Mehndi Design Inspiration & Tips

An important part of being a South Asian bride is getting that perfect, dark mehndi in time your wedding day. Thankfully, I really loved the way my mehndi turned out, so here are some great tips for getting your perfect mehndi design and color!

Send a draft design to your mehndi artist beforehand

Draw out the design (if you can) and send it to your mehndi artist beforehand. My sister drew mine on Adobe draw. After choosing my mehndi artist, we looked at her instagram account for inspiration. We mixed and matched parts of her previous designs to create our own. The day of my mehndi event, she improvised on some parts, and I was really happy with the final look.

This was the design for the back of my hands. I especially loved the rose-lattice pattern.

Have your feet done the previous day

As most brides probably know, you're stuck sitting in a chair for 4+ hours getting your mehndi done. I chose to get my feet done a day before my hands, to give me more flexibility to move around the day of the mehndi event.

How to get the dark mehndi color

This was how dark my mehndi color came out for my wedding day:

In order to get it this dark, my mehndi artist put lemon and sugar on it throughout the day as I was getting my mehndi done, and then I did that a few more times after she left. After my mehndi was completely dried, I put Vick's vapor rub all over my hands and my feet, and I didn't touch water for about 72 hours.

Fun tip: hide your partner's name in your mehndi design!

@arushihariani Reply to @richhhah12 mehndi design! #greenscreen #shaadi #weddingtiktok #browngirl #browntiktok #mehndi #henna #bride #desibride #POV ♬ original sound - Arushi Hariani