Mendhi is one of the oldest forms of body art known to man. The word derives from the Sanskrit "mendhika" which refers to the henna plant from which the mixture to create the artwork is created. Henna is a small shrub which is found in India, Africa, Malaysia, and the Middle East, and the branches and leaves produce the reddish/orange dye that forms the mendhi paste.
The paste is usually made from dried henna leaves which have been ground and sieved and are then mixed with water, lemon juice, and a little oil of eucalyptus, and this is then poured into a small plastic cone for application. Long ago, the mendhi would have been applied to the bride's arms, hands, and feet by an aunt or a sister who had the appropriate skills, but today this has been taken over by professional mendhi artists who are specialists in the latest trends of henna art.
The actual mendhi ceremony traditionally takes place on the morning before the wedding ceremony itself and usually requires mendhi stages hire for the bride to recline upon while the mendhi is applied. The mendhi stages hire can be as elaborate or as minimalist as the bride and her family decide, and it is really the "girls' day out" before the wedding itself – somewhat similar to the stag night that the boys will have.
The mendhi can be applied to the bride's fingers and palm on both sides and forearm up to above the elbows, together with her feet and legs up to just below the knee, depending on her preference. Traditionally, the groom's initials are incorporated somewhere in the design, and after the wedding ceremony itself one of the things that happens is that the groom has to search for them and find them, which can cause a considerable amount of fun, since if he cannot find them the bride is said to be the dominant one in the marriage.
There are several companies in the UK that specialise in mendhi stages hire, and most of them will have a gallery on their website so that you can get some ideas for this special occasion.
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