Guide
Engagement invitation wording
Sagai, roka, nishchitartham, ring ceremony: four wordings, from the parents or from the couple.
What an engagement card says
An engagement invitation is the wedding card's younger sibling: shorter, warmer, one evening. It names who is hosting, the two families, the couple, and one date, time and venue. What it does not do is promise the wedding date, unless that is already fixed, in which case one line at the foot is enough.
The word changes with the family: sagai or roka in the north, nishchitartham in the south, mangni in a Muslim household, "ring ceremony" when nobody wants to choose. The wording below works for all of them; swap the word.
Roka, sagai, ring ceremony: which word
A roka is the first, smallest event: the families agree, a few relatives attend, often at home, and it is rarely announced on a card at all. A sagai or ring ceremony is the engagement proper, with the rings, the guests and the card. In the south the nishchitartham does the same work and is often the more formal of the two, with a priest and a muhurat. Use the family's own word on the card; the wording around it does not change.
Wording you can copy
Shri Ganeshaya Namah
Mr. and Mrs. Vikram Rao
invite you to the engagement of their daughter
Ananya
with
Aditya
son of Mr. and Mrs. Anil Sharma
Saturday, the 12th of December 2026
at 7 o'clock in the evening
The Rao residence, Koramangala, Bangalore
With the blessings of our elders,
the Rao and Sharma families
invite you to celebrate the engagement of
Ananya and Aditya
Saturday, 12 December 2026, 7 pm
The Rao residence, Koramangala, Bangalore
We said yes.
Ananya and Aditya
invite you to our engagement
Saturday, 12 December 2026, 7 pm
The Rao residence, Koramangala, Bangalore
Come and bless us
Ananya and Aditya are engaged. Join us on Saturday 12 December at 7 pm at the Rao residence, Koramangala. Your invitation:
Small things that matter
- One evening, one venue. If there is a dinner, say "dinner follows".
- If the wedding date is fixed, one line: "Wedding in February 2027, invitation to follow". If not, say nothing about it.
- Name the hosts in the first line. Engagements are family affairs and relatives want to know whose house it is.
- A card without photographs is entirely normal for an engagement, and often preferred by the families.
The card that fits
Guldasta draws you through an arch that then stands around the names, which suits an engagement. For a Muslim household, Mangni, with the envelope and the ring.
Make it with Guldasta See it firstMore guides: Nikah invitation wording, Walima invitation wording, Mangni invitation wording, Hindu wedding invitation wording in English, South Indian wedding invitation wording, A digital wedding invitation in India: how it works.