Planning a home mehendi function

A home mehendi function works best when you plan it around the artists, not around dinner. A guest design takes about 20 minutes per hand, so one artist can do around eight to ten guests an hour, a little fewer if everyone wants both hands. For 20 guests over an evening, two artists are enough. For 40, book four.

Light matters more than people expect. Mehendi is detailed work, and a dim drawing room with yellow bulbs slows everyone down. Set us up near a window for an afternoon function, or give each artist a table lamp after sunset. We bring our own clip-on lights, but a plug point nearby helps.

Give each artist a low chair or a stool, a small table or cushion for the guest’s arm, and keep a corner free of the dance floor. Guests with wet mehendi need somewhere to sit while it dries, ideally away from children and the food. Keep a few towels and a box of tissues nearby.

Start with the bride or the guest of honour if there is one, then the elders, who often do not want to wait long. Ask guests to wash and dry their hands before they sit and to avoid lotion that day. Serve snacks on toothpicks or in small cups so people with wet hands can still eat. And do not schedule a group photograph until most people have dried.