Wedding Wishes and Messages: 150+ for a Friend, Sister, Brother and the Couple

How to write a wedding wish that sounds like you

Most wedding cards say the same three things: congratulations, best wishes, a happy married life. None of that is wrong, but the messages a couple keeps are the ones that could only have come from one person. A simple structure works for almost every relationship:

1. Open with their names. “Riya and Arjun” reads warmer than “Dear couple”.
2. Say one specific thing. A memory, a quality you admire, the moment you knew they were right for each other.
3. Wish them something real. Patience on hard days, laughter on ordinary ones, a home full of people.
4. Sign off as yourself. “With all my love” from a sister, “Warm regards” from a manager.

Two or three sentences is enough for a card. A WhatsApp message can be one line. A speech at the sangeet or reception can stretch to two minutes, and our sangeet planning guide covers how to fit one into the evening.

Quick picks: the right wish in ten seconds

Wedding wishes for a friend

A friend’s wedding is the easiest card to write and the easiest to get bland. Use the friendship. Reference the trips, the late-night calls, the time they swore they would never marry.

• Congratulations, my friend. You found someone who laughs at your jokes, and that is rarer than it sounds. Wishing you both a lifetime of it.
• Watching you two together makes perfect sense. Here is to the adventure ahead.
• Happy wedding day. May your home always have room for friends, chai and long conversations.
• You have always been the friend who shows up. I hope your marriage gives you back every bit of that kindness.
• To the couple who make “us” look effortless: congratulations, and may it stay that easy.
• Wishing you a marriage full of inside jokes, shared playlists and Sunday mornings with nowhere to be.
• Today you marry your best friend. Tomorrow you start building a life with them. Both are worth celebrating.
• Congratulations on finding the one person who can put up with you. We are all very relieved.
• May you never run out of things to talk about, or snacks to share.
• From the friend who saw it coming before you did: I told you so, and I am so happy for you.
• A marriage is a long conversation. I hope yours is a wonderful one. Congratulations.
• Here is to love that is patient, a partner who is kind, and a wedding you will talk about for years.

Wedding wishes for a best friend

For a best friend you are allowed to be both emotional and silly in the same message. The best ones usually admit that something is changing while promising that the friendship is not.

• You have been my person for years. Now you have found yours. I could not be happier, or more ready to give a speech about it.
• To my best friend on her wedding day: you deserve every good thing, and today I get to watch you receive it.
• We used to plan this day on the back of notebooks. You have done better than we ever imagined. Congratulations.
• I promise to keep your secrets, steal your fries and love your partner almost as much as I love you.
• Happy married life to the bravest, funniest, most stubborn person I know. Your partner is very lucky.
• Same friendship, new plus one. Welcome to the family, and congratulations to you both.
• From college canteens to wedding mandaps, I have been there for all of it. Here is to the next chapter.
• I always knew whoever you married would be wonderful, because you would never settle for anything less.
• Thank you for letting me stand beside you today. I will stand beside you both for all the days after, too.
• You are the sister I chose. Watching you marry the love of your life is one of the best days of mine.

Wedding wishes for a sister

Sisters tend to write the longest messages and cry while doing it. If the card is short, save the full version for the haldi or the vidaai, when there is time to say it properly.

• Didi, you taught me how to do everything first. Now you are teaching me what real love looks like. Congratulations.
• The house will be quieter without you, the wardrobe emptier, and my heart fuller watching you this happy.
• To my little sister on her wedding day: I will always be the first person you call, just with a new number on speed dial beside mine.
• Welcome to the family, jiju. You have no idea how lucky you are, but we will remind you often.
• May your marriage be as strong as our childhood fights were loud.
• You were the bride in every game we played as children. Today it is real, and you have never looked more beautiful.
• I have loved you all your life. Now someone else gets to as well. Take care of each other.
• Happy wedding day, sister. Go and build the home we used to draw on the back of our school books.
• Wishing my sister a marriage full of the same laughter she has brought to our family every single day.

Wedding wishes for a brother

• Bhai, you have finally found someone who can handle you. Bhabhi, welcome, and good luck.
• From arguing over the remote to watching you take pheras, it has been quite a journey. I am so proud of you.
• Congratulations to my brother and the best decision he has ever made.
• May your marriage be full of respect, patience and the kind of laughter that fills a house.
• You have always looked after all of us. I hope your new home looks after you.
• Welcome to the family, bhabhi. We are loud, we are emotional and we already love you.
• Happy married life, bhai. Remember: she is always right, and so is Mummy.
• Watching you stand at the mandap today, I saw Papa’s smile on your face. Wishing you both everything.

Wedding wishes for a cousin

• From summer holidays at Nani’s to your wedding day, it has been an honour to grow up beside you. Congratulations.
• The family group chat is about to get a new member. Welcome, and congratulations to you both.
• Wishing my favourite cousin a lifetime of love and a wedding playlist that keeps the uncles dancing.
• May your marriage be as joyful as every family function we ever sneaked away from together.
• Congratulations on the wedding. Here is to the next generation of cousins causing trouble at our functions.

Marriage wishes for a colleague or the boss

Keep workplace wishes warm, brief and free of in-jokes others will not understand. If the whole team signs one card, the safest lines are the ones anyone could put their name under.

• Congratulations on your wedding. Wishing you and your partner a lifetime of happiness.
• Warmest wishes from all of us on the team. Enjoy every moment of the celebrations.
• Heartiest congratulations. May your marriage be blessed with love, health and success.
• We will miss you at your desk for a few weeks, but we could not be happier for you. Congratulations.
• Wishing you both a beautiful wedding and a happy, healthy life together.
• Congratulations on this wonderful milestone. We hope married life brings you as much joy as you bring to the office.
• For a boss: Heartiest congratulations on your wedding. Wishing you and your family every happiness in the years ahead.
• For a boss: Please accept our warmest congratulations. May this new chapter be full of joy, peace and togetherness.

Wishes for the wedding couple

When you know both partners equally, or neither of them well, write to the couple as a pair. These work in a card, a guest book or a gift tag.

• Wishing you a lifetime of love, laughter and good company. Congratulations.
• May your love grow stronger with every year, and your home always be full of warmth.
• Two families, one celebration, and a lifetime ahead. Congratulations to you both.
• May you always be each other’s favourite person to come home to.
• Here is to a marriage built on friendship, patience and a lot of shared chai.
• Congratulations to both of you. May every year together be better than the one before.
• Wishing you the kind of love that gets quieter and deeper with time.
• May you always find your way back to each other, whatever the day brings.
• Congratulations on your wedding. May the seven vows you take today guide every year that follows.
• Here is to the beginning of your forever. Wishing you both every happiness.
• Your love story is one of our favourites. We cannot wait to see the next chapter.
• Best wishes for your marriage: may it be full of small kindnesses, big adventures and very few arguments about the thermostat.

Short wedding wishes for WhatsApp and Instagram

One line, sent the morning of the wedding or under the couple’s first photo, lands better than a long paragraph lost in a busy family group.

• Congratulations, you two. So happy for you.
• Happy wedding day. Today is all about you.
• Wishing you a lifetime of love.
• Best wishes for a beautiful married life.
• Congratulations to both of you. Enjoy every moment.
• Here is to love, laughter and happily ever after.
• Two hearts, one home. Congratulations.
• Happy married life. You both deserve this.
• Congratulations to both of you on your big day.
• So much love to the newlyweds today.
• May today be the first of many wonderful days together.
• Congratulations and best wishes from all of us.

Need a line for your own wedding photos instead? Our wedding captions for Instagram are written for exactly that.

Congratulations happy married life wishes

“Happy married life” is the phrase most Indian guests reach for, and it is perfectly fine on its own. These versions add a little more:

• Congratulations and a very happy married life. May your days be bright and your arguments short.
• Wishing you a happy married life full of trust, understanding and endless cups of tea together.
• Congratulations on your wedding. Here is to a long and happy married life.
• A very happy married life to you both. May every year bring you closer.
• Congratulations. May your married life be as beautiful as your wedding day.
• Happy married life. May you face every challenge together and celebrate every win twice.

Hindi and Hinglish wedding wishes, with their meaning

A line in Hindi often carries more warmth for parents and grandparents reading the card. Each wish is romanised so it can be typed easily, with the English meaning beside it.

Religious and traditional blessings

For an older relative, a family friend or a couple whose faith is central to the wedding, a blessing in the language of that tradition is often the most valued line in the card.

• Hindu wedding: May Lord Ganesha remove every obstacle from your path, and may the seven vows of the saptapadi bring you a lifetime of togetherness.
• Hindu wedding: May Shiva and Parvati bless your union with love, patience and devotion to each other.
• Muslim wedding: Barakallahu lakuma wa baraka alaykuma wa jama’a baynakuma fi khayr. May God bless you both and bring you together in goodness.
• Muslim wedding: Nikah mubarak. May your marriage be full of sukoon, rahmat and barakah.
• Sikh wedding: Lakh lakh vadhaiyan on your Anand Karaj. May Waheguru bless your journey together through every laav.
• Christian wedding: May the Lord bless your marriage and keep you, and may your home be filled with His peace.
• Interfaith wedding: Two traditions, one family and twice the blessings. Congratulations to you both.

Funny wedding wishes, for people who will laugh

Only use these when you know the couple will enjoy it, and never in a card the grandparents will read first.

• Congratulations on finding someone to share the blame with.
• Marriage is just two people annoying each other for the rest of their lives. You two are perfect for it.
• Remember the two most important words in marriage: “You’re right.” And the three: “I’ll order food.”
• May your Wi-Fi always be strong and your in-law visits always be short.
• Congratulations. The wedding was the easy part. Now you have to agree on the AC temperature.
• Wishing you a marriage where the only fights are over the last gulab jamun.

What to write on a shagun envelope or gift card

A cash gift in an envelope, with the customary extra one rupee, is the most common Indian wedding gift, and the envelope only needs a few words. Write the couple’s names on the front, then a single line inside such as “With love and blessings for a happy married life”, and sign with your full name and family name so the couple can thank the right person later. Our guide to Indian wedding guest etiquette covers how much to give and when to hand it over, and the guide to what to wear as a guest covers the rest of the day.

What not to write

• References to exes or past relationships, even as a joke.
• “Finally!” or anything about how long it took. It rarely lands well with the couple or their parents.
• Pressure about children, such as “can’t wait for the good news”. Leave that to the aunties.
• Money or cost remarks about the wedding, the venue or the gifts.
• Inside jokes in a shared card, where half the readers will not understand them.

When to send your wishes

Send a message on the morning of the wedding if you are not attending, or a day before if you know the couple will be busy with rituals. If you are attending, the card goes with your gift, and a short message the day after, once the couple finally has time to read their phones, is a lovely touch. For an engagement, send your wishes the same day the news is shared.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good wedding wish for a friend?

Something personal and short: “Congratulations, my friend. You found someone who laughs at your jokes, and that is rarer than it sounds. Wishing you both a lifetime of it.” Use their names and one memory you share.

What do you write in a wedding card for a couple?

Start with both names, add one sincere sentence about them as a couple, then wish them something specific, such as “a home full of laughter and good friends”. Sign off with your name and, for family occasions, your family name.

How do you say best wishes for marriage?

“Wishing you both a lifetime of love and happiness” or “Best wishes for a happy married life” are the safest versions. In Hindi, “Sukhi vaivahik jeevan ki hardik shubhkamnayein” means heartfelt wishes for a happy married life.

What is a short wedding wish?

“Congratulations, you two. So happy for you.” or “Wishing you a lifetime of love.” One line is enough on WhatsApp or under a wedding photo.

What should I write for my sister’s wedding?

Something only you could say: a childhood memory, what you will miss, and a welcome to her partner. For example: “The house will be quieter without you, and my heart fuller watching you this happy.”

Is “happy married life” correct English?

It is widely used and understood in India and is perfectly acceptable in a card. “Wishing you a happy married life” reads a little more naturally in a written message.

Sources and further reading

• The Emily Post Institute: etiquette guidance on wedding cards and gifts
• Encyclopaedia Britannica: Marriage
• Encyclopaedia Britannica: Hinduism

Planning a wedding of your own rather than writing a card for one? Tell us about it and we will help you plan it.