Henna is a traditional form of body art that dates back thousands of years. Originated in the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent, henna leaves were dried, powdered, and soaked to create a paste that left temporary red, brown, or black stains on the skin. As a part of the South Asian tradition, mehndi (also spelled mehendi) is a form of body art that is typically applied to the palms, feet, and hands.
Today, there are countless henna styles out there for wedding occasions–designs for brides and bridesmaids, destination-inspired designs, designs that replicate accessories, criss-cross patterns, and so much more.
Brides are often given the opportunity to have their hands and feet painted with intricate patterns and designs before their wedding or even engagement day by actual professional mehndi artists. While both mehndi for palm hands and feet is considered a must, some brides even opt for a more extensive mehndi on legs and arms.
Not only is bridal mehndi beautiful, but it’s also associated with good fortune for the newlyweds, and the mehndi tradition is intrinsic to the wedding tradition itself. The darker the color of the mehndi, the greater the partner’s love for the bride.
If you’re in need of some creative inspiration for the auspicious occasion, we’ve got an amazing collection of the best bridal mehndi designs to inspire you. Whether you’re a bridesmaid hunting for a sangeet design or just want a unique mehndi design for your wedding, we’re sure that there will be at least one design here that will inspire you!
Classic & Traditional Bridal Mehndi Designs
Traditional Back-of-Hand Bridal Mehndi
This traditional wedding mehndi covers the back of the bride’s hands but keeps the front clean. Back-of-hand bridal designs are not only simply gorgeous, but they’re also convenient since they allow you to freely use your hands without worrying about smudging your mehndi.
Classic Gol Tikki Bridal Mehndi
The round (or tikki) bridal mehndi designs feature a circular motif in the center and a flourish along the fingers below the fingertips. Although simplistic, these designs can be personalized and are extremely versatile to give your mehndi a true classical spin.
Traditional Paisley Bridal Mehndi
Paisleys are a staple for any traditional mehndi because they are flowy yet grand. A classic paisley bridal mehndi look features paisleys overlapping each other, elaborately decorated with leaves, flowers, or checkered patterns.
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Couple Mehndi Designs
Bridal Mehndi with Initials
Try out this personalized couples design that uses your initials as you stare into each others’ eyes over seconds that feel like a lifetime.
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Bridal Mehndi with Couples in the Center
When two hearts come together, it’s like everything revolves around that special other. Express that feeling with the world with this couple mehndi design that places an illustration of the pair of lovers together between everything else.
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Bridal Full Hand Mehndi Designs
Full-Hand Mesh Tikki Bridal Mehndi
This design uses the classic tikki element and sets it on a mesh background for an eye-catching and dramatic evening glove look.
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Floral Band and Leaf Vines Bridal Mehndi
This geometric design is mostly pretty concrete with the straight leafy vines bordering four-petaled flower motifs, but the roses add a fresh touch to it.
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Haath Phool Bridal Mehndi
The haath phool are popular Indian wedding hand accessories that this design replicates, with the flower acting as the center medallion. These accessories are not only pretty, but they also have a great deal of cultural significance, too.
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Full Arm Mehndi Designs
South Asian Full Arm Bridal Mehndi
This long and detailed design is a tribute to Indian culture, featuring the traditional South Asian wedding attire, elephants, and wedding customs encased in traditional patterns.
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Lace Flower Vine Bridal Mehndi
A more muted full arm option, the flower vine design imitates an elaborate floral lace ribbon wrapped around your hands.
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Layered Bridal Mehndi
This grandiose design has different patterns in blocks/layers with empty spaces between each layer. The layers differ in thickness to create a more detailed look.
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Back-of-Hand Lattice Bridal Mehndi
This attractive criss-cross lattice pattern covers most of the surface while more varied designs are added to the fingertips and used intermittently throughout the design for some variety.
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Bridal Mehndi Designs for Feet
Anklet Bridal Mehndi for Feet
Anklets are common South Asian foot accessories, and this design creates the illusion of anklets for a really cool and gorgeous look. If you want your feet to be free of any accessories, this design is definitely worth a shot.
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Minimalistic Border Mehndi For Feet
This design is unlike anything else you’ve seen before. The intricate and delicate-looking border around your feet will definitely elevate your entire bridal look, and can serve as a great option for your bridesmaids, too.
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Classic Bridal Mehndi for Feet
If you want to go for the more classic route, this design has all the elements for a full and traditional mehndi that’ll make your feet look just as grand as the rest of your outfit.
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Bridal Mehndi Designs for Legs
Traditional Bridal Mehndi For Legs
The traditional mehndi design goes up to your calves, creating a complete picture in itself.
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Layered Bridal Mehndi Design for Legs
Another classic option, the layered mehndi design looks just as amazing on your legs as it does on your hands.
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Mandala Bridal Mehndi for Feet
The mandala style replicates the look of grand and winding jewelry all across your feet and legs with symmetric, circular patterns.
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Unique Bridal Mehndi Design
Bridal Mehndi That Tells A Story
Want to tell the world your love story on your big day? This design is highly personalized and incorporates your couple milestones and special moments into your mehndi.
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Bangle Print Bridal Mehndi
This bangle-style mendhi is a minimalist look perfect for guests or bridesmaids.
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Animal Mehndi Designs
Elephants
If elephants fit your fancy, then how about this elephant mehndi? They’re gentle giants—animals of wisdom and knowledge. And having these on your wedding or engagement day symbolizes a wealth of longevity and wisdom for your married life - making them perfect for such an auspicious occasion.
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Birds
Symbolize the beauty of a bird’s song with this attractive mehndi design! Having these birds together symbolizes joy, happiness, and good fortune for the coming years to come.
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Peacocks
Majestic is a word for beautiful things, and peacocks are the prime symbols of majestic things! Since you’ll be at your most beautiful on your wedding day, you should try out a peacock mehndi to symbolize beauty, grandeur, and faithfulness.
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Heart Shape
Symmetrical Heart Mehndi
This lovely design incorporates hearts to create a symmetrical full palm and part-arm design.
Gol Tikki Heart Bridal Mehndi
This rendition of the classic gol tikki with a heart in the center will definitely be a really cute way to show your significant other how much they mean to you.
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Heart and Couple Bridal Mehndi
This design is perfect for brides who want to incorporate both hearts and their couple in their bridal mehndi.
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Floral Mehndi Designs for Wedding
Floral Bridal Design for Feet
This super cute and simple bridal mehndi design has flowers and vines across the tops of the feet and up the ankle and part of the calf. This can be paired with other floral designs across the bride’s hands and arms.
The Minimalist’s Floral Design
This mehndi design skips a full coverage and opts for a simple floral pattern across the back of the hands, forearms, and tops of the fingers.
Full Arm Florals
If you want a grand floral look has full open blooms up and down the arms, with leaf detailing into the palms.
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Symmetric Mehndi Designs for Wedding
Symmetrical Patterned Bridal Mehndi
If you want a chic bridal mehndi for your special day, this completely symmetrical style will ensure that you get the look you’re going for.
Minimalistic Symmetrical Bridal Mehnd
This mehndi design skips a full coverage and opts for a simple floral pattern across the back of the hands, forearms, and tops of the fingers.
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Classic Mehndi With a Symmetrical Twist
Although traditional bridal mehndi has different designs for each hand, this design has all the classic elements with a unique symmetrical spin. If you want both tradition and symmetry that’ll elevate your photographs, this style’s the one for you.
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Groom Mehndi Designs
Square Minimalistic Mehndi For Grooms
The square design is unique without being too out there, and pairs especially well with the bride’s gol tikki design.
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Geometric Strip Mehndi For Grooms
If you’re a groom looking for a simple but eye-catching palm design, the geometric style can help you leave a lasting impression.
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Back-of-Hand Mehndi For Grooms
Grooms tend to keep their mehndi on the simple side, but this attractive back option can elevate any typical design and make your mehndi look more complete and cohesive.
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Simple & Minimalist Mehndi Designs
Minimalist One-Finger Mehndi
While brides often opt for full-hand designs for their wedding day, bridesmaids, friends, and guests can opt for a much simpler design. One-finger mehndi has recently been surging in popularity because of how elegant yet simple it is.
The ring, thumb, or index finger has an elaborate ornamental pattern that starts from the fingertips and extends downwards, leaving the rest of the hand completely clean.
Simple Finger Bridal Mehndi
You can also choose finger mehndi that covers all fingers with small and intricate ornamental designs.
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Minimalist Diagonal Mehndi
Diagonal mehndi designs are a popular minimalistic option for those who want a signature mehndi look that’s not too overwhelming. The linear design extends diagonally from the tip of the index finger to the opposite end of the palm and leaves the rest of the hand empty.
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Culture-specific Mehndi Designs
Rajasthani Weddings
Rajasthani weddings are all about grandeur and colors, so you can bet that their mehndi designs are some of the most epic and intricate. Rajasthani bridal mehndi designs are often characterized by their use of peacocks, traditional patterns, and animals as design elements.
Arabic Weddings
The Arabic style is unique and recognizable through its use of bold lines and empty spaces. These designs are wispy and have an ethereal yet simplistic feel.
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Pakistani Weddings
Pakistani bridal mehndi designs are heavily inspired by the Arabic style, but also draw inspiration from the Indian style. Therefore, these are intricate but make use of whitespaces. They also include the imagery of mosques, the moon, and Islamic symbolism.
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Punjabi Weddings
Punjabi bridal mehndi follows the traditional Indian design elements closely but tends to be more symmetric and filled with patterns.
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Indian Weddings
The Indian bridal mehndi style is a combination of many designs. The style does involve including its fair share of cultural motifs and floral elements to create a full, signature Indian look.
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The History Behind Wedding Mehndi Designs
The use of henna as a temporary body art dates back thousands of years, and it definitely has a lot of history as a dye and as a medium of body art. India is pointed out as the country of origin for mehndi, and it is also popular in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Middle East.
It’s typically applied during special occasions such as weddings and other celebrations, as mehndi’s spiritual meaning lies in bringing good luck, serenity, and everlasting joy.
The henna plant (Lawsonia inermis) is a small shrub that produces a red dye. The leaves are dried and ground into a powder. When mixed with water, the powder forms a paste that can be applied to the skin. The paste dries and flakes off, leaving a temporary design on the skin.
There are many different designs that can be used for mehndi. The most common design is a floral pattern. Other popular designs include paisleys, vines, and abstract patterns.
What is the cost of bridal mehndi?
Most professional mehndi artists charge by the hour, with prices typically starting at $90 per hour. Complex designs that start at the fingertips and end at the elbows usually take around 5-6 hours to draw, so the total cost will come to be around $500-$600 for the bride and $400 for the other guests if they’re getting equally large and detailed designs.
If your wedding has a tight budget, don’t worry! A smaller or simpler mehndi design will only cost $50 - $70 per person. Of course, it can depend on the designer and where you are located.
Best mehndi design for brides
We hope this collection of the best bridal mehndi designs helped you find your perfect design! If you’re still wondering which design is the best, the answer’s that everyone has a different design that fits them best. It’s all about your wedding’s theme, venue, destination, the wedding dress, and what you want on your big day.
Preparing for your bridal Mehndi celebration? Take a look at Minted’s variety of Mehndi wedding invitations designed by independent artists.