Wedding invitation wording from parents, with samples for every family

When parents host the wedding, the invitation is written in their names: they invite the guest to the marriage of their son or daughter, and the other family is named alongside. The bride's family and the groom's family usually send their own invitations, each naming their own child first. Below are samples for each case, with notes on the small choices that tend to cause debate at home.

The basic structure

Almost every parent-hosted invitation follows the same order, whatever the language.

1. A blessing or invocation, such as Shri Ganeshay Namah or “With the blessings of our elders”.
2. The parents' names.
3. The invitation itself: “request the honour of your presence”, “cordially invite you” or “seek your blessings”.
4. Their child's name, then the partner's name with his or her parents.
5. The date, day, time and venue.
6. A closing, often with the names of family members who look forward to welcoming you.

From the bride's parents

From the groom's parents

The groom's family's invitation is the mirror image. Their son is named first, and the bride is introduced as the daughter of her parents.

From both families together

Some families send a single joint invitation, especially when the wedding is in one city and the guest lists overlap. The bride's parents are usually named first, though some families reverse it or set the two names side by side.

A Hindi version

Hindi cards usually open with Shri Ganeshay Namah and place honorifics before the couple's names: चि. (chiranjeev, “may he live long”) before the groom's name, and सौ. कां. (saubhagyakankshini, roughly “one who wishes for a blessed married life”) before the bride's. The parents sign off under निवेदक (nivedak, “those who request”).

Many Hindi cards add two more lists at the bottom: स्वागतोत्सुक (swagatotsuk, family members eager to welcome you) and दर्शनाभिलाषी (darshanabhilashi, those who look forward to seeing you), naming uncles, aunts and cousins. On a digital invitation, one line such as “With warm regards from the Agarwal family” can stand in for both.

A Gujarati version

Gujarati families usually write the parents' invitation as a kankotri nimantran, with ચિ. before the groom's name, ચિ. સૌ. કાં. before the bride's, and અ.સૌ. before the names of married women.

Choices that cause debate at home

“Honour of your presence” or “pleasure of your company”

Traditionally, “the honour of your presence” is used for the religious ceremony and “the pleasure of your company” for a reception or party. Plenty of Indian invitations use one phrase for both and no guest will mind, but if the card covers both a ceremony and a reception, the traditional split reads well.

Grandparents

If the grandparents are living, many families open with a blessings line in their names: “With the blessings of Smt. Kamla Devi and Shri Mohanlal Agarwal”. It honours them without changing who the hosts are.

A single parent, or a parent who has passed away

Write the invitation in the parent's own name: “Mrs. Kavita Shah invites you to the marriage of her daughter”. If a parent has passed away, many families include them in the blessings line with the word Late, or स्वर्गीय in Hindi. It is a personal decision, and both including and leaving out the line are respectful.

Titles

Use the titles the family actually uses, such as Dr., Col. or Adv., and keep them consistent. If one parent appears as Dr. Mehta, give the other parent's title too.

What goes after the main wording

Below the main invitation, parent-hosted cards usually carry the list of functions, the RSVP contacts and a closing line. The Indian wedding invitation guide goes through the full order, and what to write in a wedding invitation has more sample lines. There are more cases in the wording guides.