Re: doli
a friend of a friend was brought into the stage by her brothers on a doli on her mehndi. it was kinda cool...
as for the putting the mehndi in, umm well ofcourse the traditional thing is thali. but you can glam it up by looking for one of a kind pieces at stores like dollar store or something. yes, it's weird, but it won't be as traditional.
diyas can be good too. the key is to look at stuff not in the way they are supposed to be used, but in ways it can be used.