Roka ceremony invitation: card wording, WhatsApp messages and a Hindi card for the day the rishta is fixed
Roka ceremony invitation wording and messages in English and Hindi: who hosts the roka, who to invite, what goes on the card, and a video script to copy.
A roka invitation is short because the roka is small: close family from both sides, a puja or an ardas, a tilak and shagun for the groom, a chunni for the bride, and a meal. Whichever family is hosting sends it, two to three weeks ahead, after calling the elders. Give both names, the day, the time and the place with a map, and say whether the wedding date is fixed.
On this page
The roka is the day two families say yes to each other. The word comes from rokna, to stop: once the roka is done, both families stop looking for another match. It is usually small: parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, and a few close uncles and aunts. So the invitation is often a phone call and a WhatsApp message, not a printed card.
This page covers what happens at a roka and who hosts it, who to invite and when, and what the invitation needs. Then comes the wording to copy: cards in English and Hindi, WhatsApp messages for each kind of guest, a script for a short video, and the message to send the wider family after the roka.
What a roka is
A roka is the first formal ceremony of a North Indian wedding, best known in Punjabi families and held by many Hindu families across the north. The two families meet, bless the couple and exchange gifts, and the match is settled. Wikipedia's account of Punjabi wedding traditions gives the meaning of the name, the end of the search, and notes that the families then begin to plan the wedding, its date included.
What happens at a roka
- A prayerHindu families may begin with a short puja, and Sikh families with an Ardas.
- A tilak for the groomThe bride's father or brother puts a tilak on the groom's forehead and gives him shagun: sweets, dry fruit, clothes or money.
- A chunni for the brideThe groom's mother or sister drapes a chunni, often red, over the bride's head and gives her jewellery or clothes. Punjabi families call this the chunni chadhana.
- Thaals, and sometimes ringsThe families exchange thaals of sweets, dry fruit and fruit. Some couples exchange rings at the roka; other families keep the rings for the sagai.
- Blessings and a mealThe elders bless the couple, usually with shagun in an envelope, and everyone eats together.
Roka, sagai and tilak
| Roka | Sagai or ring ceremony | Tilak | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it marks | The families agree to the match | The engagement, with rings | The bride's family accepts the groom |
| Where | A home, or a small hall or restaurant | Often a hall | Usually the groom's home |
| Guests | Close family | Family and friends | The groom's family and guests, and the men of the bride's family |
| The invitation | A call and a message | An invitation of its own | From the groom's family |
Many families now hold two or all three on one day. Our engagement guide covers the sagai and the ring ceremony, and the tilak guide the tilak, with wording for each.
Who hosts the roka, and who is invited
Families do this differently. In some, the bride's family goes to the groom's home with sweets and shagun; in others, the groom's family comes to the bride's; and many now meet at a restaurant or a small banquet hall, with one family hosting or both sharing it. Whoever hosts sends the invitation. If both families host, both names go on it, and the host family's name comes first.
| At home, close family | In a hall, a bigger roka | |
|---|---|---|
| Guests | Parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, a few uncles and aunts | Both families, close relatives and some friends |
| Invite them by | A call, then a WhatsApp message | A call to the elders, then a card or a link with a map |
| The invitation needs | The day, the time and the house | Both names, the day and time, the venue with a map, the meal, a reply |
| Photographs | Family phones | Often a photographer; agree what gets shared |
Both are normal. One roka invitation we made this season had a single event, on a Sunday evening in a banquet hall, with no photographs and no reply form, at the families' request: the guests were close family, and phone calls did the rest.
When to send the roka invitation
Two to three weeks ahead suits most rokas. For a small one at home a week can be enough, as long as the elders hear it from you by phone first. If guests are coming from another city, give them longer, and say early whether it is a lunch or a dinner so they can book their travel.
Send a reminder the evening before, with the time and the map. Once the wedding date is fixed, the save the date is the next message to send.
What to put on a roka invitation
- Who is inviting. The parents of the family that is hosting, both families, or the couple themselves.
- Both names, with the parents' names if some guests know only one side. The host family's child usually comes first; ask both families, because in some homes the order is read as a statement.
- What the day is. 'Roka' on its own, or 'Roka and Chunni Ceremony' or 'Roka and Ring Ceremony' if more is happening, each with its own time.
- The day, the date and the time. Say when the ceremony starts, not when the food is served.
- The place, with a map pin on the gate or the hall, not the middle of the colony.
- The meal. Lunch or dinner, so guests know whether to eat before they come.
- Whether the wedding date is fixed. One line answers the question everyone will ask.
- A number to call, for the elders who will call anyway.
The words a Hindi roka card uses
A Hindi roka card is shorter and less formal than a wedding card, but it borrows the same set phrases. These are the ones that matter; our Hindi wedding card guide explains the rest, and wedding messages in Hindi has more messages to send.
| Hindi | Read as | Means |
|---|---|---|
| रोका | Roka | The ceremony itself; a card may also say रोका समारोह or रोका रस्म |
| रिश्ता पक्का | Rishta pakka | The match is fixed: the phrase many roka messages open with |
| शुभ समाचार / खुशखबरी | Shubh samachar / khushkhabri | Good news, the formal word and the everyday one |
| चुन्नी चढ़ाना | Chunni chadhana | Draping the chunni on the bride |
| शगुन | Shagun | The blessing given with money, sweets or a gift |
| सपरिवार सादर आमंत्रित | Sapariwar saadar aamantrit | Respectfully invited, with your family |
| निवेदक / विनीत | Nivedak / vineet | The hosts, whose names follow |
A card, a video or a link
A message or an image card is enough for most rokas. Every card and message on this page is free to copy, and card makers such as Crafty Art have roka designs to put them on. Our guide to engagement invitations online compares the free card makers, the video makers and the invitation websites.
A short video suits the roka as an announcement, because families forward it. Keep it to thirty or forty-five seconds, put both names and the date in the first five seconds, and end on a frame that holds still with the time and the place. Send the map in a separate message. A frame-by-frame script is in the wording below, and our guide to the wedding invitation video covers who makes them.
A link helps when both families are inviting their own relatives, or when the roka shares a day with the sagai. Each ritual has its time, the venue has a map, and the replies tell the hall how many to cook for.
Sending it on WhatsApp
- Call the elders firstGrandparents and the eldest uncles should hear about a roka from the parents, by phone. Then send the message.
- Each family invites its own sideAgree the time and the place together, then each family sends its own relatives the same details.
- Use the guest's nameA message that opens with 'Namaste [Name] ji' reads as an invitation. A forwarded card reads as news.
- Tell everyone else afterwardsIf the wider family is not coming, share the news after the roka with a photograph, rather than an invitation they cannot accept.
More on lists, link previews and pacing in how to send invitations on WhatsApp.
A roka invitation as a link
Invifest makes invitations and guest management for weddings and every big moment: our designers make each family its own invitation website, with every function and every reply on one link. Our engagement design, Morpankh, opens on a single peacock feather and gives each ritual a card of its own, the roka, the tilak, the sagai or the ring ceremony, with the time, the venue on a map and a reply form.
For the functions that follow, see the tilak and the mayra and bhaat guides, and every function in order in Indian wedding functions.
Roka invitation wording you can copy
Cards in English and Hindi first, then WhatsApp messages, a video script and the note for after the roka. Change the names, dates, times and places in [brackets].
With the blessings of our elders,
Mrs [Mother's name] and Mr [Father's name]
invite you to the Roka of their daughter
[Bride's name]
with
[Groom's name]
son of Mrs [Name] and Mr [Name]
[Day, Date] · [Time]
[Venue]
Lunch follows.
The [Surname] and [Surname] families
are happy to share that
[Name] and [Name]
are getting married.
Please join us for their Roka
[Day, Date] · [Time]
[Venue]
The wedding date will follow.
It's official!
Our families are meeting for our Roka on [Day, Date] at [Time], at [Venue].
It is just close family, and we want you there.
[Name] and [Name]
[Name] and [Name]
Roka · [Time]
Ring ceremony · [Time]
Dinner · from [Time]
[Day, Date]
[Venue]
The map is here: [link]
॥ श्री गणेशाय नमः ॥
शुभ समाचार
ईश्वर की कृपा एवं बड़ों के आशीर्वाद से
हमारी सुपुत्री
आयुष्मती [वधू का नाम]
का रिश्ता
चि. [वर का नाम]
सुपुत्र श्रीमती [नाम] एवं श्री [नाम], [शहर]
के साथ तय हुआ है।
रोका: [दिन, तिथि], [समय]
स्थान: [स्थान]
इस शुभ अवसर पर आप सपरिवार सादर आमंत्रित हैं।
निवेदक: श्रीमती [नाम] एवं श्री [नाम]
|| Shri Ganeshaya Namah ||
Shubh Samachar
Ishwar ki kripa evam badon ke aashirwad se
hamari suputri
Aayushmati [Vadhu ka naam]
ka rishta
Chi. [Var ka naam]
suputra Shrimati [Naam] evam Shri [Naam], [Shehar]
ke saath tay hua hai.
Roka: [Din, Tithi], [Samay]
Sthaan: [Sthaan]
Is shubh avsar par aap sapariwar saadar aamantrit hain.
Nivedak: Shrimati [Naam] evam Shri [Naam]
॥ श्री गणेशाय नमः ॥
हमारे सुपुत्र
चि. [वर का नाम]
का रिश्ता
आयुष्मती [वधू का नाम]
सुपुत्री श्रीमती [नाम] एवं श्री [नाम], [शहर]
के साथ पक्का हुआ है।
रोका एवं चुन्नी की रस्म
[दिन, तिथि] · [समय]
[स्थान]
आपकी उपस्थिति और आशीर्वाद की अभिलाषा है।
विनीत: [परिवार का नाम]
शुभ समाचार!
[नाम] का रिश्ता पक्का हो गया है। रोका [दिन, तिथि] को [समय] बजे [स्थान] पर है। बस घर के लोग होंगे, आप ज़रूर आइए।
समय और नक्शा: [लिंक]
[आपका नाम]
Namaste [Naam] ji,
Ek khushkhabri hai: [Naam] ka rishta pakka ho gaya! Roka [Din, Tithi] ko hai, [Samay] baje, [Sthaan] par. Sirf ghar ke log honge, aur aapke bina adhoora lagega.
Location: [link]
[Aapka naam]
प्रणाम [नाम] जी,
आपको बताते हुए बहुत खुशी हो रही है कि [नाम] का रिश्ता [नाम] के साथ तय हो गया है। रोका [दिन, तिथि] को [समय] बजे है। आपका आशीर्वाद चाहिए, आप ज़रूर पधारिए।
पूरी जानकारी: [लिंक]
[आपका नाम]
Big news: [Name] and [Name] are getting married!
The Roka is on [Day, Date] at [Time], at [Venue]. Small, family, a lot of food. Will you come?
Map: [link]
If it is fixed:
The wedding is fixed for [Month, Year]. The invitation will follow.
If it is not:
The elders will fix the wedding date after the Roka.
Frame 1: Shree Ganeshaya Namah
Frame 2: [Name] and [Name]
Frame 3: Roka
Frame 4: [Day, Date] · [Time]
Frame 5: [Venue], [City]
Frame 6: With love, the [Surname] and [Surname] families
Hold the last frame for five seconds, and send the map in a separate message.
दोनों परिवारों के आशीर्वाद से आज [नाम] और [नाम] का रोका सम्पन्न हुआ।
आप सबके प्यार के लिए धन्यवाद। शादी की तारीख़ जल्द बताएँगे।
[आपका नाम]
With the blessings of both families, [Name] and [Name]'s Roka took place today.
Thank you for all your love. We will share the wedding date soon.
[Your names]
कल [समय] बजे रोका है।
[स्थान] पहुँचने का नक्शा: [लिंक]
सबका इंतज़ार रहेगा।
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Questions people ask
What is a roka ceremony?
The first formal ceremony of a North Indian wedding, best known in Punjabi families. The two families meet, the bride's family puts a tilak on the groom, the groom's family gives the bride a chunni and gifts, and the match is settled. The name comes from rokna, to stop: both families stop looking for another match.
Who hosts the roka, the bride's family or the groom's?
Families do it differently. In some the bride's family goes to the groom's home, in others the groom's family comes to the bride's, and many now meet at a restaurant or a small hall. Whoever hosts sends the invitation; if both families host, both names go on it.
What should I write in a roka ceremony invitation?
Who is inviting, both names, 'Roka' and anything else happening that day with its own time, the date, the time and the place with a map, whether there is lunch or dinner, and one line on whether the wedding date is fixed. Leave shagun and gifts off it.
How do I write a roka invitation card in Hindi?
Open with ॥ श्री गणेशाय नमः ॥ and शुभ समाचार, write हमारी सुपुत्री आयुष्मती [नाम] का रिश्ता चि. [नाम] के साथ तय हुआ है, then रोका with the day, date, time and place, आप सपरिवार सादर आमंत्रित हैं, and the hosts' names after निवेदक. Cards from both sides are on this page.
What is a good roka invitation message for WhatsApp?
Short and personal: the guest's name, the news that the rishta is fixed, the day, time and place of the roka, and a link or a map. For elders, call first and send the message after the call.
How many people are invited to a roka?
Usually close family only: parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, and a few uncles and aunts from each side. A bigger roka in a hall adds close relatives and some friends.
Is roka the same as engagement?
Not quite. The roka is the families' agreement, often without rings; the sagai or ring ceremony is the engagement most people mean today. Many families now hold both on one day, and then the invitation names each with its own time.
Can I make a roka invitation card or video for free?
Yes. The wording on this page is free to copy, and card makers such as Crafty Art have roka designs. For a video, keep it to thirty or forty-five seconds, with both names and the date in the first five seconds, and send the map separately.
What do guests bring to a roka?
Close relatives usually bless the couple with shagun, money in an envelope, and some bring sweets. The invitation does not need to say so.
