This is an evening preceding the wedding during which the bride, her family, and her close friends gather for a night of mehndi (henna). As per Vedic custom, the bride is adorned with an intricate mehndi design on both hands, arms, feet, and legs -- a process which can take up to 4-5 hours! It is a common belief that the darker the color the mehndi leaves on the bride’s hands, the more she will be loved by her husband and mother-in-law. However, the significance of this ritual really stems from mehndi being a powerful medicinal herb. Because weddings can be stressful, the excitement mixed with nervous anticipation can often take a toll on the bride, and thus, mehndi is traditionally applied on the hands and feet (which house many of the body’s nerve endings) in order to cool and calm the nerves.