Wedding Invitation Proofreading Checklist: Before You Print or Send

Start with one approved text

Most wedding card errors begin with several versions of the wording moving through family chats. Before anything is designed, write one document with every name, line and event, have the right people approve it, and mark it final. Every proof is then checked against that document, not against the previous proof.

Freeze the text before design begins and change it only through the same document. A late change is the most expensive kind of change, and it is also the one most likely to be missed in one version while being fixed in another.

Names and relationships

1. The spelling of the bride's and groom's names, as they want them.
2. The order of names: who is listed first on each line, with both families in mind.
3. Hosting elders and parents, with titles and honorifics such as Shri, Smt., Dr. or the regional equivalents.
4. Relationship words such as son of, daughter of, grandson of.
5. Family surnames and any in-laws or relatives named on the card.
6. Names that are easily misspelled by a printer or a designer, especially in Devanagari, Gujarati, Tamil or other scripts.

Names are the most sensitive part of an Indian card. Ask each person whose name appears to read their own line. It takes five minutes and prevents a family dispute.

Dates, days and times

1. The date, the day of the week and the month agree. A card saying Sunday with a date that falls on Saturday is a common slip.
2. The muhurat or ceremony time matches the priest's note exactly.
3. Every function has a start time, and an end time or onwards.
4. The time zone is clear if guests are overseas.
5. Events are in the order guests will attend them.
6. The hours are in the same format throughout, such as 7:30 pm rather than a mix of 24-hour and 12-hour times.

Venues, maps and logistics

1. Each venue's name and full address, with the PIN code.
2. A landmark for guests who do not use maps.
3. Each map link opened on a phone and checked for the right building and entrance.
4. Parking, entry gate and any registration or security note.
5. Stay, travel and transport notes for outstation guests, if included.
6. Dress code or theme only where it helps the guest.

RSVP, contacts, QR codes and links

1. A clear RSVP deadline and a single route to reply. See printed and digital invitations together.
2. A phone number that reaches a real person, and the name of that person.
3. The QR code scanned from the proof on both an iPhone and an Android. See adding a QR code to a printed wedding card.
4. The printed text link typed out by hand and opened.
5. The digital invitation opened on mobile data, to see what a guest sees.
6. The WhatsApp preview checked in a test chat. See why a link shows no picture on WhatsApp.

Language, scripts and sacred text

• Have a fluent reader check every line in a regional language, not only a proofreader of English.
• Check that conjunct letters and diacritics have not broken. Some fonts and tools damage Indian scripts.
• Verses, shlokas and blessings should be checked by the person who chose them against the source.
• If the invitation is bilingual, check that both versions say the same thing. See the bilingual invitation wording guide.
• Check spacing and line breaks, so that a name does not split across lines awkwardly.

Who should sign off, and how to record it

A card that the whole family has glanced at has often been checked by nobody. Name the people who sign off and what each one checks. One person owns the final text. Each elder checks their own name and relationship line. The priest or family guide confirms the muhurat and any verse. Someone fluent in each language checks the script. One person who did not write any of it reads everything cold.

Record the approval in writing, even as a message in the family group that says which version was approved and on what date. If a printer or designer later changes something, you have a clear reference. For a digital invitation, ask for a final review link and approve that exact version before it is shared widely.

Final read: printed and digital

1. Two people who did not write it read the whole thing aloud, slowly, line by line.
2. Read it backwards by line once. It stops the brain from skimming.
3. For print, ask for a proof and check colours, margins, any foil or emboss placement and the QR code on paper. See foil, emboss and laser-cut finishes.
4. For the digital invitation, open it on a mid-range phone, in the sun and in dim light, to check legibility.
5. Compare the printed card and the digital invitation against one text, so both say the same.
6. Keep a signed-off copy of the approved proof and the date you approved it.