How I Styled My Sister’s Mehndi During COVID
Tips for creating an aesthetic Mehndi design at home.
Writing my first blog on The Desi Diaries about my sister's COVID wedding feels surreal, as though it happened in a different lifetime. The pandemic, however, proved to be a turning point that ignited my passion for styling and deepened my appreciation for Indian culture and aesthetics. Amidst the lockdowns of 2020, with only so many TV shows to watch, I found solace in watching Bollywood dance scenes on YouTube. Watching the vibrancy of colours, and the intricate details of each setting, not only made me feel happy during lockdown but it inspired me to take on the challenge to style my sister's Mehndi ceremony at home. Being a lover of modern design, I wanted my sister's Mehndi to represent my modern style but still have traditional touches. Discover the steps I took to create an aesthetic Mehndi design at home.
Step 1: Start with a Pinterest Board
Growing up in the south of Sydney, I haven’t had the opportunity to attend many Mehndi events. I took to Pinterest for inspiration and created a Pinterest board of modern Mehndi designs, vibrant décor ideas, and potential colour palettes. This board laid the direction for the Mehndi design.
Step 2: Bring Your Vision to Life in Photoshop
With the Pinterest board in my mind, I turned to Photoshop to create a rough mock-up of how I wanted the Mehndi setup to look. Visualising the design on screen allowed me to refine and perfect the layout before translating it into reality.
Step 3: Find Suppliers According to Your Budget
Once I was happy with the mock-up, I researched various suppliers to help me achieve the design I had in mind. This was one of the most challenging aspects, as there were limited stores open due to COVID restrictions. I had to rely purely on getting everything online. This was difficult as didn't know if I would get everything on time - there were lots of shipping delays in general due to COVID. After extensive research I managed to get everything delivered on time - from lights to marigold garlands (all the way from India).
Step 4: Find an Apprentice
(aka my Dad)
Once I had all my supplies it was time to start preparing everything for the event. Acknowledging that the task was too difficult to undertake alone I hired an apprentice (aka my Dad) to help me with the next steps…
Step 5: Prepare the Structure in Advance
With my apprentice now hired, we began to hang all the lights up, create the frame for the back drop & assemble the flowers onto the backdrop. The advantage of getting fake flowers helped, as we could do this in advance and didn’t have to worry about whether the florists will be open or not due to COVID. Creating the structure 1-2 weeks in advance, allowed sufficient time to fine-tune every detail and get any more supplies if required.
Step 6: The Finishing Touch
As the momentous day approached, I actually stripped back on some of the elements I originally planned to use. After seeing my sister’s lehenga (which was a pastel pink) I wanted her to stand out so I removed the dark colours from the setting so it wouldn’t clash with her outfit (gotta look good for the gram).
The journey of crafting my first aesthetic Mehndi design, strengthened my bond with Indian culture and its captivating aesthetics. My sister's Mehndi resulted in cherished memories that will be in our hearts forever <3
