and whether the color came out dark - these three things matter more on the wedding day than anything else. Confirm home service coverage before you fall in love with a design. Many artists list a home city but charge extra - or simply don't travel - to specific suburbs. Message first, confirm your exact address is covered, and get the travel charge (if any) in writing. Lock your date early, especially for wedding season weekends (October to February in most of India). Bridal mehendi artists get booked out 4-6 weeks in advance during peak season. If your date is within two weeks, be upfront about that when you reach out - it filters out artists who can't fit you in, faster. Ask about design consultation. A good bridal mehendi artist will discuss your outfit, jewellery, and the occasions your mehendi needs to last through (haldi, sangeet, wedding) before quoting a final price. If an artist quotes without asking any of this, that's worth noting. Finally, use a platform that verifies artists rather than a random social media search. Verification usually means the artist's identity, portfolio, and pricing have been checked - which cuts out a lot of the guesswork and no-shows that come with booking through word of mouth alone.