All you ladies out there must take que from the 'mehendi' designs chosen by the leading divas of Bollywood, for your special occasions, that would surely set your glamour quotient aside.
One of the most integral rituals of a big, fat Indian wedding is the mehendi ceremony. It is the day when the brides decked up in all their wedding finery, and etch beautiful designs on the palms of their hands using a paste of henna. While surely the smell of the mehendi brings back many nostalgic memories for the bride, it is the design on their palms that often sweetly knit stories of the love and companionship that awaits the bride in the happiest phase of her future.
Here we have curated a list of mehendi inspirations taken from the celebrity brides of Bollywood, which would give you a cue for the designs you choose to etch on your hands.
The first diva up on the list is none other than Alia Bhatt. She tied the knot with her soulmate, Ranbir Kapoor on April 14, 2022. While her wedding festivities were extremely low-key, and as she had quoted, she got married literally on the ‘balcony of her house’. Much like the entire theme of her D-Day, Alia’s mehendi spoke tons about her love for everything simple, minimalistic yet sophisticated. She had a small mandala circle etched on both the front and back side of her palm, along with delicate vine-like patterns on her fingers. Her minimalist mehendi not only blended well with her overall ivory-hued attire, but also let her engagement ring steal the show in its own merit.
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Katrina Kaif broke a million hearts when she vacated the bachelorette position and tied the knot with Vicky Kaushal on December 9, 2021. Despite being from British descent, Katrina left no stone unturned to tune in with the happy colours of the Punjabi wedding with Vicky. Speaking about the diva’s mehendi, she opted for a traditional, full arm style, that was full of intricate ethnic motifs and patterns. In fact, what stood out from her design was that she didn’t overcrowd the mehendi as it also played a lot with empty spaces, that enhanced the overall look.
If you’re looking for a mehendi design inspiration that is neither too gawdy nor too plain, you should definitely check out Anushka Sharma’s wedding mehendi design for inspiration. For the unversed, she tied the knot with the captain of Indian cricket team, Virat Kohli on December 11, 2017. On a closer look at the diva’s mehendi ceremony that had surfaced online, one can spot a number of arch motifs and temple patterns on the centre of her palm. She ditched covering all of her hand and left some spaces right at the point of her knuckles. On her fingers, the diva etched some sleek patterns, which looked absolutely chic.
Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja tied the knot in a dreamy ceremony in 2018. The duo had ditched lavish destination weddings and opted for a grand one in Mumbai itself. While all of her looks for the wedding festivities were spell-binding, it was her elegant mehendi design that grabbed eyeballs. Much like her experimental stance towards fashion, Sonam’s mehendi too reverberated the same vibe. The design featured ample floral motifs, including the auspicious lotus, tulips and buds, along with vines and leaves.
Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh got hitched against the picturesque background of Lake Como in Italy in 2018. While the duo had a strict no picture policy for their wedding, it was later when they gradually shared beautiful snapshots from their memorable day. For her mehendi ceremony, Deepika donned a pink-hued sheer saree, teamed with a maroon stole. However, it was the rich dark colour of her mehendi that grabbed the attention. While the dark colour surely symbolised the gehra pyaar of the couple, it was the stunning traditional designs of henna on Deepika’s hands that were unmissable. The designs included temple arch motifs, classic swirls and peacock motifs.
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While most wedding mehendi designs have the same pattern etched on both palms, Bipasha Basu chose to give it a different twist in her case. The diva painted the palms of both her hands with slightly different patterns altogether. Moreover, she didn’t overcrowd the space, and included some blank spaces, that gave it a nice balance. In fact, she left the pads of her finger tips bare, which matched the cocktail vibe of her outfit for mehendi. However, the highlight of her mehendi design was the two cute caricatures of monkeys, as the duo often call their lovestory as 'Monkey Love'.
Dia Mirza and Vaibhav Rekhi’s eco-friendly wedding celebrations in 2021 had set a new trend for weddings for multiple reasons. While the eco-friendly touch to their special day was noteworthy, along with that due to the presence of a female priest, however, it was the sheer simplicity of the scale of celebrations that won hearts. Speaking about Dia’s mehendi, the diva opted for a subtle choice of pattern on her hand, that included tons of natural motifs, especially those of leaves and plants. But, it was the presence of a beautiful mor pankh design, which set it apart from all means.
Priyanka Chopra got married to Nick Jonas in a lavish destination wedding in Jodhpur’s Umaid Bhawan Palace on December 1, 2018. While the duo surely were an epitome of cross-cultural amalgamation, hence the desi girl took it upon herself to ring in her special day following the true cultural roots of her country. And the same was reflected in the mehendi design she opted to etch. Not just her hands, she also etched beautiful designs of henna on her legs, which is a common custom of most Indian brides. Certainly, on a closer look, the highlight of her mehendi design on her hands is the motif of a raja and rani, which was just pretty.
Mouni Roy tied the knot with the man of her dreams, Suraj Nambiar on January 27, 2022. The duo, who come from different creative fields tied the knot following both their distinct Bengali and Malayali rituals. However, when it comes to Mouni’s mehendi, the diva chose a modern sleek design, which boasted of being totally elegant. Her elbow-length mehendi amalgamated a few traditional motifs, along with ribbon-like geometric patterns. The highlight of the entire design was the initials of Mouni and Suraj etched on the upper palm of the diva.
Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra are one of the most-loved couples of Tinseltown. The duo tied the knot on February 7, 2023, in Jaisalmer. One glimpse at their wedding pictures, the sheer aesthetic vibe of the same was breathtaking. Be it the venue, wedding attire or just their happy faces, everything radiated pure bliss. Well, speaking about Kiara’s wedding mehendi design, she too followed the trend of minimalism, when it came to the design length and its style. With a traditional circular motif in the centre, she etched light geometrical patterned strokes on her fingers, which accentuated her overall look.
Which one of these mehendi designs is on your bucket list of inspiration? Let us know.
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