Sexy henna
Yay!
Went to a henna party yesterday and had so much fun. It’s been quite a long time since I’ve gotten all dressed up. As I’ve mentioned before, I seem to be visiting more hospital rooms than I am ballrooms, so a henna party is a lot of fun.
I finally got to wear the GF Ferre dress I’ve been hoarding for ages for a ‘chique’ henna. I bought it on a whim because it’s not really a dress you can make hijab friendly and it’s been languishing in my closet ever since.
So what’s a henna party? Basically a hen party, though the similarity of the terms is a coincidence.
Henna is a dye that is used to paint designs on your skin, which disappears after a week or so. Before they get married, brides get henna done at these henna parties, though unlike Indians, it’s usually a simple design. Personally, I prefer a design somewhere on my body rather than hands or feet.
Anyway, so it’s a woman only party held a few days before a woman gets married. We don’t just dress up, we go all out. Think dresses, heels, makeup, hair, hired ballroom just for women, and female dj and caterers.
Depending on the family, in addition to hiring a (usually) Nubian woman to paint henna designs on all the women, they may also hire a troupe of women entertainers who will dress up the bride-to-be in a variety of outfits (oriental woman, bellydancer, etc) and get the guests to dance. The bride’s friends will dance all night, and their mothers will gossip and check out the girls to matchmake with potential husbands. For veiled women in particular, this is a great opportunity since they get the opportunity to show potential mothers-in-law how pretty they can be. The henna parties usually start around 8ish and last to the wee hours of the morning.
My feet are killing me though. Not really used to dancing in five-inch stilletto heels. But I had fun. I love dancing and don’t often get a chance to do so. And dancing in front of the mirror at home is no fun. It was especially fun shocking the older women with some very un-traditional dance moves. Think gyrating hips slowly till you end up almost squatting on the floor before snapping back up 
Sometimes, I love being a girl.
sounds like a blast
Lucky you! I’m so jealous!
seems you had a lot of fun there!
Love the design you got!