Five functions, one invitation
An Indian wedding is not one event. It is a programme: the mehndi for the ladies, the sangeet for everyone who can dance, the haldi for close family on the morning, the baraat and the pheras, and the reception in the evening. Some of it is at the house, some at the hall, some at the mandir. A paper card has to carry all of it on inserts, and the guest list has to reply to each one by phone.
An online Indian wedding invitation puts the whole programme on one page. Each function has its own card with the date, the time, the venue, the dress code and a line about what happens. Guests scroll the week, tap the map for the one they need, and reply once for the household, saying which functions they will join.
Utsav, a kankotri come to life
Utsav means festival, and the design is built from the stationery Indian families already know. A toran of marigolds hangs across the cover. A marigold crest sits over a jharokha arch that holds your names. The functions appear as a row of coloured cards: mehndi in green, sangeet in purple, haldi in yellow, the wedding in red, the reception in navy, the way the event cards in a wedding box do. The verse and the closing blessing sit on mehndi green with gold type.
It opens with ॥ श्री गणेशाय नमः ॥ and the mangal shloka in Devanagari, each with its meaning in English, set in a Devanagari face with the line height the script needs. Every line is a field: Sikh families replace the opening with Ik Onkar and the Anand Karaj wording from our Sikh guide; Gujarati families use the kankotri phrasing from the Indian wording guide. Rani pink is the default colour; any colour is one tap away.
What is already written for you
- The opening, Shree Ganeshaya Namah, with "Salutations to Lord Ganesha, the remover of obstacles".
- The mangal shloka in Devanagari and English, as the verse.
- Both families: "The parents of the bride" then "The parents of the groom", with "request the honour of your presence, with their families, at the auspicious wedding ceremony of their children".
- Five functions to edit: Mehndi, Sangeet, Haldi, Baraat and Wedding Ceremony, Reception, each with a dress note and a line about what happens.
- The order of the wedding day: baraat arrives, milni, pheras, lunch, reception.
- A dress code ("Yellow for the haldi, something you can dance in for the sangeet, and please avoid white and black at the ceremony") and a gift note ("Your blessings are the only gift we seek").
- Vegetarian, Jain and vegan meal choices on the reply form. Change them to your caterer's menu.
- The closing blessing, सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः, "May all be happy", with "We seek your blessings".
Replies that work for a programme
The reply form asks for a yes or no and a meal choice per person, and you can add your own questions. "Which functions will you be joining?" with the five as tick boxes is the one most families add; the answers come through with every reply, so you know the mehndi is a hundred and the reception is four hundred before the caterer asks.
Every household can have its own link with their names on it. Masi and family see "Dear Meena Masi and family" and a note that says "Join us for all five days"; a colleague sees the reception only. One guest list, tagged by function, and the export has the tags on it.
Sending it
Copy the link into the family WhatsApp group, or send each household its own. The link shows a preview card with your names. Our guide to the Indian wedding invitation message for WhatsApp has the message to write for each function.
What it costs
One payment of £40, VAT included, for any number of guests and any number of functions, and the site stays live for a year from the day you pay. That is the launch offer; the usual price is £59. Nothing to pay until you are happy with it: build it, open it on your phone, show your parents, then pay when you are ready to send. A mehndi for the ladies and a wedding page for everyone are two invitations in the same account.
Your own web address
Your invitation lives at yourname.invalia.io out of the box. If you have bought a domain for the wedding, connect it from the dashboard with step-by-step instructions, at no extra cost.
Good questions
- Can guests reply to each function separately?
- Yes. Add a question to the reply form, "Which functions will you be joining?", with the functions as options. Every reply comes back with the answer, and you can filter and export by it.
- We are Sikh. Does the design work for an Anand Karaj?
- Yes. The opening line is one field: replace Shree Ganeshaya Namah with Ik Onkar or an English line, and name the gurdwara and the langar on the functions. Our Sikh wording guide has the full text and what the gurdwaras ask.
- Can the Hindi or Gujarati be changed?
- Yes. The opening line, the verse and the closing blessing are plain text fields with a language setting, so Devanagari, Gurmukhi and Bengali are each set in the right face. Type or paste your own lines.
- Can both sets of parents and the wider family be named?
- Yes. Up to four families, each with a role such as "The parents of the bride", in the order you choose. "With best compliments" from the grandparents or the family can go in the intro or a custom section.
- Different guest lists for different functions?
- Yes. Keep one guest list, tag each household with the functions they are invited to, and give every household its own link with a note saying which days they are expected. Or make the mehndi a separate invitation in the same account.
- Do guests need an app or an account?
- No. They open the link from WhatsApp or a text and reply in under a minute. A grandchild can reply for grandparents by searching their name.
- Is it really one price for any number of guests?
- Yes. £40 one-off (the launch offer, usually £59) covers any guest list and any number of functions, with the invitation live for a year from payment.
Make yours this evening.
Preview it on your phone. Pay once when it’s right.