Mehndi Brunch.

Getting your mehndi done as a bride is something just so special. Something I was looking forward to ever since I found Divya, who also goes by 'Henna by Divya' over on Instagram. I have followed her work for years & always had this dream of her doing my bridal mehndi. I definitely put it out into the universe & I was so excited that we could make it work when the time came. She was definitely the first 'supplier' I booked (pretty much the week we got engaged!). I say 'supplier' because she is definitely more of a friend - she's such a beautiful, soul that's full of light.

I thought it would be best to do it as a brunch style event, on the morning of our Fiesta day. It was a very chilled out morning which took place in our suite we stayed at. We wanted our guests to feel al relaxed as possible, so there wasn't much of a dress code but it was very relaxed, light Indian clothes or English clothes (whatever they felt comfortable in). It started around 10 am, although my day started at 5.30 am in the morning so that Divya could make an early start on my hands and feet & finished around 1pm.

As this was more of a girly event, we asked the ladies & girls to pop over to our suite after having breakfast to get their mehndi done & have a little dance! We played lots of Bollywood songs from our Bose Speaker, danced, ate, drank & chatted the morning away! As a little gift for when everyone arrived at the mehndi brunch, everyone was given a beautiful, handcrafted floral tikka on a pearl chain by Maari Floral as well as a welcome drink. There were hair grips & gold flash tattoos at the ready for everyone as well. Whilst this was happening in our suite, the boys were all having a sporty morning playing volleyball & football (soccer) on the beach.

Some of my Mehndi favourites.

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We had such a beautiful spread of fresh fruits, pastries, sandwiches, hot drinks, juices & our very own bartender set up in the suite. We always felt that the team there went above and beyond at every event. The resort was super accomodating when it came to our vegetarian requirements throughout our time there. For the week we stayed there, the chefs at the resort made special vegetarian burgers at the pool bar & grill for all our guests!

My mum actually taught the head chef at the resort how to make Indian chai. My mum & aunty made some fresh homemade chai masala that we took over there which always went down a treat at every event we hosted. We were really lucky to have such an intimate space & it is definitely something to look into if suite spaces are free or available during your stay - you can definitely turn them into a bit of an event area!

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I went for a bright look this day. House of Masaba was the choice of lengha. I love this lengha so much, the colour combination was just perfect - it even had pockets! I did my usual base with a super bright hot pink lipstick to compliment my outfit. I wore the Tarte Tartiest creamy matte lip paint in the shade 'Adorbs' & more gorgeous faux floral jewellery from Maari Floral.

 

When it came to my actual mehndi, Divya's brief was to do whatever she wanted to. Her work is so beautiful & I wanted to make sure she had full reign on the design, look & feel of it. The only thing I mentioned to her was that I wanted something quite simple on my feet. It turned out more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. When I look back it right now as I type this post, the thought of my bridal henna makes me want to get married all over again!

 

We hired a local company called Loto Mendhi, based in Cancun, to do the henna for all our other guests. They came with 3 henna artists to ensure there was plenty of time to get everyone's mehndi done in the 3 hours of the brunch. However, Divya did my henna as well as my 2 mums & 3 sisters-in-law too.

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Once my beautiful mehndi was done, I had it on for around 6 hours before it got wiped away at the Fiesta... but the colour was insane! I would say it's a mixture of the pure quality of henna that Divya uses, the heat from the beautiful Mexican weather & most importantly the amount of love Vex has for me in his heart! Haha, I had to get that in there 🙂

 

I did get Divya to hide his name into the mehndi & it was such a hard spot but he totally found it after a few minutes!