Kankotri format: the pages, their order and how to lay them out

A kankotri follows a set order: the Ganesh invocation first, then the nimantran announcing the wedding, then the list of mangal prasango (the functions), the venues, the swagat lines and tahuko, and finally the family's signature and contacts. On a printed card these sit on panels and inserts; on a digital kankotri each usually gets its own phone-sized page, in the same order. Keeping the order matters more than the format, because elders read a kankotri by where things are.

The order of pages

The kankotri wording guide has Gujarati lines for every section.

Printed formats

The folded card

The most common printed kankotri is a card that folds in two or three, with the invocation on the cover, the nimantran inside, and the functions on the facing panel. Inserts, smaller cards slipped inside, carry the functions that only some guests attend.

The boxed kankotri

A rigid box holds the card, sometimes with sweets or dry fruit. It's the grandest format and the most expensive to print and courier, which is why many families now keep boxes for elders and close relatives only.

The scroll

A rolled kankotri, tied with a thread or set in a tube, recalls the old handwritten letters. It suits royal and heritage themes, and it photographs beautifully.

The digital kankotri

A digital kankotri turns each section into a page you swipe through on a phone. The order stays the same, but a few things change:

• One idea per page. A phone screen holds less than a card panel; crowding the nimantran and the functions onto one page makes both hard to read.
• Tall pages. A 9:16 page fills a phone screen; it's the natural shape for a digital kankotri.
• Bigger text. Names and dates need to be larger than on paper, especially in Gujarati script.
• Map links on the venue page, which a printed card can't offer.
• Music, if you like, which many digital kankotris add softly in the background.

Layout within a page

• Centre-aligned text, as on printed kankotris, with generous space around the names.
• A frame or border in the kankotri's colours, kept clear of the text.
• The motif at the top, usually Ganesh, a kalash or the family deity, never behind the words.
• Two type sizes per page at most: large for names and headings, readable for details.
• Gujarati and English on separate pages for a bilingual kankotri, rather than squeezed side by side.

Colours and motifs

Traditional kankotris favour maroon, red, saffron and gold, with Ganesh, kalash, toran, peacocks and lotuses. Pichwai cows and lotuses are popular in Vaishnav families. The colour combinations guide has a traditional palette with hex codes.

A checklist before it goes out

• The invocation is on the first page, with the kuldevi line if your family uses one.
• Every function has its date, day and time, in the order they happen.
• The honorifics are right: ચિ., ચિ. સૌ. કાં. and અ.સૌ.
• Names are spelled the same way on every page.
• Each venue has an address, and a map link on the digital version.
• The tahuko and the contacts are on the last pages, where guests expect them.
• An elder has read the Gujarati text, and the priest has confirmed the tithi.

Printed and digital together

Many families print a small number of kankotris for Ganesh, the kuldevi and the elders, and send the digital kankotri to everyone else. If you do both, keep the same order and wording so they read as one invitation. The kankotri history guide covers how the card moved online, and the first kankotri guide covers the offering before any are sent.

For finished kankotri layouts, see the wedding templates, and more guides are under kankotri and Gujarati weddings.