Every lady wishes to look beautiful on her wedding day. So, it is obvious that every girl is designing her wedding outfits, best venues and planning other strives to get the best on this very day.
Bridal dresses play important role in getting bride beautiful. The outfit is supposed to be heavily embellished with stones and beads with shimmery embroideries and accessories that match up the attire. Most traditional of the color is red but brides now-a-days are trying out other colors in their dresses.
Like the dress, one of the most important rituals is mehndi in the wedding ceremony of India. During this ceremony, mehndi is applied in both bride and groom’s hands and feet in their respective homes. Mehndi ceremony is attended by family members, relatives and friends. It is held couple of days prior to the wedding ceremony. This ceremony is celebrated in night accompanied by music, food and lots of laughter. While mehndi is being applied, others attendees play dhol and dance as per rhythm. Moreover, every female member of the family gets mehndi done on their hands and feet.
Traditionally, mehndi designs were simple with circular pattern in the center of palm and nails. With modern aesthetics designs have become more intricate and ornate and are generally applied by mehndi design expert. Mehndi application is done on both the bride and groom. Mehndi on groom are simple token design that symbolizes good and auspicious omen. But the designs in brides’ are a whole different affair. It represents beauty with elegance.
Mehndi that is used during wedding ceremony are not just simple paste of henna leaves powder and water. Eucalyptus oil and a bit of clove and lemon are also added in the mixture. This not only helps in darkening color of mehndi but also gives medicinal benefits as well because its smell is regarded as highly therapeutic.
Weddings are stressful which causes to headaches and fevers. The mehndi helps to improve blood circulation and promotes general health. Application of mehndi on hands and feet targets the nerve endings in the body keeping the body cool and nerves from becoming tense. Mehndi is also antiseptic and act as a shield from cuts, burns and scratches and keep the couples healthy before their wedding.
In some designs, grooms’ names are written intricately and later on groom is asked to look for his name in the mehndi. There is whole different significance to application of mehndi, not just decoration or adornment on hands and feet of bride. There is a popular belief, that the darker the color the mehndi retains more prosperous and successful will be the marriage.
Not only in wedding ceremonies but mehndi is applied in festivals like Karva Chauth, Teej and Diwali. Similarly, Muslim women also apply mehndi in Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha.