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Indian weddings are celebrated in grand way
where all friends and extended family members are cordially invited.
Traditionally all guests are invited through wedding invitation
card. As soon as the wedding date and venue have been finalized the
foremost task is to get the wedding cards ready and send it across
to the guests. In earlier times, tradition was to in for simple
invites, but at present wedding cards have found interesting and
sometimes outlandish innovations.
Purpose of Wedding Cards
In its essence a Wedding Card or invite is a programme card, which
specifies the date, time and venue of all the auspicious wedding
events. Traditionally this is accepted as a cordial way of inviting
friends and relatives. It is considered imperative that wedding card
be well-designed and printed so that it extends a warm invitation
and lures people to attend the wedding. Given well in advance for
the wedding, invitation cards help guests to make proper arrangement
for participation in wedding ceremonies.
Patterns Used in Traditional Wedding Card
Traditional and most widely used pattern in Indian Wedding Cards
are the religious motives of Lord Ganesha, Om, Swastik, Palki or
doli, Kalash with coconut etc. Of these, image of Lord Ganesh is
highly popular and still an important part of the wedding card.
Terracotta Ganesha painted silver and adorned with a floral border
is a much sought after pattern in present times. In South India,
wedding invites bearing deities of Tirupathi richly designed on
maroon background with dangling tassels are very much in vogue.
The Muslim wedding cards usually have embossed writings from the
Koran or depict a holy mosque embellished with ornamental borders.
While the Christian wedding invites are usually simple. They usually
bear the traditional symbols of love and commitment like a bride and
a groom holding hands, or wedding bells, flowers and bouquets,
wedding rings etc.
Latest Trends in Wedding Cards
Form and pattern of Wedding Cards have changed considerably in
present times. People are being experimental and trying out patterns
other than common illustrations of a young couple holding hands, the
simple images of Gods, or the picture of entwined hearts. Thanks to
the marvels of graphics and computer aided designs people are trying
out innovative patterns in their wedding cards. Customized Wedding
cards in metros are being adorned with the pictures of film stars,
political figures and even photos of the to-be wedded couple in
front of famous architectural buildings. The latest trend which is
attracting the Kochiites is the card with a selected motif printed
at the center of a cream or off-white background bordered with a set
mundu border. The design is scanned from the traditional Kerala
saree and printed which imparts a traditional Kerala touch to the
card. Among other wedding invite styles are pearl finished card
having picture of barat and Ganeshji engraved on it in golden color.
Cards embellished with jewels and semi-precious stones are also
popular in the higher-end range.
Types of Paper Used in Wedding Cards
Initially, wedding cards were made on smooth and simple paper but
today they are made either of handmade paper; criss cross paper or
foreign art paper. The cost of a wedding card varies with the type
of paper used. A card made of handmade paper would cost more than
one made of ordinary paper.
Size of the Wedding Cards
There are no set standard sizes for invitation cards. They could
range from simple size of 10x15 cms to opulent XXL sizes of 25x30
cms. Some go in for cards with one, two or three or even more pages
depending on the number of Wedding functions. The simplest form is
the single card. It is at times adorned at the edge.
Cost of Wedding Cards
Cost of Wedding Cards vary tremendously in present times. Wedding
invitations could range from Rs 6 to Rs 260 per card or even much
more for cards embellished with jewels and stones. It all depends on
the taste, style and the budget of the wedding party. |
