Beautiful East African Brides

July 9, 2014 9:06 PM

Welcome, this blog is dedicated to all the beautiful brides hailing from the East of Africa. Enjoy!

A bit more about henna in African weddings.

posted by jaguar (21 comments total)

It's wedding season, and I've been to three weddings in the past month. There's not a lot of pressure for couples to get hitched in my town, so three is a ton for me. Each wedding was totally, completely different from the others. Different cultures, religions and genders, the whole deal. Weddings are so the same, but not, man.
posted by Maude_the_destroyer at 9:33 PM on July 9, 2014 [1 favorite]

Wow, beautiful henna work. Even on some of the guys too!
posted by mathowie at 9:43 PM on July 9, 2014 [1 favorite]

I am so in love with the henna work. I hadn't realized it was a tradition outside of India, and I had never seen black henna (as opposed to red henna) as decorative bodywork. The henna-blackened fingertips with white-polished nails really struck me as gorgeous.
posted by jaguar at 9:56 PM on July 9, 2014 [1 favorite]

I would think that, since this is East Africa, the henna tradition came via South Asia/India via trade routes/cultural diaspora?

Googling "East Africa India" brought me to this Wikipedia page which shows a history of that. I don't know if the henna connection is due to that, but it would be my guess. Would love to hear if someone else has more detailed info on the henna tradition in Africa.
posted by symbioid at 10:24 PM on July 9, 2014

Here's some more about Africa and Henna (the article sounds as though it comes primarily from Islamic cultural influence).
posted by symbioid at 10:27 PM on July 9, 2014

They aren't kidding about the beautiful part. Wow. The henna, the dresses, and just the people themselves are amazing.
posted by Dip Flash at 11:40 PM on July 9, 2014 [1 favorite]

jaguar, I agree. The combination of perfect henna and perfect manicures is really something!

I appreciate seeing diverse weddings, just as an antidote to the conformity of the wedding industrial complex. (And because happy people at weddings make me happy!)
posted by blnkfrnk at 12:00 AM on July 10, 2014

So beautiful my eyes can't stop watching ! Dresses, hair, makeup, henna... Wish I could have a east-african wedding . I believe that henna has been forbidden now in europe for tattooos etc since it contained something harmful but can't remember what . Anyway, lovely !
posted by steph-seo at 1:14 AM on July 10, 2014

Oh that's interesting, Malay men will also henna their fingertips. I didn't know men did that anywhere else.
posted by BinGregory at 1:38 AM on July 10, 2014

Beautiful, thank you.

Goethe said something about making sure you see or read something beautiful every day, so I have that covered now, thanks.
posted by Major Tom at 2:26 AM on July 10, 2014 [2 favorites]

Eeee the drum is papered in the wedding colors! This is wonderful beyond description. This bride's dress! This lady's henna style is exquisite, and the spangles in red - breathtaking. And the shoes and toes and aqua and sparkles here? The polish with the henna!!

Looking at these photos is the visual equivalent of biting into a perfect slice of juicy orange, after subsisting for a week on saltine crackers.
posted by Lou Stuells at 3:04 AM on July 10, 2014

Why do happy grooms look goofier than happy brides, no matter where they hale from?!

This is great.
posted by Omnomnom at 5:17 AM on July 10, 2014

Awesome!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:30 AM on July 10, 2014

If you enjoy this blog (and I did), I recommend checking out the South Asian Brides tumblr. A friend of mine reblogs occasionally from it and the pictures are always gorgeous.
posted by immlass at 6:58 AM on July 10, 2014 [1 favorite]

Thanks, immlass! Just added that one to my RSS feed, too!
posted by jaguar at 7:17 AM on July 10, 2014

I believe that henna has been forbidden now in europe for tattooos etc since it contained something harmful but can't remember what .

Black 'henna', but not regular red/brown henna.

"The color of natural henna varies and can be a deep burgundy brown, coffee brown, rich maroonish, or any shade of orange or brown... Any "henna" that leaves a deep black stain that lasts for more than a couple of days, contains dangerous chemicals and may not contain henna at all."
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:27 AM on July 10, 2014

I would think that, since this is East Africa, the henna tradition came via South Asia/India via trade routes/cultural diaspora?

I'm having trouble finding any one good explanation, but most of the information I'm finding says the henna plant is native to North Africa, west and south Asia, and parts of Australia and that the earliest recorded uses were in the Middle East during the Bronze Age. Then it sounds like everyone started trading with everyone.
posted by jaguar at 7:43 AM on July 10, 2014

Goethe said something about making sure you see or read something beautiful every day

One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeshipp Bk. V, Ch. 1[1]
posted by goethean at 9:22 AM on July 10, 2014 [1 favorite]

These are really gorgeous. I also didn't know that wearing of henna was a thing for brides outside of South Asia.
posted by quaking fajita at 12:08 PM on July 10, 2014

Some of my favorites. I especially like the brides in non-white dresses. No wonder westerners go crazy with the centerpieces and backdrops and all the foofaraw of weddings. It's all about the color!
posted by donajo at 9:58 AM on July 11, 2014

Photos like this make me think that when people are that happy there's no way not to look beautiful.

Thanks, jaguar!
posted by Lexica at 10:03 PM on July 18, 2014 [1 favorite]