We are kicking off three blog posts from Aarti and Rasesh’s Hindu wedding right here with the Mehndi night. During this event, the amazing Mehndi artist Ravie Kattaura did her magic on Aarti’s arms while her sisters and friends entertained the bride with games, dances, and songs. We had beautiful weather on this warm summer evening in Walnut Creek and had a blast seeing familiar faces from a past wedding we shot last spring.

Not all brides have a professional photographer at the Mehndi, but we think there is a huge importance to having us photograph the Mehndi night. Some benefits of having us photograph and/or film the Mehndi are as follows:

-Photograph the bride prior to her getting her Mehndi done. This is most preferable since she has mobility to move her arms and do some poses like the one you see below here. Also, hair and makeup is fresh so why not do a little shoot?

-Photograph the Mehndi process. This is where we can get artsy closeup shots of the henna being applied and, as well as, a few informal portraits of her with her arms extended getting done up. We also get time to chat with the bride and this is important since the weekend will go by so fast and usually we have not hung out with the bride since the engagement photo shoot.

-Meet all the family members and close friends so we know their names, relationship to the bride, and of course, get photos of all of them throughout the night.

-Do a mini-shoot with the bride once the henna is applied so we can have fun with it while it is a rich black color and has colorful glitter. The glitter is basically for looks only and won’t be there the following day so this is the time to get some once in a lifetime images. This is where we use off camera flash for dramatic and high contrast images. Why not be experimental and grow as artists? This is where we try out some new creative ideas but also do some true, tried, and tested favorite shots that we know brides love!

-Photograph all the decor, performances, and take some casual family portraits since they will have new outfits on the next day. This opportunity to photograph the family is also a good practice run for them since they will feel more comfortable posing the next day once they have already been through it once.

If you are having an Indian wedding in the Bay Area, we would love to hear from you and if you need a Mehndi artist, you must call Ravie Kattaura!