What to put on a Muslim wedding website: a checklist for a nikah and walima

A Muslim wedding website carries everything a standard wedding website does, plus the things a nikah and a walima need and most website builders have never heard of: the Bismillah set properly, two families as hosts, two gatherings with two guest lists, separate seating, a halal menu, somewhere to pray. Here is the full list, in the order guests read it.

1. The Bismillah and a verse

Open in the name of Allah. The Bismillah in Arabic, بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ, with its translation underneath, then a verse in translation with its source. Surah Ar-Rum 30:21 is the usual choice; our guide to Quran verses for wedding invitations has the others and the question of printing the Arabic.

Check the Arabic on a phone. It should be right to left, in a proper Arabic typeface, with its vowel marks visible and no letter-spacing.

2. Who is hosting

The parents invite. Name both families with their roles, "The parents of the groom" and "The parents of the bride", and keep the order consistent with the couple's names. If a grandparent or an elder is hosting, say so.

3. The couple, and the request

The couple's names on the cover, then the request line: "kindly request the honour of your presence at the Nikah and Walima of their children". The nikah invitation wording guide has twenty versions.

4. The nikah and the walima, with dates and times

Say which gatherings there are, when, and who is invited to each. A nikah with close family on Friday and a walima for everyone on Saturday is common; so is both in one evening. Give the arrival time and the time food is served for each.

5. The order of the evening

Guest arrival, entrances, the nikah, dinner, the rukhsati. A timeline stops the "what time does it start?" messages. See what happens at a nikah for a running order to copy.

6. Venues with maps

Each venue with its postcode, a map and directions, and a line on parking. If the nikah is at the mosque and the dinner elsewhere, both, with the travel time between them.

7. Seating

Say whether ladies and gents are seated separately, whether families sit together for the nikah itself, and whether there are two sittings for dinner. Guests from outside the community will be grateful you said it plainly.

8. Food

All halal, and say so. List the meal choices if guests will pick one, and ask for dietary needs and allergies on the reply form. If there is a children's menu or a separate hall for a second sitting, say so.

9. Prayer

For an evening gathering, Maghrib falls during it for most of the year. Say where the prayer room is, that wudu facilities are available, and roughly when the gathering will pause. This is the line most often missing and most often needed.

10. Dress code

"Formal traditional attire" covers most families. Add what matters to yours: modest dress, hijab appreciated in the nikah hall, no red if the bride is wearing it, or "Western or traditional, as you prefer".

11. Gifts

"Your presence is the gift. Kindly, no boxed gifts please." is the standard line. If you would rather guests gave money or contributed to something, say so gently.

12. Children

Welcome, usually, and seated with their families. Say so, and ask on the reply form how many children are coming so the caterer and the hall can plan.

13. Photographs

If photography will be restricted in the ladies' section, say so on the page, kindly, before the day. If you have a hashtag or would rather guests did not post pictures of the bride, say that too.

14. Where to stay and how to get there

For guests travelling: two or three hotels nearby, the nearest station, and whether there is a coach from the mosque to the venue.

15. Questions

A short list of the ones you have already been asked. Is it halal, is there parking, can I bring my children, is there a prayer room, what time is dinner, can I come to the walima if I cannot make the nikah.

16. The reply form

Yes or no, the number of adults and children, a meal choice per person, dietary notes, and anything else you need: which sitting, coach or not, ladies' side or gents' side. Set a reply-by date two to three weeks before the walima.

17. The closing dua

End as the card would: the couple's own dua, and the request for the guests'. "We kindly request your duas." The duas for newlyweds guide has the traditional ones with their sources.

Nikah list and walima list

Most families have two lists and one website. Keep one guest list, tag every household "nikah" or "walima" or both, and give each household a link with a note at the top saying which gathering they are invited to. When you export the replies, the tags come with them, so the caterer gets the walima numbers and the hall gets the nikah numbers.

What to leave off

Mahr, dowry or anything about money between the families.
The bride's photograph, if her family would rather it were not public. A geometric cover looks right and avoids the question.
A countdown that says "days until the wedding" when the nikah has already happened and this is the walima page. Set the countdown to the gathering the page is for.

The checklist

RSVP Websites ships two designs made for this list, Jannah and Noor, with the Bismillah, the verse, the families and the closing dua already in place and every section above ready to fill in. Guests open one link and reply from their phone with a meal choice per person; the list exports for the caterer whenever you need it.