An Indian wedding is rarely one event. Between the roka, haldi, mehendi, sangeet, the wedding and the reception, guests need to know a lot. Use this checklist to make sure your invitation, printed or digital, answers their questions before they call you.
The essentials
- Both your names, spelled the way you want them, and your parents' names if they appear
- Who is hosting or inviting
- The wedding date, with the day of the week
- A blessing, invocation or line of welcome, if your family uses one
For every function
- The name of the function, and a line on what it is for guests who may not know it
- Date and start time; for the wedding, the muhurat time and when guests should be seated
- Venue name, full address and a map link that lands at the right gate
- Dress code or colour, if there is one (yellow for haldi, green for mehendi and so on)
- Whether it is for close family or for all guests
RSVP
- How to reply: a form, WhatsApp or a phone number
- The date to reply by, a week or two before the first function
- Which functions the guest is attending and how many people are coming
- Any food preferences, if your caterer needs them (Jain, vegan, no onion-garlic)
For outstation guests
- The nearest airport and railway station
- Where guests are staying, if you have booked rooms, and the check-in time
- Pick-up arrangements and a coordinator's number
- Weather and what to pack, for hill or destination weddings
Contacts
- One or two people guests can call on the day, from each side of the family
- Not the bride or groom: you will be busy
Nice to have
- Your story, or how you met
- A few photos
- A song that means something to you
- A note on gifts, if you want to say "your blessings are enough"
- A personal greeting for each family
Paper or website?
A printed card has room for the essentials and perhaps the main functions. Everything else, the maps, the RSVP, the stay and the dress codes, either goes on an insert or doesn't fit. A wedding invitation website has room for all of it, and you can change any of it after sending. Read our comparison of printed cards and wedding websites, or browse our designs.