What to write when you send a wedding invitation on WhatsApp

A WhatsApp wedding invitation message needs only four things: who is getting married, the family inviting them, the main date and city, and the link. Keep it to four or five lines. Everything else, the functions, venues, timings and dress codes, belongs behind the link, where it can be updated without sending a second message.

Why shorter works better on WhatsApp

WhatsApp shows the first two or three lines of a message in the chat list and in the notification. That preview is what an aunt reads before deciding whether to open it now or later. If the first line is "Dear all, with the blessings of the Almighty and our elders", the names and date never make it into the preview. Lead with the names.

Long messages also age badly. The moment a function time moves, a message that listed every timing is now wrong, and it is still sitting in hundreds of chats. A short message with a link does not go out of date, because the link always shows the current plan.

A message for family and elders (English)

Namaste Sharma ji, with the blessings of our elders, we invite you and your family to the wedding of our son Rohan with Ananya, on 12 December in Jaipur. All functions, venues and timings are here: [link]. Please do let us know if you can come. We would be honoured to have you with us. — Verma family

The same message in Hindi

आदरणीय शर्मा जी, बड़ों के आशीर्वाद से हमारे पुत्र रोहन का शुभ विवाह अनन्या के साथ 12 दिसंबर को जयपुर में होना निश्चित हुआ है। आप सपरिवार सादर आमंत्रित हैं। सभी कार्यक्रम, स्थान और समय इस लिंक पर हैं: [link]। कृपया अपने आने की सूचना अवश्य दें। — वर्मा परिवार

A message for friends

It's happening! Rohan and Ananya are getting married on 12 December in Jaipur, and we want you there for all of it. Mehendi, sangeet, the lot: everything's on the link, and you can tell us you're coming right there. [link]

The three things people forget

Say who is inviting. In Indian weddings the invitation usually comes from the parents or the family, not the couple, and elders notice. Sign it with the family name.
Address the family by name. "Dear Sharma ji and family" gets opened; "Dear all" looks like a forward. If you are sending 300 messages, this is the part that takes the time, and it is also the part that matters.
Ask for a reply in the message itself. "Please let us know if you can come" is what turns a link into an RSVP. Without it, most people read the invitation and assume you'll count them anyway.

What not to put in the message

Leave out the full function list, the venue addresses, the dress codes and the gift note. They make the message long, they push the names out of the preview, and every one of them is a detail that might change. Put them on the invitation page, where a change reaches everyone at once.

On ShaadiMode's Plus plan (₹2,999) every family gets its own link with their name on it, and one tap opens WhatsApp with the message and that family's link already written in. The invitation itself can be set in 28 languages, 18 of them Indian.

If writing 300 of these by hand is the part you're dreading, ShaadiMode writes each family's name and link into the message for you. See how sending works

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