Wedding invitation in Tamil, Telugu or Bengali

When a wedding invitation is in Tamil, Telugu or Bengali, more changes than the words: the script needs a font that renders it properly, the blessing at the top differs, the muhurtham time is usually given exactly, and the functions have their own names. Write it in the language the elders read, keep an English line for friends, and have someone in the family check the wording before it goes out.

What changes in a Tamil invitation?

• The script: Tamil letters need a proper Tamil font, or they break into boxes on some phones.
• The muhurtham: Tamil weddings are often in the early morning, and the invitation gives the exact time window.
• The functions: the Nichayathartham (engagement), the Kashi Yatra, the Oonjal and the muhurtham itself, with a reception often on the evening before.
• The order of names: many invitations name the grandparents and parents of both sides, with the family's town.

What changes in a Telugu invitation?

• The script: Telugu needs its own font, and some phones render it poorly in small sizes, so keep text large.
• The muhurtham is given exactly, often at an hour fixed by the family priest.
• The functions: Pellikuthuru and Pellikoduku (the bride's and groom's ceremonies), the Jeelakarra Bellam and Talambralu during the wedding.
• Family names and the native place are usually part of the greeting.

What changes in a Bengali invitation?

• The script: Bengali, shared with Assamese, needs a Bengali font.
• The timing: Bengali weddings are often at night, with the lagna time given exactly.
• The functions: Aashirbaad, Gaye Holud, the Biye with Subho Drishti and Saat Paak, and the Bou Bhaat after.
• Many invitations open with a line invoking Prajapati, the deity of marriage.

These are common patterns, and families differ. Follow your own family's last invitation and your priest's timings over any general guide.

How to check a translated invitation

• Ask one person who reads the language every day to read the whole invitation on a phone.
• Check the names: a name spelled correctly in English can be transliterated three ways.
• Check numbers and dates, which some translations write in English digits and some in the script's own numerals.
• Look at it on an older Android phone as well as an iPhone; that's where fonts break.

How ShaadiMode handles languages

On ShaadiMode's Plus plan (₹2,999) the invitation and save the date can be set in 28 languages, 18 of them Indian, including Tamil, Telugu and Bengali, each with a font for its script, and guests can switch language. English, Hindi and Marathi are written by us; the rest are machine-translated, so have someone in the family read it once. There are designs made for these weddings too: Temple Dawn for a Tamil wedding and Crimson and Ivory for a Bengali one.

What stays the same in every language

• Who is inviting, usually the parents, named first.
• The couple's names, the date and the city, early and clear.
• Each function with its date, time and venue.
• A request to come, and how to reply.

Which language for whom?

In mixed families, the bride's side and the groom's side may read different languages. One option is two versions of the same invitation, one per side. Another is one invitation the guest can switch between languages. Either way, keep the names in the form each family uses: a Tamil family may write the father's initial before the name, and a Bengali family may use the full surname.

For guests who don't read the script, an English line under the regional text is a kindness, especially for friends, colleagues and the younger generation abroad.

Questions people also ask

Read next

• Tamil invitation messages
• Telugu invitation messages
• Bengali invitation messages
• Crimson & Ivory (Bengali)
• What is Shubho Drishti?

Temple Dawn is the ShaadiMode design made for a Tamil wedding. See Temple Dawn