You have made the invitation video. Now it has to reach two hundred people, look good on their phones, and give them everything they need to arrive on time. This guide covers the practical side: quality, the message that goes with the video, sending to many people, and one important safety point.
Send a video file, not a link or an app
An MP4 video is the easiest format for guests: it plays inside the chat with one tap, works on every phone, and can be forwarded inside the family without anyone installing anything. That is why the invites we make are always plain MP4 files.
Links to websites are useful for extras (RSVP form, a live stream), but don’t make guests open a website just to see the invite. And never send an invite as an app file — more on that below.
Keep the quality sharp
WhatsApp compresses videos to save data, so fine text can look soft after sending. Two ways to avoid it:
- HD option: when you attach the video, newer versions of WhatsApp show an HD button at the top of the preview. Choose it before tapping send.
- Send as a Document: attach the MP4 using Document instead of Gallery. The file goes unchanged, but guests see a file to tap rather than a video that plays in the chat.
A good habit: send the normal video (it plays straight away for everyone) to large groups, and keep the Document version for people who want to print a frame or save the original.
Always send the video to yourself first and watch it on your own phone. If the smallest text is hard to read there, increase its size before sending to everyone.
Write the message that goes with the video
The video carries the emotion; the message carries the facts guests need on the day. Put these in it:
- names and the main date,
- each function with time and a Google Maps link (open the venue in Google Maps → Share → copy link),
- a contact number,
- an RSVP line if you need numbers for catering (“Please confirm by 1 December”).
🙏 Namaste! With joy we invite you and your family to the wedding of Rahul ❤️ Priya Mehndi: Fri 11 Dec, 4 pm — (map link) Wedding: Sat 12 Dec, 7:30 pm — (map link) Reception: Sun 13 Dec, 8 pm — (map link) Kindly confirm by 1 December · Contact: 98xxx xxxxx — Sharma family
For Hindi and Gujarati versions of this text, see our wedding invitation wording guide.
Sending to many people
There is no single right way; most families use a mix.
Broadcast list
In WhatsApp, open the menu → New broadcast, and pick contacts. Everyone gets the message as a personal chat from you, and replies come back to you privately, not to a group. One catch: only people who have saved your number receive broadcast messages. Anyone who doesn’t have you in their contacts must get the invite directly.
Family and friends’ groups
Groups you already have (the cousins’ group, the society group, the office group) are the fastest way to reach many people. Ask the group admin first for the office or society group.
Forwarding
You can forward the video from one chat to others. WhatsApp limits how many chats you can forward a message to at a time, so for long lists the broadcast list is quicker.
Personal invitations still matter
In many families a WhatsApp invite is not enough for elders, close relatives and your parents’ friends. Call them, or send the video with a short voice note in your own voice. It takes time, but it is noticed and remembered. Some families also send the first invite to the family deity or Ganpati temple before anyone else — a lovely tradition that works with a digital invite too.
Stay safe: real invites are never .apk files
Cyber police in several states, including Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, have warned about a scam: an unknown number sends a “wedding invitation card” on WhatsApp that is actually an .apk file (an Android app). Installing it can give fraudsters access to the phone, its messages and its OTPs.
What this means for you and your guests:
- Send your invite as a video (.mp4), an image or a PDF — never as an app.
- If a guest asks whether your invite is safe, tell them: it plays inside WhatsApp and needs nothing to be installed.
- If you yourself receive a “wedding card” that asks to install something, don’t install it. Confirm with the sender by calling them.
- Report fraud attempts at the national cybercrime portal (cybercrime.gov.in) or helpline 1930.
Reminders that guests actually like
- One week before: a short reminder with the function list.
- The day before each function: the time and the map link again. Many guests search their chat for “map” on the day.
- On the day: a live location pin for hard-to-find venues, and the contact number of someone who is not the bride or groom.
How early to send the first invite? See our timeline for sending wedding invitations.
A quick checklist before you press send
- Watched the final video once, on a phone, with sound.
- Every date has its day, every time has am / pm.
- Map link checked for every venue (open each one).
- RSVP date and contact number in the message.
- The video file is an MP4, not an app or an unknown file type.
Don’t have the video yet? Read how to make a wedding invitation video on mobile, or see our wedding and birthday invitation pages.