Ceremonies & Traditions

What is Mehendi Ceremony?

The mehendi ceremony is a pre-wedding function, usually held one or two days before the wedding, at which the bride's hands and feet are decorated with henna while family and friends celebrate with music, dance and food.

Mehendi Ceremony explained

Guests often get smaller designs too, which is why families book a lead bridal artist plus one or more artists for guests. The function is usually colourful and informal, with green and yellow outfits common.

Its timing is practical as well as traditional: applying the bride's mehendi 1-2 days early means the stain peaks on the wedding day.

Also searched as: mehndi function · mehendi raat · mehndi night · mehendi rasam

Mehendi designs related to mehendi ceremony

Full Hand Bridal Mehendi

Full hand bridal mehendi is a design that covers both palms, the backs of the hands and the forearms, usually up to or past the elbow, and is the centrepiece of a bride's wedding look.

Hidden Name Mehendi

Hidden name mehendi is a tradition in which the artist conceals the groom's name or initials within the bride's design, and the groom is challenged to find it.

Groom (Dulha) Mehendi

Groom mehendi is the henna applied to the groom, ranging from a single shagun dot or palm circle to minimal line art, the bride's initials or a small motif on the palm.

Related mehendi terms

Bridal MehendiBridal mehendi is the elaborate henna applied to a bride before her wedding, usually covering both hands to the elbow and both feet, and often including personal elements such as portraits or the groom's hidden name.SangeetSangeet is a pre-wedding celebration of music and dance in North Indian, Gujarati and many other Indian weddings, where both families perform for the couple. It is often combined with, or held near, the mehendi function.Rasm-e-HeenaRasm-e-Heena is the henna ritual in Muslim weddings in India and Pakistan, at which the bride's mehendi is applied and family members bless her, often with songs, sweets and a small dot of henna on her palm.Guest MehendiGuest mehendi is the quicker, lighter mehendi applied to family and friends at a wedding, mehendi function or festival - typically half-hand Arabic, Indo-Western or minimal designs that take 10-30 minutes per person.

Ready to book your mehendi artist?

Compare verified artists, portfolios and per-hand prices across Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane.