Inviting Friends for Marriage Through WhatsApp? | Must Read Before
Updated: Oct 2, 2019
In this day and age of Amazon Prime, Swiggy, Door Dash, Netflix and everybody having everything they need, physical marriage invites are actually more clutter than caring.
People still appreciate physical marriage invitations, but they're going to throw away that beautiful package after a few weeks.
Yet many engaged couples are scared that if they only send a digital wedding invitation in the form of an SMS, text or email, it will be offensive.
Which begs the question..how should you invite your friends for your marriage celebration?
What's the protocol in the gossiping uncle and auntie community?
Luckily, uncle and auntie LOVE whatsApp. (In case it wasn't obvious from all the religious forwards).
Everybody prefers digital now!
In fact most of us just save the wedding date, make sure we're free, and then keep looking back at our WhatsApp images to remember details like:
Where is it again?
What were those events? Is there a mehendi?
What time does the Sangeet start?
What's the dress code for the Reception?
What are the different wedding themes they chose?
Any other relevant marriage invitation messages and details that are important.
Chances are you're also asking yourself...
Should I REALLY be inviting friends and family for my wedding on WhatsApp?
It does sound tacky doesn't it?
You mom and dad are probably insisting we all go spend $6 (350 INR) per guest to send them a piece of paper they don't need...because tradition.
But if you only send them to the uncles because your college friends won't care...word gets around, people get angry, and so on.
Oh Indian weddings! What fun!
That being said, I do weddings every weekend for super wealthy and middle-class families and I'm happy to say, sending your wedding invitations through WhatsApp or Email or just digital via website is not only OK, cost effective and cheaper...it's also preferred.
Think about it.
Movie tickets, receipts, flight itineraries...does anybody want to carry those around anymore?
Of course not.
EVEN WHEN I GET PRINTED MARRIAGE CARD, I NEVER TAKE A PICTURE OF IT AND KEEP IT ON MY PHONE.
Hence in 2019 you should probably ONLY send your marriage invites digitally.
That being said, read this first.
The Perfect WhatsApp Wedding Invitation in 2019 | HOW TO WRITE
Don't type it out on your phone. Write it on your laptop and cut/paste it later.
Type it formally and formatted nicely.
Send one broadcast to save the date, then one formal invitation to the link of a website where the actual invitation is.
The Good News
You don't need to print out or deliver these crazy fancy invites.
Nobody really complains about soft copies any more.
If you have changes in the wedding events like weddings always do, no need to print more invites! You can just send an updated marriage invitation on whatsApp.
Most Indian weddings change the order of events anyways, because they invitations were printed months before, and now things have changed and the updated marriage invite comes from....you got it...WhatsApp! Or sometimes SMS, email, etc..
The Bad News
You still need to design a marriage invitation using some online wedding invitation ecard system. They're so many out there so find the one that suits you.
It has to be linked in your message.
The website or invitation needs all the details like dress code, timings of functions, locations, pick up and drop off locations, etc..
CONCLUSION
Inviting your friends and family to your wedding through WhatsApp is a cost-effective way as opposed to printing hundreds or thousands of wedding cards and wasting your budget.
Also the hassle of finding the right designer and printer, sending things in this real post in this digital age and waiting for snail mail RSVP's is just not efficient.
With so many websites and apps designing your own WhatsApp wedding invite or even taking professional help is less of a hassle as all communications can happen online.
Did this help? Do let us know. And for those of you with wedding advice questions or need of DJ/Lighting services in California or North America, contact us below!
Ajay Manaktala is one of the best Indian Wedding DJs in America who has personally DJ'd and produced over 1000 Indian weddings in his 20+ years of being in the sound and lighting business. Him and his company blog extensively on South Asian events on this blog as well as on Quora.