Real Wedding · Washington, DC

A Mehndi Night at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington DC

A Mehndi night under Woodley Park's leafy canopy — where an Indo-fusion menu and a chicken tikka taco station turned into a night the couple's guests are still talking about.

IndAroma live stations, plated for a Mehndi celebration at the Omni Shoreham Hotel.

There is a particular kind of energy to a Mehndi night. It's color and music and henna and family pressed close together — the celebration before the celebration, when the whole weekend is still ahead and anything feels possible. When Shannon and her partner, The Sebastians, chose the Omni Shoreham Hotel for theirs, they wanted the food to match that feeling: warm, generous, unmistakably theirs. IndAroma was honored to bring it to life.

A grand DC landmark in Woodley Park

The Omni Shoreham Hotel sits at 2500 Calvert Street NW, tucked into the leafy Woodley Park neighborhood of Washington, DC, on a stretch of ground that looks out over Rock Creek Park. It's the rare city venue that feels secluded — steps from the heart of the capital, yet framed by green.

A member of Historic Hotels of America, the Omni Shoreham has hosted DC's grand occasions for generations. Its named ballrooms each carry their own character: the Diplomat, with an outdoor terrace overlooking Rock Creek Park; the Palladian, dressed in a Jeffersonian style with murals of Monticello; the Art Deco Empire, whose terrace looks out over the gazebo lawn; and the storied Blue Room — where John F. Kennedy once courted Jacqueline Bouvier, and where Judy Garland, Aretha Franklin, and Liza Minnelli have all performed. It is a backdrop with history in its bones, and a setting that asks a caterer to rise to the room.

How IndAroma approached the Mehndi

For a Mehndi, the food should feel like a party in itself — interactive, abundant, a little playful. Our approach for Shannon and The Sebastians leaned into live stations, where guests could watch, choose, and graze rather than simply be served. The details are what people remember, and the one that stole the night was our chicken tikka taco station: tandoor-spiced chicken tikka folded into a taco — Indian soul, fusion form. It's exactly the kind of Indo-fusion idea IndAroma loves to build a celebration around.

Behind the stations sat the full IndAroma operation. As a full-service caterer, we handle far more than the menu:

• Live, chef-attended stations that keep the room moving and the food fresh to the plate.
• Indian & Indo-fusion menus built to the couple — refined at a tasting so nothing is a surprise on the night.
• Professional service staff who read a room and keep a party flowing.
• Full-service coordination — from bar and rentals to timing — so the couple can actually be present at their own celebration.

It began, as our best events do, at the tasting table: a chance to get the flavors exactly right and, just as importantly, to get to know the couple. By the time the Mehndi arrived, the team knew what this night meant to them — and cooked like it.