Wedding Invitation Card (Marriage Card Format)
A printable wedding invitation card: the couple, their families, the date, time and venue, the reception and RSVP — in Indian or Western style.
Details
marriage card formatUploads
Your logo
A photo or picture
Goes on this page only. Drag it anywhere and pull its corner to resize it.
Your signature
Draw it with a finger, a mouse or a trackpad, and it goes on the page like a picture.
Pictures and signatures stay on this device. Nothing is uploaded to a server.
Red highlights mark what is still blank. Click anything on the page to change it. Your draft is kept on this device as you work.
❦
You are cordially invited to the wedding of
[bride's name]
with
[groom's name]
✦
[date]
[time]
[venue]
❦
What is a Wedding Invitation Card?
A wedding invitation card names the couple and the people inviting you, and gives the date, the time — the muhurtham, on many Indian cards — the venue, the reception and how to reply. In India it is also how families honour relatives and friends, and close family often receive it in person. A card with a misspelt name, a missing reception venue or the wrong day causes offence or sends guests to the wrong place. Fill in the marriage card format on this page in Indian or Western style, then print it or save it as a PDF.
The families of the couple send wedding invitations, and in India each side usually prints its own cards for its own guests, so two sets go out for the same wedding. Couples who host their own wedding send them too, as do families holding a small registered marriage, a temple wedding or a reception after a wedding abroad. Indian cards often come with separate inserts for the mehendi, sangeet, haldi or reception, and many are also shared on WhatsApp. In the US, the invitation usually follows a save-the-date sent months earlier and asks guests to reply by a set date, by reply card, email or a wedding website.
Wording follows custom more than rules, and custom varies by community, language and faith. Many Hindu cards open with an invocation and give the muhurtham fixed by the family priest; Muslim, Christian, Sikh and other families follow their own traditions, and the card may name the nikah, the church service or the Anand Karaj instead. Western cards follow etiquette: ‘request the honour of your presence’ for a ceremony in a place of worship, and ‘the pleasure of your company’ elsewhere. Check the names, titles and order with both families, the timings with the priest or officiant, and the reception details with the venue.
A wedding card is an invitation, not a record of the marriage. It is not a marriage certificate and does not register the marriage: in India that is done with the marriage registrar under the law that applies to the couple, and in the US the couple must get a marriage licence, usually from a county office, before the ceremony. Ask those offices what they require. The card is also not a save-the-date, which goes out earlier with only the date and place, and not an entry pass; if the venue limits numbers, tell guests directly.
What to put in a Wedding Invitation Card
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Opening line optional | For example: Together with their families |
| Invited by (parents or families) optional | For example: Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hayes |
| Bride's name | For example: Emily Hayes |
| Bride's parents optional | For example: daughter of Mr. & Mrs. K. Srinivasa Rao |
| Groom's name | For example: Daniel Brooks |
| Groom's parents optional | For example: son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Brooks |
| Wedding date | Free text |
| Time | For example: 4:00 p.m. |
| Venue | For example: The Riverside Garden |
| Reception optional | For example: Dinner and dancing to follow |
| RSVP optional | For example: Kindly reply by May 1 · emily.hayes@example.com |
| With best compliments from optional | For example: Relatives and friends |
How to write a wedding invitation card (marriage card format)
Choose the opening line and who is inviting
The opening line is optional: an invocation, a verse, a blessing such as ‘With the blessings of our elders’, or ‘Together with their families’. Under ‘Invited by’, name the hosts: traditionally the bride’s parents on Western cards, and on Indian cards the family sending this set. With the region menu at the top of the page set to IN, the card then reads ‘cordially invite you to the wedding of’; with US, ‘request the pleasure of your company’. Leave the hosts blank to invite guests directly.
Write the couple’s names and their parents
Give each name as the families want it printed, with any honorific your community uses, such as Chi. for the groom and Chi. La. Sow. for the bride on many Telugu cards. Add ‘daughter of’ and ‘son of’ lines with the parents’ names and, if you like, their home town. The card names the bride first; a groom’s family printing its own cards can click the names on the page and swap them. On formal Western cards from the bride’s parents, her surname is often left out.
Give the date, the muhurtham and the venue
Choose the date from the calendar and the card adds the day of the week. In the time box, give the muhurtham as the priest fixed it, such as ‘10:30 a.m. (Muhurtham)’, or the time a Western ceremony begins. If the muhurtham falls after midnight, choose the calendar date it falls on and add the night it belongs to, such as ‘2:15 a.m. (Thursday night)’. Put the venue’s name on the first line and the street, area and city on the next, with a landmark if needed.
Add the reception, RSVP and compliments
Use the reception box for the reception and any other functions, one per line, with a date, time and place for each that differs from the wedding. Type the RSVP line exactly as it should print: ‘RSVP: Ravi Kumar, +91 90000 12345’, or ‘Kindly reply by November 13’ with an email address or website. ‘With best compliments from’ is an Indian custom that names relatives and friends of the family; leave it blank on a Western card.
Check every name, then print and send
Read the card aloud with someone from each family; titles and the spelling of elders’ names matter most. Change the fonts and colours in the Design tab, and add a photo or motif from Uploads. Print a test copy, then print on card stock, or save it as a PDF and ask a print shop to print and trim it, for example to 5 × 7 inches. Send Western invitations six to eight weeks ahead; Indian cards commonly go out three to four weeks before.
Wedding invitation wording examples
Two sample wedding cards as the form prints them: one in Indian style with the region menu set to IN, and one in Western style with US. Replace every name, date and place with your own.
Indian wedding card wording (bride’s family)
With the blessings of our elders
You are cordially invited to the wedding of
Chi. La. Sow. Lakshmi Prasanna
daughter of Smt. & Sri K. Srinivasa Rao, Guntur
with
Chi. Venkata Sai
son of Smt. & Sri P. Narasimha Rao, Vijayawada
Friday, 11 December 2026
10:30 a.m. (Muhurtham)
Sri Sai Convention Hall, Brodipet, Guntur
Reception at 7:00 p.m. on the same day, same venue
RSVP: K. Ravi Kumar, +91 90000 12345
With best compliments from: Relatives and friends
Western wedding invitation wording (bride’s parents hosting)
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hayes
request the pleasure of your company at the wedding of
Emily Anne
&
Daniel James Brooks
son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Brooks
Saturday, December 12, 2026
4:00 p.m.
Riverside Hall, 800 River Road, Columbus, OH
Dinner and dancing to follow
Kindly reply by November 13 · emily.hayes@example.com
Common mistakes
- Misspelling a parent’s or grandparent’s name, or leaving out a title the family expects, is noticed by everyone who receives the card and cannot be put right once hundreds are printed.
- Printing an after-midnight muhurtham under the previous evening’s date, without saying ‘Thursday night’ or ‘early hours of Friday’, sends some guests to the hall a day late.
- Giving the reception time but not its venue, when it is held somewhere else, sends guests back to the wedding hall after it has closed for the night.
- Printing the full order before both families have approved the wording, the order of the names and the elders mentioned leads to reprints, delays and hurt feelings.
- Sending cards to outstation (out-of-town) guests only a week or two before the wedding leaves them too little time to arrange leave, tickets and rooms.
Frequently asked questions
What is the format of a marriage card?
A typical Indian marriage card has an invocation or blessing at the top, the hosts’ names, an invitation line, the bride’s and groom’s names with their parents, the day, date and muhurtham time, the venue, the reception or other functions, RSVP contacts, and ‘With best compliments from’. Western cards follow the same order without the invocation or the compliments line. The form on this page prints either style.
What should I write on a wedding card?
Write who is inviting, an invitation line, the couple’s full names and their parents’ names, the day, date and time, the venue with a full address, and the reception if it is separate. Add how and by when to reply. Indian cards often begin with a blessing or invocation and end with ‘With best compliments from’; Western cards may add ‘Dinner and dancing to follow’ or a wedding website.
Who is named first on a wedding invitation?
On a traditional Western invitation, the bride’s name comes first, especially when her parents are hosting; when the couple host the wedding themselves, either order is fine. In India each family usually prints its own cards and names its own child first, so the bride’s family’s cards name the bride first and the groom’s family’s cards name the groom first, with ‘daughter of’ and ‘son of’ lines under the names.
When should wedding invitations be sent?
For a Western wedding, invitations usually go out six to eight weeks before, with save-the-dates several months earlier and a reply-by date three to four weeks before the day. Indian families commonly give cards three to four weeks ahead, delivering them in person to close relatives, and send them earlier to guests who must travel. For a destination wedding, give everyone more notice.
What is the difference between ‘honour of your presence’ and ‘pleasure of your company’?
By traditional Western etiquette, ‘request the honour of your presence’ is used for a ceremony in a church, temple or other place of worship, and ‘request the pleasure of your company’ for a ceremony held elsewhere and for receptions. Formal American invitations often keep the spelling ‘honour’. With the region set to US, this template uses ‘the pleasure of your company’; click the line on the page to change it.
What is muhurtham on a wedding card?
The muhurtham is the auspicious time for the main wedding ritual, fixed by the family priest from the couple’s horoscopes and the almanac. Many Indian cards, especially in the South, print it with the date, as in ‘10:30 a.m. (Muhurtham)’, sometimes with the lagnam or other details the priest gives. Guests aim to arrive before it. If it falls after midnight, print the calendar date and the night it belongs to.
How do I write RSVP on a wedding card?
Type the RSVP line exactly as it should appear. Indian cards usually list one or two family members with phone numbers, as in ‘RSVP: Ravi Kumar, +91 90000 12345’. Western cards give a reply-by date and a way to reply, as in ‘Kindly reply by November 13’, with an email address, a wedding website or an enclosed reply card. Set the date early enough to give the caterer final numbers.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.