Remember the second jasmine jewelry set I showed you in this post Jasmine jewelry for weddings(?) well the bride wanted me to create a set of Silk thread wedding jewellery in pink color for her mehendi function. Like Haldi and Sangeet, Mehendi too is a pre-wedding function, where henna patterns are applied on the hands and legs of the bride and the women in the family. In some communities, a bit of henna is also applied to the grooms hands for good luck. Unlike Haldi, Sangeet and mehendi are now followed in the south of India too mainly due to Bollywood influence – as north Indian weddings tends to be more fun that South Indian weddings which are a bit serious and somber.
The most commonly known fact about Mehendi ceremony is that it is a beautification ritual; primarily one where the groom’s mother and sister initiate the bride to adorn herself for her groom. But mehendi or marudhani leaves have the medicinal property of cooling down the body (sometimes rapidly) and hence are said to relieve the bride of all the wedding stress and keep her cool even as she sits in front of the ceremonial fire during the course of the wedding. It is also said to enhance blood circulation in the body and promote general health as drops of essential oils such as eucalyptus oil, clove oil and lemon juice are added to the patterns which as an added bonus also enhance the color of the mehendi.
Coming back to this Silk thread wedding jewellery set, The bride wanted me to create accessories for the gorgeous champagne gold – pink- red Manish Malhotra lehengha below, which is stunning to say the least. She wanted elaborate bangles, big earrings and a maang tikka. She initially wanted Gota jewelry, but as I was just coming out the jhoomar order, I suggested silk thread to her instead. Mails flew between India and the US discussing color schemes, embellishments, timelines and most importantly how to get the set done, particularly the bangles done as I was really weak from working for Navaratri while having typhoid .
To be frank, I was a little surprised that this bride asked for bangles for mehendi, as the hands are usually left bare for application of henna. But then these days most brides get elaborate mehendi done which takes many hours, so they do it either before or after the actual function in the confines of their home or a beauty parlour and the function is more for family members as its combined with sangeet – the song and dance event
I hope you found it interesting
Cheers
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