A good wedding wish is short: congratulate the couple by name, add one warm line of blessing, and sign off with your name. "Congratulations Priya and Rahul. Wishing you both a long and happy married life. With love, Meena aunty" is enough for a card, a shagun envelope or a WhatsApp message.
Below are wishes sorted by who you are writing to. Copy them, change the names, and add one line of your own if you can. A personal line is the part the couple will remember.
Short Wedding Wishes
These fit on the small card inside a gift or on a shagun envelope.
- Congratulations to you both. Wishing you a long and happy married life.
- Happy married life, Kavya and Arjun. God bless you both.
- Many congratulations on your wedding. May your home always be full of laughter and good food.
- Best wishes for your new life together, from all of us in Coimbatore.
- Shaadi mubarak. Lots of love to the two of you.
- Welcome to the family, Sneha. We are so happy to have you with us.
- May you grow old together, still arguing about the TV remote.
Wishes for Friends and Best Friends
Friends can be more personal, and a little cheeky.
- From hostel roommates to your wedding mandap, I have seen it all. Congratulations, da. She is far too good for you, and you know it.
- I always knew you would marry someone who laughs at your jokes. Congratulations to both of you on finding each other.
- Happy married life, my dear. Call me for every fight, and I will always take your side.
- To my best friend and the only man who can handle her: congratulations, and good luck.
- Ten years of friendship, and now I get a second friend for free. Congratulations, both of you.
Wishes for Family
For a Sister
- To my little sister, who stole my clothes for 25 years: may Rohit be ready to share his cupboard. Happy married life.
- Ammu, the house will be very quiet without you. Be happy, call Amma every Sunday, and come home for every festival.
For a Brother
- Bhai, congratulations. Now someone else will remind you to eat on time. Welcome to the family, Pooja.
- To my brother and my new sister-in-law: may your home be as noisy and happy as the one we grew up in.
For a Niece or Nephew, from Elders
- With all our blessings on your wedding day. May both of you always have good health, a happy home and respect for each other.
- We watched you grow up in this house. Today we watch you start your own. God bless you both.
For a Cousin
- Congratulations on your wedding. See you at every family function from now on, as a couple.
Wishes for Colleagues and the Boss
At work, keep it warm but simple. These suit a group card or an office WhatsApp group.
- Congratulations on your wedding. Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness. From the whole accounts team.
- Many congratulations to you and your family. Enjoy the leave, and do not check your mail.
- Dear Sir, congratulations on your daughter's wedding. Wishing the couple a happy married life. Regards, Suresh.
- Heartiest congratulations on your marriage, and best wishes to you and your wife.
For a boss's son's or daughter's wedding, address the boss, congratulate the family, and wish the couple. Keep it to two lines.
Funny Wedding Wishes
Use these only for close friends and cousins, and never in a card the grandparents will read aloud.
- Congratulations on your last day of making decisions alone.
- Marriage is mostly two people asking "what should we eat tonight?" for fifty years. Good luck.
- Happy married life. "Yes dear" is a full answer, by the way.
- Congratulations. Now both your mothers have someone new to give advice to.
- Wishing you a happy marriage and a loud alarm for every anniversary.
Religious Wedding Blessings
Hindu Blessings
Hindu elders often bless the bride and groom with a short Sanskrit phrase while touching their heads or throwing akshata (rice).
| Blessing | Said to | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Saubhagyavati bhava | The bride | May you always be fortunate as a married woman |
| Deergha sumangali bhava | The bride, common in Tamil and Telugu families | May you live long as a married woman |
| Ayushman bhava | The groom | May you have a long life |
| Shubh vivah | The couple | A happy wedding |
In a card: "With blessings from the whole family, may Lord Ganesha keep your home free of obstacles. Shubh vivah."
Muslim Blessings
The common greeting is "Shaadi mubarak" or "Nikah mubarak". The blessing from the hadith, recorded in Sunan al-Tirmidhi (1091) and Sunan Abu Dawud, is:
"Barakallahu laka wa baraka alaika wa jama'a bainakuma fi khair."
It means "May Allah bless you, and send blessings upon you, and join you together in goodness." Many people write it in Arabic or in English letters on a card, followed by "Nikah mubarak".
Christian Blessings
Christian cards often carry a Bible verse. A common one is Mark 10:9, which in the King James Version reads: "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."
In a card: "Congratulations on your wedding. May God bless your marriage and your home. With prayers, the Thomas family."
Sikh Blessings
At an Anand Karaj, guests often say "Lakh lakh vadhaiyan" (a lakh congratulations). A line from Guru Amar Das in the Guru Granth Sahib, on Ang 788, is often quoted for married couples:
"Ek jot dui moorti dhan pir kahiai soi."
It means: they alone are called husband and wife who have one light in two bodies. The line before it says that those who merely sit together are not husband and wife.
Wishes in Hindi
Many families send Hindi wishes on WhatsApp. Written in English letters:
- Shaadi ki dher saari badhaiyan. Aap dono ka jeevan khushiyon se bhara rahe.
- Naye jeevan ki shubhkamnayein. Bhagwan aap dono ko hamesha saath rakhe.
- Vivah ki hardik shubhkamnayein. Sada suhagan raho.
Instagram Captions for Wedding Photos
- Married, and already arguing about the album
- Day one of forever
- Mr and Mrs Iyer, officially
- Two families, one very long lunch
- The muhurat was at 6 am. The coffee was not.
- Finally, a reason to wear this sherwani again
What to Write on a Shagun Envelope
A shagun envelope needs only three things: the couple's names, a one-line wish, and your name. Write it in pen, on the front or the flap.
"Dear Anjali and Vikram, wishing you a happy married life. With blessings, Ramesh and Sudha Nair (Anjali's uncle)."
Write your relation in brackets. At a big wedding, the family opens a hundred envelopes, and "Ramesh" alone will not tell them which Ramesh.
If you are still choosing the present itself, our list of wedding gift ideas is sorted by budget and relation. For the wording on the wedding card itself, see wedding invitation wording. And if a single friend at the wedding asks how to start their own rishta, a biodata comes first, and you can make one free here. More guides are in our invitations and gifts section.
Common questions
What Do You Write in a Wedding Card?
Congratulate the couple by name, add one line of blessing, and sign with your name and relation. Two or three lines are enough.
What Is a Short Wedding Wish?
"Congratulations, wishing you both a long and happy married life" is the most common short wish. "Happy married life" alone works on WhatsApp.
How Do You Congratulate a Colleague on Marriage?
Keep it simple and warm: "Congratulations on your wedding. Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness." Add the team's name if it is a group card.
Should a Wedding Wish Be in English or in Our Language?
Use the language the couple and their family speak at home. A Hindi or Tamil line often means more to the elders than a polished English one.
Is It Fine to Send Wedding Wishes on WhatsApp?
Yes, for friends and colleagues. For close family and elders, a phone call or a word in person is still better.
Sources
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