What to put on an Indian wedding website: every section, what to leave out, and FAQ answers to copy
A section-by-section checklist for an Indian wedding website: functions, timings, maps, dress codes, RSVP, travel, FAQ answers to copy, and what to leave off.
Put the essentials first: your names and the date, then every function with its date, time, venue, map and dress code, then the families. The reply form, travel notes, your story and photos and a short FAQ come after, for the guests who want them. Keep it short enough for the oldest guest to reach the families, and leave off anything you would not show a stranger, such as your home address or the guest list.
On this page
Families who order an invitation website from us send a long list of what should go on it. The changes they ask for after the relatives see the first version are more useful: what the elders could not find, what nobody read, and what someone did not want to see.
This checklist is built from those changes, section by section, in the order that works on a phone. At the end are FAQ answers you can copy, and a short list of what never belongs on a link that can be forwarded.
The order that works on a phone
A guest reads an invitation website from the top, on a small screen, and many stop before the end. So the order matters more than the decoration.
One family's elders said there was simply too much scrolling. The family rebuilt the page so that the invitation itself ended within five screens: the opening, the date with a countdown, a screen about the couple, the functions, and the families. For the elders, the card ended there. The wedding timeline, the photos, the reply form and the travel details came after, for the guests who wanted them. It is a good order for any family:
- The openingYour names, the date and the invocation your family uses, with one tap to open.
- The date and a countdownThe day, written out with the weekday.
- The functionsEach one with its date, time, venue, map and dress code.
- The familiesBoth sets of parents, and the grandparents if you name them.
- The reply formIf you want replies, here, before the extras.
- Your story and photosFor the friends who scroll this far.
- Travel and stayThe airport, the station, the weather and where to stay.
- A short FAQ and contactsParking, children, timings on the day, and whom to call.
Section by section: what to put in each
| Section | What to put in | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Your names, the date, and the invocation: Shree Ganeshaya Namah, Ik Onkar, Bismillah or a verse | A scratch card or a puzzle that elders may not understand |
| Each function | Its name, the date and weekday, the start time, the venue, a map pin and the dress code in one line | A weekday that does not match its date |
| Venue and map | The venue's full name, a map pin for the gate guests should use, and parking | A pin that opens the wrong gate, or another branch |
| Families | Both sets of parents, the grandparents, and "Late" before those who have passed | A missing uncle, and spellings nobody checked |
| Reply form | Coming or not, how many, which functions, and a stay for those who travel | Questions nobody will use |
| Dress code | One line under each function: colours or a mood | A separate page that nobody opens |
| Travel and stay | The nearest airport and station, the drive time, the weather, the hotel and a contact | The famous station instead of the nearest one |
| Story and photos | A few lines and a handful of photos | Photos placed before the essentials |
| Song | One song, from the second it should start | Music that keeps playing after the guest leaves |
| FAQ and contacts | Short answers to the questions guests will ask, and one or two numbers | Every relative's phone number |
| Gifts | One line, if you want one: "Your blessings are all we ask" | Bank details or a payment code |
The functions
This is the heart of the page. Give each function its own card with the date and the weekday, the start time, the venue, a map button and the dress code. Put the dress code on the function's own card rather than on a separate page: one family deleted their "What to wear" page because every function already said it, and the elders had two screens less to scroll.
Word the dress code as an invitation, not a test. The same family changed "Look the best you can" to "Look the best", because the first one read like a challenge. Our dress code guide has lines for every function.
The families
Name both sets of parents, and the grandparents if you want them, with "Late Shri" or "Late Smt" before those who have passed. Follow your own family's habit with "ji". One family added it for every elder on the groom's side, and for the bride's late father too: while he was alive he was the host, and a host never adds "ji" to his own name, but now his wife was the one inviting. Some families now name the mothers first; our wording guide covers the order and the honorifics.
The reply form
Ask only what someone will use: coming or not, how many, which functions (only the ones that guest is invited to), and whether they need a stay. Our RSVP guide has the questions and the deadlines.
Not every family wants a headcount, though. One family replaced theirs with three light questions: a name, a song for the DJ, and one piece of advice for the couple. The elders would call anyway, they said, and the young ones would enjoy it.
Travel and stay
For guests from other cities: the nearest airport and railway station, how long the drive takes, the weather, the hotel, and whom to call on arrival. Name the station that is really the nearest: one family corrected theirs because the better-known station was two and a half hours away in daytime traffic. For guests from abroad, give the weather in both Celsius and Fahrenheit, as a family in the US asked us to. Our guide for NRI guests covers time zones and what to pack.
Story, photos and the song
Keep the story to a few lines and the photos to a handful. One family's elders did not want photos in the middle of the card, so the gallery moved down to just before the reply form. Choose one song and the second it should start from, and make sure it stops when the guest leaves the page or locks the phone, as another family insisted. The song guide helps with both.
Gifts
If you want to say something about gifts, one line at the end is enough. One father asked for "Blessings only" on the reception invitation, so that guests would not bring boxed gifts or cash envelopes. Our no-gifts wording has gentler versions, and explains why bank details and payment codes stay off the invitation.
FAQ answers guests actually need
A short FAQ saves dozens of calls in the last week. Keep it to the questions your guests will really ask, and answer each in a line or two. The answers below are ready to copy.
If an answer is different for different guests, such as who has a room booked, tell those guests in their own message rather than on the page everyone sees.
What never goes on an open link
An invitation link gets forwarded: to a cousin's family group, to an office, to people you have never met. Anyone who has the main link sees everything on it. So leave these off:
- Your home address. Name the venue, or a landmark near the house, and send the exact pin to the people who need it.
- The guest list, and guests' numbers, flights or room numbers. These belong in your own sheet, not on the page.
- Bank details or a payment code. A gift line is fine; a payment code on a link that travels is not.
- Functions some guests are not invited to. A reception guest should not find the haldi on their link. Inviting guests to only some functions shows how families split it.
- Anything you would not show a colleague. If your parents' office contacts get the same link, keep the story and the photos to what you are happy for them to see. With personal links, parts of the invitation can be switched off for some guests, where the design allows it.
- A page of phone numbers. One or two contacts, with their permission, are enough.
Before you send it
- Open it from a WhatsApp chatOn an old Android phone and on an iPhone, not on a laptop.
- Read every weekday against its dateThen read every name, slowly, with someone who knows the family.
- Tap every map pinEach one should open the gate guests should use.
- Hand it to the oldest relativeIf they stop before the families, cut and move things until they do not.
- Count the screens to the reply formEverything above it should be something every guest needs. Move the rest below it.
Our guide to making an invitation website has the full test, and what an invitation website is explains how it differs from a US-style wedding website.
FAQ answers you can copy
Short answers for the questions guests ask most. Change what is in [square brackets], and leave out any that do not apply to your wedding.
The [function] begins at [time]. The [pheras / nikah / ceremony] will begin at [time], so please be seated by [time].
Yes. Parking is at [place], and guests enter by [gate or landmark]. If it is full, there is more parking at [place], [distance] away.
Yes, children are very welcome at every function. There will be [a play area / a children's menu] at [function].
We love your little ones, but the [function] is for the grown-ups. Children are most welcome at the [function].
Each function has its colours on its card. If you do not have them, wear what you love: you are welcome as you are.
All the food at the [function] is vegetarian. Jain food is available [at its own counter / on request].
We have rooms for our guests at [hotel], [distance] from the venue. Please tell [name] your arrival date and time by [date].
The nearest airport is [airport], about [time] by road. The nearest railway station is [station], about [time] away. Please call [name] on [number] when you arrive.
Expect about [number]°C ([number]°F) in the day and cooler evenings, so bring a light shawl or jacket for the evening functions.
We have planned for the people named on your invitation. If you would like to bring someone, please ask [name] first.
For anything on the day, please call [name] on [number].
Your blessings are the only gift we ask for.
Want these words on a real invitation? See the designs.
Invitation designs
6 designs you can personalise. Open any one to see it full size, with a live demo.
Questions people ask
What should be on a wedding website?
Your names and the date, every function with its date, time, venue, map and dress code, the families, and a reply form if you want replies. Then, for the guests who want them: travel and stay, your story and photos, and a short FAQ with one or two contact numbers.
What should not be on a wedding website?
Anything you would not show a stranger, because links get forwarded: your home address, the guest list, guests' numbers or flights, bank details, and functions some guests are not invited to.
How long should a wedding website be?
Short enough for the oldest guest to reach the families. One family rebuilt theirs so that the invitation itself ended within five screens, with the photos, the reply form and the travel notes after it.
What questions should a wedding website FAQ answer?
Arrival time, parking, children, what to wear, the food, where to stay, how to get there and whom to call on the day. Answer each in a line or two; ready answers are on this page.
Should we put our love story on the wedding website?
A few lines, if you like, after the essentials. Remember who will read it: if colleagues or your parents' contacts get the same link, keep it to what you are happy for them to see.
Should the dress code be on the wedding website?
Yes, in one line under each function, as a suggestion rather than a rule. A separate "What to wear" page is easy to miss and adds screens for the elders.
Should we put our home address on the wedding website?
Better not, on a link that can be forwarded. Name the venue, or a landmark near the house, and send the exact pin to the people who need it.
Do we need both a wedding invitation and a wedding website?
Not for most Indian weddings. An invitation website carries both jobs: the invitation first, with the practical details at the end. What an invitation website is explains the difference.
