Anniversary invitations: silver, golden, and the one the children send for their parents
Invitation wording for your parents' 25th or 50th anniversary, sent by the children: English and Hindi samples, surprise party rules, and WhatsApp messages.
When the children host their parents' anniversary, the invitation comes from them: 'Please join us to celebrate 25 years of Mummy and Papa', with the date, the puja or ceremony time, the meal and the venue. For a surprise, keep your parents out of the family group, give them a simple reason to be there, and send each guest a personal message and link rather than a group poster.
On this page
Anniversary invitations have one feature no other invitation has: the people being celebrated usually are not the ones sending it. Their children are, and often as a surprise.
That changes the wording quite a lot, and it changes what you can safely put on it. This page covers both, with wording from the children in English and Hindi, the WhatsApp messages that go with the link, what silver and golden jubilees look like in Indian families, and how to run it all from another country.
When the children are hosting
If the invitation comes from the children, say so. It reads warmly and it explains why the tone is different from a formal card.
If it is a surprise, be careful what goes in writing. Anniversary invitations get forwarded, screenshotted and shown to the wrong person more than any other kind. Put the word surprise prominently at the top, and consider giving a fake arrival time to the couple themselves rather than trusting an entire extended family to keep quiet.
Keeping a surprise a surprise
- Make a new WhatsApp group without your parents. The family group is where a surprise leaks first. Give the new one a dull name.
- Add one line to every message: 'Please do not forward this to Mummy-Papa.' Relatives forward by habit, and the line stops most of them.
- Send each guest a personal message and link, not a poster in a group. A poster can be forwarded into your parents' chats in one tap, and an image can save itself to a relative's phone gallery, where your mother may scroll past it.
- Call the elders. Grandparents and aunts who are not on the new group need a call, or they will ring your parents to ask about it.
- Give your parents a reason to be there. A family lunch, a cousin's small puja, a photo for the album. Keep the story simple enough for everyone to repeat.
- Ask guests to arrive well before your parents. Thirty minutes is enough. Put both times on the invitation.
Silver, golden and the Indian versions
| Year | Name | What families usually do |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Silver jubilee | A puja or a church service in the morning, a lunch or dinner in the evening. Often the largest anniversary function. |
| 50 | Golden jubilee | Frequently a renewal of vows, with the couple's children and grandchildren participating. |
| 60 | Diamond jubilee | Usually a family gathering rather than a large function, given the age of the couple. |
| Any year | Vivah Varshikotsav | The general term. Many families mark it with a Satyanarayan Puja at home rather than a party. |
Organising it from abroad
Many anniversary celebrations are planned by children who live in another country, with a sibling or a cousin in India doing the running around. A link suits that split: everyone sees the same invitation, you can check every detail from your own time zone, and a changed time needs no reprint.
- Paying from abroad. Invifest's prices are in rupees. A card from outside India is charged through Razorpay, and the checkout adds the gateway's 3% and the 18% GST on that fee before you pay (Terms, B13).
- One person in India owns the headcount. Whoever will be at the venue should hold the final numbers. With Aangan, the guest list and every reply sit on one dashboard that the whole family can use from their phones.
- A video for the relatives who will not tap a link. The 4K video of the invite (₹1,100) is the invitation as a short film with your song, with a light 720p copy for WhatsApp (see a sample).
- Times in IST, said plainly. Write IST after every time on the invitation, so relatives abroad do not get the time-zone maths wrong.
- Someone who answers at your hour. Invifest answers 24/7 on WhatsApp and phone at +91 95744 86049, which helps when your evening is India's early morning.
Our guide to invitations for guests abroad covers time zones and travel details for anyone flying in.
What to put on it
- The number of years, prominently. It is the whole point.
- Whether there is a ceremony, and its time, separately from the meal.
- Who is hosting, particularly if it is the children.
- Gift guidance. Couples married twenty five years generally do not need more things, and saying so is a kindness to your guests.
- Photographs, if you are collecting them. Anniversary functions often include a slideshow of old photographs. Ask for them on the invitation by a date, and give one number to send them to, not the family group, or the surprise is over.
If you would like the invitation itself built around photographs, Invifest's Yaadein is made for this: a wall of pinned-up photographs that carries a silver or golden anniversary as well as a birthday, with the timings, a map and a reply form, in Hindi or English, for ₹2,499. For a puja at home, the Satyanarayan Puja guide has wording of its own.
Wording from the children, and messages for WhatsApp
Invitation wording first, for the 25th, the 50th and grandparents' anniversaries, in English and Hindi. The short WhatsApp messages that go with the link come after them. Change the names, years and places.
Our parents have put up with each other for twenty five years.
We think that deserves a party.
[Names]
Silver Jubilee
[Day, Date] · [Time]
[Venue]
With love, from [children's names].
Mummy and Papa have been married for twenty five years.
Please join us to celebrate their Silver Jubilee.
[Day, Date]
Puja at [Time] · Lunch from [Time]
[Venue]
With love,
[Children's names]
Hamare Mummy-Papa
[Naam] evam [Naam]
ki shaadi ko pachchees saal poore ho rahe hain.
Unki Silver Jubilee ke is khushi ke mauke par aap sapariwar aamantrit hain.
[Din, Tithi]
Puja: [Samay] · Bhojan: [Samay] se
[Sthaan]
Aapke aane ka intezaar rahega,
[Bachchon ke naam]
Shree Ganeshaya Namah
On the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of the wedding of
[Name] and [Name]
we request the pleasure of your company.
Puja at [Time] · Lunch from [Time]
[Day, Date]
[Venue]
Fifty years ago, [Mother's name] and [Father's name] were married in [City].
Their children and grandchildren invite you to celebrate their Golden Jubilee.
[Day, Date] · [Time]
[Venue]
Your blessings are the only gift they want.
॥ श्री गणेशाय नमः ॥
हमारे पूज्य माता-पिता
श्रीमती [नाम] एवं श्री [नाम]
के शुभ विवाह की पचासवीं वर्षगांठ
(स्वर्ण जयंती) के अवसर पर
आप सपरिवार सादर आमंत्रित हैं।
[दिन, तिथि]
पूजा: [समय] · भोज: [समय] से
स्थान: [स्थान]
विनीत: [बच्चों के नाम] एवं समस्त परिवार
Fifty years ago they said yes.
[Name] and [Name]
will renew their vows in the presence of their family and friends.
[Day, Date] · [Time]
[Venue]
No gifts please. Bring a photograph if you have one.
Dadi and Dadu are celebrating fifty years of marriage.
Fifty years, [number] children, [number] grandchildren and [one thing only your family would know].
We, their grandchildren, invite you to their Golden Jubilee.
[Day, Date] · [Time]
[Venue]
Come with your stories about them.
Hamare Dadaji aur Dadiji ki shaadi ko pachaas saal poore ho rahe hain.
Unki Swarna Jayanti par hum, unke pote-potiyaan, aapko sapariwar aamantrit karte hain.
[Din, Tithi] · [Samay]
[Sthaan]
Aapka aashirwad hi hamara uphaar hai.
SURPRISE. Please do not tell them.
We are celebrating [Names]' [number] anniversary.
[Day, Date]
Please arrive by [Time]. They arrive at [Time].
[Venue]
Do not reply on the family group.
Surprise hai, kisi ko batana mat!
Mummy-Papa ki shaadi ki [number]vi saalgirah par hum unke liye ek surprise party rakh rahe hain.
[Din, Tithi]
Aap [Samay] tak pahunch jaiyega, Mummy-Papa [Samay] baje aayenge.
[Sthaan]
Yeh message Mummy-Papa ko forward mat kijiyega.
On [Day, Date], [Names] complete [number] years of marriage.
We are keeping it simple: a Satyanarayan Puja at home at [Time], followed by lunch.
[Colony or society, with the map on this link]
Do come and bless them.
Namaste [Name] ji, Mummy and Papa complete 25 years together on [date]. We are celebrating with a small puja and dinner, and it would mean a lot to them to see you there. Everything is here: [link]
Hello [Name] uncle, we are planning a surprise for Mummy and Papa's 25th on [date], and you are one of the people they would most want there. The details are here, and please keep it a secret: [link]
Pranam [Naam] ji, [tareekh] ko Mummy-Papa ki shaadi ko pachaas saal ho rahe hain. Aapka aashirwad chahiye, aap zaroor aaiyega. Saari jaankari is link par hai: [link]
Hi [Name], we are flying in from [City] for Mummy and Papa's 25th on [date], and we would love you there. All the timings, in IST, are on this link: [link]
Tomorrow is the day. Please be at [Venue] by [Time], before Mummy and Papa arrive at [Time]. The map is here: [link]
Thank you for coming yesterday. Mummy and Papa have not stopped talking about it, and they were so happy to see you. We will share the photos soon.
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Questions people ask
Who should send an anniversary invitation?
Usually the couple's children, and it is worth saying so on the invitation: 'Please join us to celebrate 25 years of Mummy and Papa', signed with the children's names. It explains the warmer tone and it is part of the celebration.
How do I invite people to a surprise anniversary party?
Message each guest personally rather than posting in a group, plan in a new WhatsApp group without your parents, and add a clear line: please do not forward this to Mummy-Papa. Give guests an arrival time well before your parents', and call the elders who are not on WhatsApp.
What do you write on a 50th anniversary invitation?
The fifty years, prominently; who is hosting, usually the children and grandchildren; the puja or ceremony time and the meal time, separately; the venue; and a line on gifts if you want none. 'Your blessings are the only gift they want' is a line many families use.
Should an anniversary invitation mention gifts?
It is a kindness to say no gifts if you mean it. A couple married twenty five or fifty years rarely needs more things, and guests appreciate the guidance.
Can I make a digital anniversary invitation?
Yes. Invifest's Yaadein is built around photographs and carries a silver or golden anniversary as well as a birthday, with the timings, a map and a reply form, for ₹2,499. It is made for you by hand, and the link has no expiry date.
What is a silver jubilee celebration in India?
The twenty fifth anniversary, usually marked with a puja or church service in the morning and a lunch or dinner later. In many South Indian families the couple is ceremonially remarried using the original rituals.
What is Vivah Varshikotsav?
The general Sanskrit derived term for a wedding anniversary. Many families mark it quietly with a Satyanarayan Puja at home rather than with a function.
