The Henna Night

I am never really the kind of girl who loves wearing henna. Even my friends thought I would have a nude nail color/French manicure for my wedding day, being a modern/city girl that I am. Well, they're wrong! Wearing henna is one of the pre-wedding preparations that I have always looking forward to do! Although the last time I wore henna when I was only 9, but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna do the ritual of tattooing the hands and feet of the bride-to-be for the big day, right?! Cuz wearing henna is part of our tradition of getting married.. so of course I'm not gonna miss that moment! Lagipun, bila lagi kan nak conteng tangan? I know I wouldn't do it on any other day! Heee


My mom was the one who encouraged me to wear henna. She said, wearing henna is a really nice feeling for the bride-to-be, that no bride should miss! And I completely agree! The moment you saw that red color on your hands and feet the night before your wedding, you'd feel like a bride instantly! There's just something magical about henna that gives you this happy, excited feeling! And when the wedding ceremony is over, it'll be like one of those "indicator" saying that "I got just married! or "Saya pengantin baru!", having henna attractively shown on your hands/nails! hehe.

I really felt so happy when I look down at my hands and feet, seeing that beautiful red color on my nails.. Oh, I'm a bride! ^__^

I remember that night on my Malam Berinai, we were supposed to have this celebration, (yet another pre-wedding event for me. LOL!), but some thing quite serious had happened and we had to cancel the party! T____T So I had to call off the photographer, the food, and canceled the guests as well! :(
Thank God they're not that big. Err...18 people is not that big, right? haha :p

Mom even bought me this expensive, hand embroidered heavy beaded material from Dubai, just for this Henna Night! And she bought 13 pieces of traditional Indonesian kebaya in hot pink with full beadings for my girls too! The theme was supposed to be an Arabian Night, and I was supposed to be some kind of Bollywood girl or something, who would dance the night away in it. haha. It's such a pretty kain, but too bad I couldn't wear it! Sad. Sad. Sadddd. *drama queen mode*

Oh, never mind...some things you really can't avoid, and just not meant to be I guess. So maybe I'll wear it for this Raya perhaps? :)

Anyway, although the actual henna ceremony was canceled, of course I'd still wear the henna for my wedding. So regardless of happened that day, I demand to still have henna on my hand whether there'll be a celebration or not!! It's our custom, how can I omit that?!  *bridezilla mode*  LOL :p

My henna artist was this lovely Kak Noor whom I met on Instagram (@wannoorinai). One day, she kindly messaged me and said she wanted to sponsor me for the henna. I was like really? Wow, I can save RM 300 for this, so why not?! Oh, I'm a lucky girl! Thank you Kak! Really appreciate it! ^___^

So on that Friday night, she came to my house at 9 pm, with her lovely daughter. She brought all her tools with her. So you don't have to worry that she'd make a mess at your house. Just bring your hands and feet with you! hehe. She's very professional, meticulous and punctual. She even brought her mini portable table with her, some newspapers, kain batik, tissues, knife, scissors, rubber bands, and her photo album of her work too. Everything is well prepared! Like I said, you don't need to prepare anything. Only water and food for her, would be nice! hehe

She used her own inai, that she made it herself.. She brought lots and lotsa henna with her! They're really beautiful color! 

You can even buy the inai tubes from her if you'd like.. If I'm not mistaken, her inai is from Yemen and she mixed it with some kind of oil (I'm not sure what was it), to produce this beautiful red henna!

I honestly love her work! It's lovely! Kemas, cepat and cantik! You would definitely be satisfied! I'm not saying this because she sponsored me, but I'm saying this because I really do love her work! This picture above is my second time wearing henna for the Reception 3, my husband's side. I love this design! It's like a lace glove!

 Sat on my mini pelamin, while Kak Noor did my inai. Sorry no picture of the head. I didn't wear my scarf that night. Oh yeah.. one tip that I should share with the brides-to-be out there, please don't wear skirts or long dresses for your mehndi night. Really hard to take care of your baju while letting the henna dry. I wore this white Kaftan dress from Radzuan Radziwill with a pair of cotton pants. So it was really really comfortable and breezy. Easier for my henna artist to do her work too!

Usually the henna artist would only design and put the henna for you, then they head home. But Kak Noor's service includes with cleaning it for you as well! So you don't need to worry whether you would ruin the beautiful design, because she would ensure that your henna is perfect before she takes off. I posted on my instagram before, a video of Kak Noor cleaning my inai! Have a look! :)

We started at 9 pm, and finished around 11-ish pm. So it was around 2 hours la basically, with all the designing, letting it dry and washing it off. Sekejap je, kan? For the tired bride like me who had back-to-back events, you may use this time to take a nap while your henna artist color your hands! hehe

Or you may sit like a princess and eat your dinner too if you haven't had anything since afternoon! Since we have canceled the caterer, we ordered pizza instead! Fast and yummy! hehe. 

I had my Khatam Quran Ceremony that morning.. I was so damn tired, I could faint! So I took nap every few minutes while she did my hands and feet. But it was kinda hard to sleep when you know you had to guard them with very great attention while waiting for the henna to dry up! haha. So in the end, I spent time talking with her. She's really talkative and friendly too! She shared with me lotsa stories and experiences... It was a fun night for me! 

By the way another tip that I'd like to hightlight here is regarding the manicure. If you wish to have henna on your nails for your big day, I would advise you please do not spend your money at the nail parlour! They're such a waste of money! Why? Because your inai won't stick to your buffed nails if you do so! And they would look blotchy..and unfinished. And not to mention, tak cantik! So just save that money and go buff your nails on some other days ok? NOT for your wedding, unless you decided to go naked for it!

Thank God I was told about this, so I didn't do any! So my inai turn out to be just fine!

Sitting on my pelamin, to get that wedding feeling! haha

(I looked so tired, kan?! Well...I was! Tell your mom, don't do Khatam Quran same day as your Berinai Night! hehee :p)

Later that night, 3 of my friends came to visit me; Liyana my maid of honor, and two of my bridesmaids, Tya and Rina. They didn't want to be photographed because they're all wearing their pajamas already! hehe. They decided to stay the whole night at my house! Thanks for teman-ing me, girls! It was a bit like a pre-nuptial pajama party, where we talked and talked throughout the night. And they did not let me go to sleep afterwards! haha. Sorry girls if I wasn't fun enough that night! I wasn't feeling so well and my body was just so tired! :(

Super red, I like! 

With Kak Noor, my henna artist

I remember that night after she washed my hands and feet, and pat them dry...I had this warm fuzzy feeling inside me, seeing this red color on my hands, that I almost teared up! haha. The henna just signals the start of the wedding time! So I was like, "Awwww....I'm finally getting married! I'm gonna be a bride in less than 24 hours! Gosh...I'm so happy. THIS IS IT!", I said to myself - Sentimental much? Well yeah, pretty much! I'm a hopeless romantic girl like that! :p

If you don't prefer the intricate designs like mine, just wear them on your nails. That'd be nice too! Simple and clean. The picture above was my second time wearing the henna. For my husband's side of reception. The reception was held this year, a month apart from my reception. So that's why I needed to have my inai again! The reason why the nail cap part looked so black instead of red, because I wore it two days before the reception. Kak Noor was not free to do a day before my reception. So she created a super red formula, for it to become the perfect color, two days later! You can view the inai on my hand here - The color turned out to be just fine on that Saturday! But.... I gotta say, wearing it for the second time, just not the same feeling when I wore it for the first time!

So really, I would strongly suggest to any future brides out there, to wear inai on your nails for the big day. You're only gonna get married once (inshaallah), so seize every moment of it! It's such a nice feeling, especially when you're married for a few months already, and your inai is left with only the last part to be cut off soon! - No more feeling like a "pengantin baru!" laaa after this! hehe

This is what's left on my nails now! It looks like a French manicure, no? But the Malaysian version of course! hehe. I'm gonna have to cut them off soon! Good bye my wedding-nails! You've been my best friends for 4 months now! 

OK, here's an info about Kak Noor:

• She charged RM 250 to RM 350 depending on the area of your place. That price already included transportation fee. 
• She has many designs to choose from, and you only need to spend time 2 to 3 hours and you'll be free! 
• She would clean it for you and ensure that everything is perfect before she leaves - So no need to guard your hands with plastics and all! - That's old school and really messy! Her technique lets you sleep soundly throughout the night (although I only slept for 3 hours because I can't sleep, too excited for the wedding! LOL). 
• Many celebrities like Sazzy Falak, Leuniey Natasha, Liyana Jasmay, Abby Abadi, Fiza Elite, Norjuma Habib, Dinaz, Nora Danish and many more used to do with Kak Noor!

If you want the same thing but don't want to spend so much, then head down to her workplace in Sri Dahlia Hair & Beauty Spa in Kota Damansara. She charged RM 99 for the same thing! Here's the address:

No 6A, JALAN CAMAR 4/3,

SEKSYEN 4, KOTA DAMANSARA.

And here's her contact number: 016 602 7253 and instagram, if you wish to see more of her work: @wannoorinai. If you're planning to do it with her, do mention me/my blog! Cuz if you're lucky, you might get a special discount from Kak Noor! hehe. Have fun on your Malam Berinai girls! ;)

P/s: If you sign up a bridal spa package at Sri Dahlia Spa, you're entitled for a FREE henna session for your big day!

XOXO,

Senior Bride :p