Indian Wedding Invitation Wording, with Samples

Indian wedding invitation wording follows a set order: a prayer line at the top, the hosts who invite you, the bride and groom with their parents' names, then the date, day, muhurat time and venue. It ends with the other functions, a contact number and a "with best compliments" line from the family. Most cards are hosted by the parents, but cards from the couple are now common too.

Below are samples you can copy, change the names in, and send to the printer. The names, dates and times in them are made up. Take your own muhurat from your priest.

The Structure of an Indian Wedding Card

Most cards, in any language, have these parts in this order:

In a Hindu card, the bride's family usually names the bride first, and the groom's family names the groom first. Both families print their own cards with the same date and venue.

Formal Samples Hosted by the Parents

Bride's Parents

Groom's Parents

When Grandparents Host

In joint families, the card often goes out in the grandparents' name, with the parents below.

Samples Hosted by the Couple

Couples who arrange their own wedding, or who live away from home, often send the invitation themselves. This works well on WhatsApp.

A shorter one for friends and colleagues:

We are getting married. Ananya and Rohan, Sunday 24 January 2027, 11 am, The Garden Courtyard, Pune. Please come, and bring your appetite.

Samples by Religion

Hindu

Om Shri Ganeshaya Namah. With the blessings of our kuladeivam, we invite you and your family to the marriage of our daughter Selvi. M with Arun. R, son of Thiru. Ramasamy and Tmt. Valli, on Monday, 7 December 2026, between 6:00 and 7:30 am, at Arulmigu Kalyana Mandapam, Mannargudi.

Tamil cards usually also give the Tamil month and date (early December falls in Karthigai) and the lagnam of the muhurtham. Check the Tamil date with the same panchang your priest uses.

Muslim

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. Mr and Mrs Abdul Rahman request the pleasure of your company at the nikah of their daughter Ayesha with Imran, son of Mr and Mrs Farooq Ahmed, on Friday, 4 December 2026, after Asr prayer, at Masjid-e-Noor, Hyderabad. Walima on Sunday, 6 December 2026, at 1 pm, at Royal Function Hall, Tolichowki.

Christian

"What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." Mr and Mrs George Mathew invite you to the marriage of their son Jerin with Anu, daughter of Mr and Mrs Thomas Varghese, at St. Mary's Church, Kottayam, on Saturday, 19 December 2026, at 3 pm. Reception follows at the parish hall.

The verse is Mark 10:9 from the King James Bible. Protestant and Catholic families often choose different verses, so ask your pastor or priest.

Sikh

Ik Onkar. With the grace of Waheguru, S. Gurpreet Singh and Sardarni Harjit Kaur request your presence at the Anand Karaj of their daughter Simran Kaur with Jaspreet Singh, son of S. Balwinder Singh and Sardarni Manjit Kaur, on Sunday, 13 December 2026, at 10 am, at Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Model Town, Ludhiana. Langar to follow.

A Hindi Sample

Many North Indian cards are printed in Hindi on one side and English on the other.

In Devanagari, the opening line is श्री गणेशाय नमः. The printer will set the Hindi side for you if you give him the text.

Special Cases

When a Parent Has Passed Away

Name the parent with "Late" (or Swargiya in Hindi), so relatives see the full family.

Mrs Meena Krishnan and Late Mr R. Krishnan request your presence at the marriage of their daughter Anjali.

If the mother has also passed away, an uncle, an elder brother or a grandparent can host, and the parents are still named: "daughter of Late Mr and Mrs R. Krishnan".

Second Marriage

There is no need to mention it on the card. Use the same wording as any other wedding, often with a smaller guest list. The marital status belongs in the biodata, not on the invitation.

Small or Temple Wedding

For a small wedding, be honest about it on the card, so nobody feels left out later:

Due to a small family function at the temple, we invite you to bless the couple at the reception on 12 December 2026 at 7 pm.

Common Mistakes

• Muhurat time that does not match the priest's note. Check it with the priest and against Drik Panchang's marriage dates for your city.
• Wrong spelling of the couple's or parents' names. Have someone from each family read the proof.
• Day and date that do not match. 6 December 2026 is a Sunday, for example, and a "Saturday, 6 December" will confuse half the guests.
• No landmark or map link for the venue. Add a Google Maps link on the WhatsApp version.
• Too many names in the compliments line. Keep it to grandparents and close family, then "and all relatives".
• Forgetting the reception time, or the city, on the outstation version.

Keep two printed cards aside after the wedding. Registration rules are made by each state under section 8 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and many registrar offices accept the card as one of the proofs of the wedding.

The names on the card come from the same family details as the biodata: the parents' full names, the native place, the kuladeivam.

If someone in the family is still looking for a match, you can make their biodata free here. For wishes to write inside a card you receive, see our wedding wishes, and for the present, our list of wedding gift ideas. More wording guides are in the invitations and gifts section.