DIY Ethnic Garden Mehendi Ceremony
Divya & Vardahn
Featured Pros
Photography
Bride's Outfit
Hair & Makeup
Snapshot
About us
My husband, Vardahn and I were high school sweethearts. We started dating when I was 17, and eight years later we decided to tie the knot.
Wedding planning
Wedding planning was a little bit stressful because we were living in London at the time while our parents were back in D.C. meeting wedding professionals for us. So everything came together during the last few weeks while I was home.
Highlight
Planning the Mehendi event where I opted for DIY ideas at every opportunity I could!
The Details
Mehendi Ceremony
The Mehendi was my favorite event - it was just very "me." The theme was an ethnic Indian garden party brought to life with lots of DIY elements which I enjoyed putting together. I am Sindhi but grew up in Pune, so we had typical Maharashtran food (catered by Supriya Deval) in the evening, followed by a traditional Sindhi dinner (catered by Rani Jai Singh). Luckily the predicted rain held out until sunset, at which point we continued the dholak session inside. There was singing and dancing late into the night. It was perfect!

Decor & Unique Details
Apart from renting the tables from A Grand Event Party Rentals, I along with close friends and family mostly did all the decor the Mehendi event. We brought to life the 'Ethnic Garden Party' through some of my favorite DIY and unique details:
- Wall art - I painted a Varli mural of an Indian wedding procession in the backyard to set the mood.
- Bar stop - For a bar stop, we over decorated an old bike with everything we had at home and attached an ice bucket at the back for cold beer and ThumsUp!
- Painted tea sets - Purchased from A Krazy Mug, these added some color to the decor.
- Mehendi cookies - My cousins and aunts helped me bake and decorate mehendi themed cookies (Pinterest inspired) which turned out to be a hit.
- Mehendi popcorn - We also filled icing bags with popcorn to resemble mehndi cones.
- Favors - As a party favor, I picked up ethnic fabric clutches from Chimanlals in Mumbai and filled them with bindis.
- Food signs - I painted abstract art on mini canvases with the name of the dish and placed them on tiny easels.

The Look
DIVYA'S OUTFIT: I wanted something colorful and fun. I put the outfit together from different pieces all made by Ranjana in Pune.
JEWELRY: Envy Jewellery by Neelam Hiranandani based in New Delhi.
HAIR & MAKEUP: Mala Amin of Makeup by Mala did my hair and I kept did my own makeup, keeping it simple.
HENNA ARTIST: Mala Amin of Makeup by Mala.
VARDAHN'S OUTFIT: Custom made by a tailor in Karol Bagh, New Delhi.
