For a long time the question was only which card to print. Now most Indian couples send at least part of their invitation on WhatsApp, and the choice has grown: a printed card, a PDF or video invite, or a wedding invitation website. Each has a place. Here is how they compare, so you can pick what suits your families.
The printed card
A printed card is still the most formal way to invite. Many families want one for the mandir, for the eldest relatives and for guests they visit in person with mithai. It is a keepsake, and nothing replaces handing it over yourself.
What it can't do: change after it is printed. If the sangeet moves to another lawn or the muhurat time is revised, every card is now wrong. It also carries no RSVP, so the count for the caterer still comes from phone calls. And printing, boxes and couriers for a few hundred guests add up quickly.
The PDF or WhatsApp video
A PDF or a short video is quick and free to forward, which is why it became the default. But it is a file, not a page. Guests have to download it, zoom in to read the venue, and search their chats to find it again on the day. Older relatives often find small text on a moving video hard to follow. And if anything changes, you make a new file and send it again to everyone.
The wedding invitation website
A wedding invitation website is your card as a small website of its own, shared as one link. It opens in WhatsApp's browser in a second, and it can do what paper and video can't:
- Every function in one place: haldi, mehendi, sangeet, pheras or nikah, reception, each with its date, time, dress code and venue.
- A map for every venue: one tap opens directions, so nobody calls you for the address on the day.
- RSVPs: guests say which functions they are attending and how many are coming, and the replies come to you.
- Updates on the same link: change a time and every guest sees the new one. Nothing to resend.
- A link for each family: the Sharma family opens it and sees their own name on the welcome screen.
The trade-off is that it is not something you can hold. That is why many couples use both.
Side by side
| Printed card | PDF / video | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Change after sending | Reprint | Send a new file | Same link, updated |
| RSVP | Phone calls | Phone calls | Built in |
| Venue directions | Address only | Address only | Map for each function |
| Easy to read for elders | Yes | Often small and fast | Large text, at their pace |
| Keepsake to hold | Yes | No | No |
| Cost for many guests | Grows with every card | Low | One fixed price |
What most couples end up doing
A combination works best for most Indian weddings. Print a small number of cards for the puja, the elders and the guests you will visit in person, and send the website link to everyone else on WhatsApp. Put the link, or a QR code for it, inside the printed card too, so even the people who got paper have the maps and the RSVP.
If you want to see what a wedding website looks like before deciding, every one of our designs has a preview you can watch on your phone.