Karwa Chauth 2018: Bridal mehendi now spells the love story
Karwa Chauth 2018: Pre-bridal shoots showcasing couple’s love story is passé, and so is playing AV at the venue. The new-age brides are now incorporating their love stories in their mehendi designs.
Great love stories ought to be told. And if you have had one such amazing one, what’s a better day than your wedding to tell all your family and friends about it. Pre-bridal shoots showcasing such stories is passé, even playing AV at the venue has made way to brides embroidering their love stories on the lehenga, such as designer Kresha Bajaj who had embroidered it on her bridal lehenga in 2016.
Cut to 2018: the brides are now tattooing the love stories with their henna tattoos or mehendi. The wedding mehendi is becoming a medium to tell where it all started, where and how the proposal took place and even some of the favourite food and places the couple is fond of.
Actor Yuvika Chaudhary, who got proposed by Prince Narula on a reality show with a heart-shaped parantha, got the moment incorporated in her bridal mehendi. Even actor Shweta Tripathi had the elements of her journey with her partner, actor-rapper Chaitanya Sharma, in her mehendi design. She says, “I had a rollercoaster added to my mehendi, because he had asked me out, five years ago, at an amusement park. It also symbolises our relationship as we love adventures. Then there were theatre masks, as we both are actors; a football because that’s his first love; along with a few elements from our invitation card, and designs from our wedding outfits.”
A Mumbai-based fashion blogger Masoom Minawala also customised her bridal mehendi. She says, “I wanted it to describe our love story. So I got a London Eye in my design, because that’s where my now-husband proposed to me, when we started dating; and a Mumbai skyline as he proposed to me for marriage there.”
Brides in the Capital are also lapping up the idea. Niharika Jain, a Gurugram resident, incorporated sketches of a globe, an aeroplane and tiny hearts, for a package of ₹35,000. She says, “As a couple we keep travelling; and hearts because we don’t fight on our trips.” She also adds, “I also got the logo of my husband’s wedding photography company included, for I have seen it from inception and has seen it grow so big.”
Wedding photographer duo, Shruti and Jayant, recall a bride’s mehendi design where, “The bride’s left hand had burger and fries depicting their first date, and her right hand had a caricature of the groom wearing what was the bride’s first gift to him. Also, London Bridge and Caribbean - the places they were going for their honeymoon”.
An international mehendi artist, Divya Patel, feels that brides now want to give their design a personal touch. She says, “ At least 90% of the brides want their mehendi to reflect their love story.” She shares, “I’ve done numerous different things in bridal henna - skylines (Toronto, New York, London, Washington, etce); logos, mostly for sports teams; and quotes and special dates(wedding date, date of proposal etc.).”
Jyoti Chheda, who designed Yuvika Chaudhary and Shweta Tripathi’s mehendi , charges approx ₹25,000 for bridal mehendi. She says, “It’s great to see brides personalising their mehendi.” However, Delhi-based mehendi artist Raju feels that traditional mehendi designs are evergreen and this craze is sure to fade away.
If you are also planning to use mehendi as a tool to tell your story, Shweta Tripathi suggests, “Choose elements that you think are best for you... because people will look at the mehendi for a few seconds, you have to live with it for week, so it should make you happy.”
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