Wording guide
Haldi, mehendi, sangeet and reception invitation messages, function by function
By the Wishly team · Updated
Each wedding function needs its own short invitation that says when, where, what to wear and who it is for, because the haldi, the mehendi, the sangeet and the reception each have a different guest list and mood. Send the main invitation with the full programme first, then a message for each function a few days before it, with its dress code and timing.
Here are ready-to-send messages for each function, the names families in different regions use for them, and notes on dress codes and guest lists.
The haldi
The haldi goes by many names: the pithi among Gujaratis, the maiyan or vatna among Punjabis, the gaye holud in Bengal, the pellikuthuru in Telugu homes and the mangala snanam in many South Indian families. It is usually a morning event at home for family and close friends, and the turmeric stains, so the invitation should say so.
Haldi
Ishita and Varun
Thursday, 4 March 2027, 10 am
At home, [address]
Wear yellow, and something you do not mind staining
Brunch follows
The turmeric is ground and the marigolds are strung.
Come and help Ishita glow: haldi on Thursday at 10 am.
Old clothes, big smiles. [link]
The mehendi
The mehendi takes time: the bride's hands and feet can take hours, and guests wait their turn for a design. Tell guests how long it runs, and whether there will be artists for them too.
Mehendi
Ishita weds Varun
Thursday, 4 March 2027, from 4 pm
[venue]
Green and pink, flowers in the hair
Artists for guests from 5 pm; dinner at 8 pm
Mehendi tomorrow from 4 pm! Come with bare hands and an appetite.
Map and details: [link]
The sangeet
The sangeet is the evening of music and dance, and among Gujaratis it often becomes a garba or dandiya night. If relatives are preparing performances, the invitation is where you ask, so send it early enough for rehearsals.
Sangeet Night
Ishita and Varun
Friday, 5 March 2027, 7.30 pm
[venue]
Dress code: glitter and sequins
Performances by both families; sign up with Ishita's cousin Riya
Ishita and Varun's sangeet is on Friday, 5 March.
We are putting together performances from both families: tell us by 15 February if your group wants a slot, and which song.
The reception
The reception is formal and often the largest gathering, and in many families the groom's side hosts it. Give it the full details a main invitation carries: hosts, venue, time and dress.
Mr and Mrs Rajiv Khanna
request the pleasure of your company
at the wedding reception of
Ishita and Varun
Sunday, 7 March 2027, 7.30 pm
[venue]
Formal evening wear
Other functions that need a message
Many weddings add smaller events with guest lists of their own: a cocktail evening for friends, the chooda ceremony on the wedding morning, the mayra or bhaat in Rajasthani and Haryanvi families, when the maternal uncle's family arrives with gifts, and a farewell brunch the morning after. Each needs only a line or two, sent to the people who are actually invited.
Farewell Brunch
Monday, 8 March 2027, 10 am
[venue]
One last meal together before everyone heads home.
One invitation, or one per function?
Send one invitation with every function on it to the guests invited to all of them, and a separate message to those invited only to the wedding or the reception. A guest who sees the haldi in the programme assumes they are welcome at it, so leave out what they are not invited to.
Ishita and Varun's wedding weekend
Thursday: haldi at 10 am, mehendi from 4 pm
Friday: sangeet from 7.30 pm
Saturday: the wedding, pheras at 8 pm
Sunday: reception at 7.30 pm
Every venue, dress code and the reply button: [link]
Who sends them, and when
Functions at home are hosted by the family whose home it is: the bride's family for her haldi and mehendi, the groom's for his. The sangeet is often shared and the reception is usually the groom's family's, and each host invites its own relatives. Elders should hear about a home function from a parent on the phone, not from a forwarded message.
Ask for a reply per function, because the haldi caterer, the mehendi artists and the sangeet venue each need their own count.
- Give each function a dress code; guests plan outfits around them.
- Put the day, the time and the place in the first line of every message.
- Send a reminder the evening before each function, with the map.
- For functions at home, add a landmark and a note on parking.
Questions families ask
- What should guests wear to a haldi?
- Yellow or light colours, in fabric that can be washed, because the turmeric paste gets on everyone. Say it in the invitation so that nobody arrives in silk.
- Is the mehendi only for women?
- Traditionally it was, but many families now invite everyone, and men often join for the music and the food. The invitation should make clear who is expected.
- How early should function invitations go out?
- With the main invitation, so guests can plan their days, followed by a reminder a day or two before each function.
