WhatsApp wedding invitation in Pakistan: the shadi card link, how it works and what to write

Almost every shadi (shaadi) invitation in Pakistan now arrives on WhatsApp. The question is what arrives: a picture of a card, a PDF, a video, or a link. This guide is about the WhatsApp invitation card that is a link, the 'e invitation card' or 'e card for wedding' people search for, because it behaves differently from a forward: it opens with the guest's name, carries a map and an RSVP button, and updates itself when a hall or time changes. How to send it, what to write, and who should still get a visit before the message.

A link, not a forward

• A JPG forward is the same picture for everyone, compressed by WhatsApp, and dead once the venue changes. A link opens a private page for that guest.
• A link shows the guest's name and seat count, so 'kitne log aayenge' is answered before anyone asks.
• A link has a map button for each function, a calendar button and an RSVP. A picture has none.
• A link can show Urdu and English with one button; a picture shows one or the other, small.
• When something changes, you edit once; every link already sent shows the new detail. A picture has to be remade and resent to 300 people.
• A link can be opened again on the wedding day from the chat; a picture scrolls away under a week of messages.

What a private link actually contains is in what a private guest link is; what to check before buying any 'e card' is in video, PDF or a real page.

How to send a WhatsApp wedding invitation

• One by one, for family: open each household's chat, paste their private link with a two-line message. Thirty families take about an hour; do it in two sittings.
• Groups, for friends and colleagues: post the general link once in the office or university group with a short English message.
• Broadcast list, for the long list: one message, each contact receives it separately, replies come to you alone. Use it for the general link, not for private ones.
• Order: elders and closest family first (after the visit or call), then relatives, then friends and colleagues, two to four weeks before the first function.
• Reminders: a one-line message the day before each function with the link again. Most families send one before the Mehndi and one before the Walima.

Private links: one per family

A private link is addressed to a household, not a person: 'Chachu Rashid and family, 5 seats'. Send it to one phone in that house and let them forward it within the family; it keeps showing their name. Friends and colleagues get the general link. Packs of 30, 120 or unlimited private links are an upgrade on top of the card (pricing). The routine for who gets which link, and in what order, is in sending your wedding invitation on WhatsApp, done right.

Six WhatsApp invitation messages to copy

• Urdu, for elders: السلام علیکم! اللہ کے فضل سے ہمارے بیٹے [نام] کی شادی [تاریخ] کو ہے۔ تمام تقریبات کی تفصیل، وقت اور ہال کا نقشہ اس لنک پر ہے: [لنک]۔ آپ کی تشریف آوری ہمارے لیے باعثِ عزت ہوگی۔ — [نام] و اہلِ خانہ
• Roman Urdu, for family: Assalam o Alaikum! [Doolha] aur [Dulhan] ki shadi [tareekh] ko hai. Mehndi, Baraat aur Walima ki tafseel aur map is link par hai: [link]. Aap sab ka intezar rahega. – [Naam] aur ghar wale
• English, for friends: [Groom] and [Bride] are getting married on [date]. Everything (times, venues, maps) is on our card: [link]. We would love to have you there.
• English, for colleagues: You are warmly invited to the Walima of [Groom] on [day, date] at [venue]. The card with the map and RSVP is here: [link]. – [Name]
• Roman Urdu, short, from the groom: Bhai, meri shadi hai [tareekh] ko! Card aur location: [link]. Aana zaroor hai.
• Reminder, the day before: Kal shaam [function] hai, [waqt] par, [hall]. Map aur tafseel: [link]. Aap ka intezar hai.

Fifteen more, sorted by elders, friends, colleagues and reminders, are in wedding invitation messages for WhatsApp; Urdu-first texts in wedding invitation message in Urdu.

Etiquette: who still gets a visit or a call

• Grandparents, parents' elder siblings and the family's elders: a visit with a printed card and mithai, then the link so they have the map.
• Close relatives and the bride's or groom's family: a phone call first, the link after.
• VIP guests, bosses, the nikah khwan: a call or a message from the parents, not from the children.
• Friends and colleagues: the link in the message is the invitation; no call needed.
• Never only a group post for someone who expected a personal message. The private link exists for exactly that.

Aam sawalat

• Kya link kisi bhi phone par khulta hai? Haan, browser mein; app ki zaroorat nahi. Internet chahiye.
• Mehman link aage forward kar de to? Private link us ghar ka naam dikhata rahega; general link sab ke liye ek jaisa hai.
• WhatsApp par link ka preview nahi aa raha? Pehli baar bhejne par preview banne mein ek do second lagte hain; message bhejne se pehle rukein.
• E invitation card Pakistan mein kitne ka hai? Card Rs. 1,999 ek baar; private links ka pack alag. Pricing.

To see the card the link opens, try Elegant Wedding with your own names free, or read digital shadi card for the whole picture. Designs by function are on wedding invitations.