South Asian wedding card

Hindu wedding card

In the Indian subcontinent, wedding cards (Hindi/Marathi:निमंत्रण पत्र/पत्रिका, Nimantran Patra/patrika/Kankotri) are the invitations sent to relatives, friends, colleagues informing them about an Indian wedding. It is considered to be formal and traditional way of inviting concerned people to wedding.

Different types of cards, such as Hindu wedding cards, and Ganesha wedding cards, are available. It is a common practise in Indian weddings to have two sets of cards printed. One from the groom's side, to announce the marriage to their near and dear ones. The other from the bride's side. This is in keeping with the traditions of a formal arranged marriage.

The wedding cards are generally ornate and embellished, however nowadays a lot of minimalist styles have also flooded the market. Like in the western counterparts, it is the budget finally that decides the type of card ordered and used.

Image shows Ganesha on an Indian Wedding Invitation Card. Many Hindu cards have this printed on cover or inside page. Ganesha is believed to bring prosperity to the couple.

In a traditional Indian wedding, the formal invitation is the only card announcing a marriage to the community. There are no arrangements for save the date cards, RSVP cards or thank you cards. This is because a person may come with as many persons as he/ she wishes to in an Indian wedding. Guest lists are not strict, No master lists or registrations are prepared or required and most people attending a wedding would not have even received a formal invitation. This is because having a 500+ guest count is a regular affair for most Indian middle class weddings and most people are hence invited by word of mouth.

A new trend has been to only give reception cards (specially in South Indian marriages) when there is no tradition of a baraat (a groom's procession). This is so as to delineate the ritual laden wedding ceremony proper to be attended by only the closest people; family and friends. Whereas the more opulent reception is attended by all.

When you browse through Indian wedding cards or wedding paper, you're likely to run across a wide variety of images. Most of these images are important Indian Traditional symbols of marriage and love.

The Islam Symbol is basically taken to be the crescent and the star. Other symbols are non-textual and non-verbal. Islamic religion as such or maybe some Islamic tradition. Few symbols like the color green have log association with Islam. The Muslim art encompasses majority of these symbols in representation of complex ideology while architecture makes use of the same for decorative purposes.

Below is an example for some of the most common symbols you'll find:

• Wedding ceremony symbols
• Ganesh wedding symbols
• Kalasha symbols
• Swastik symbols
• Doli symbols
• Om symbols
• Christian symbols
• Muslim symbols
  • Moon symbols
  • 786 (Basmala)