Indian wedding invitations: what to decide, what to write and when to send

An Indian wedding invitation has one job: to tell each guest which functions they are invited to, when and where each one is, and who is inviting them. Everything else, from the Ganesh motif to the gold border, supports that job. Most families make five decisions, in this order: the guest list, which functions each guest is invited to, the language and tone, printed or digital, and the date the invitations go out.

Get those five right and the design becomes the easy part.

Start with the guest list, not the design

Before anyone looks at designs, write the guest list in tiers. An Indian wedding is rarely one event, and very few guests are invited to all of them.

The tiers decide how many versions of the invitation you need. With printed cards, families often print one card listing everything and add a small insert for the functions only some guests attend. With a digital invitation you can make a version per tier, so nobody sees an event they weren't asked to.

What an Indian wedding invitation usually includes

The order below is common across many communities, though every family and region has its own habits. Treat it as a checklist rather than a rule.

1. An invocation. Shri Ganeshay Namah, a shlok, a line from the Gurbani, Bismillah, a Bible verse, or the name of the family deity. It sits at the top of the first page.
2. The hosts. Usually the parents, sometimes the grandparents, and more often now the couple themselves.
3. The couple. Full names, often with the parents' names and sometimes the family's native place. Titles such as Chi. for the groom and Chi. Sau. or Sau. Kan. for the bride appear on many Hindi and Gujarati cards.
4. The functions. Each one with its name, date, day, time and venue, in the order they happen.
5. Venue details. The full address and a landmark, plus a map link on a digital invitation.
6. Contacts. Two or three family members guests can call, with their numbers.
7. A closing line. “With best compliments from”, a list of relatives who look forward to welcoming you, or a light line from the children of the family.

Hindi cards often end with a line called bal manuhar, a playful request from the little ones: “mere chacha ki shaadi mein zaroor aana”. Gujarati kankotris have their own version, the tahuko. These small lines are often the ones guests remember and quote back to you.

Language and tone

Choose the language your eldest guests read most comfortably, then decide whether a second language is needed for everyone else. A bilingual invitation, Gujarati and English or Hindi and English, is common and works well digitally, because each language can take its own page.

Tone follows the hosts. An invitation from the parents usually sounds formal and respectful. One from the couple can be warmer and more personal. The guide on what to write in a wedding invitation has samples of both, and the wording guides cover specific cases.

Printed, digital or both

Many families now print a small number of cards and send everything else digitally. The printed ones go to the family deity, to grandparents and elders, and to people who will be invited in person with sweets. The digital invitation goes to everyone, including those who got a card, because it's the version they will open on the day to find the venue.

A digital invitation also makes changes painless. If the sangeet moves from the terrace to the banquet hall, you change it once and every guest sees the new venue on the same link. The article on digital wedding invitations explains the types, and this cost comparison sets them against printing.

When to send it

One invitation, or one per function

A single invitation listing every function suits a smaller wedding where most guests attend everything. For a wedding spread over three or four days, a main invitation plus a separate design for each function is often clearer. The haldi designs can be yellow and playful while the wedding card stays traditional. Separate designs also make reminders easier, since you only send guests the function coming up next.

A final check before it goes out

• Names spelled the way the family spells them, including both sets of parents.
• Each function's date matches its weekday.
• Times say AM or PM, or morning and evening.
• Every venue has an address that works in Google Maps.
• The contact numbers belong to people who will answer them during the wedding days.
• Someone fluent has read every line in Hindi, Gujarati or any other language on the card.

If you're starting from scratch, pick a wedding template, or describe the invitation to ShubhLink AI using the AI invitation maker guide and edit from there.