Wedding day is a very important day in a couple’s life as this is a beginning of their new life. We work with the resort to include all activities leading up to and including the wedding ceremony. Depending on the number of days you would like to stay at the resort, we can include many events- like mehndi, barat, walima etc-celebrated in eastern countries. Mehndi is a pre wedding ritual which is mostly celebrated in India and Pakistan. This ritual has been practiced generation after generation. Mehndi is the most important event for girls as young girls put mehndi/henna of different patterns on their hands, arms and feet. It is a very stylish event: bride and young girls wear traditional dresses including lehngas, gharara, anarkali frocks etc. mostly yellow color is worn on mehndi including bride.
The Mehndi Dances
Young girls and boys present different dance performances. Bride wears yellow dress with yellow bangles and other floral accessories of ears and feet. The interior decor for mehndi party is also unique and very traditional; mostly people create different kind of themes with fitting mehndi decorations. Mehndi decorations include tents, pillows, cushions, rugs, dance floor, lamps, candles etc.
Cultural jewelry made of different ethnic and stylish cultural stones is worn on mehndis, including mang tikas, and bangles. Mehndi party is organized with sangeet function. The gathering mostly includes bride’s friends and other close relatives; girls dance and sing traditional songs. Normally white and black colors are not worn on these kinds of events as white is worn at funerals and black signifies mourning. During the ceremony of the bride mehndi trays are brought by the sister’s in-law. In the same traditional way these trays are much decorated with mirrors and other floral accessories. After this all the relatives come one by one and put mehndi on the bride’s hand.
The Doli
Nowadays there is a very good culture of bringing the bride in a carriage which is called a doli. Some of the resorts we work with have carriages on property. (Horses are also often available for the groom to ride into the wedding ceremony.) The family members welcome the bride by doing a special dance called bhangra on dhol. The whole night is spent applying henna (we work with local artists to do this for guests) on hands, feet, arms and legs etc. and singing traditional songs. This tradition is almost 5000 years old.
We can arrange for local dancers to be part of the entertainment. The menu of the party mostly includes tradition dishes like haleem, karahi etc. We have flown in chefs from New York to prepare these foods. Mayuon is also a very important event of wedding which is related with mehndi, after mayuon the bride and the groom are not allowed to meet each other before wedding.
Dholki
Dholki is also a part of mehndi which includes different dances and a sing song session. The invitation cards are also very eye catching and include a list of all unmarried girls of the bride’s family. The bride and the bride groom are loaded with many kinds of garlands on the mehndi day.
Throughout the world people are fascinated by this wedding event. Attending a wedding at a tropical beach resort can be especially memorable. In any setting these traditional values and cultures are passed from generation to generation and are always treasured.
