BaraatNorth Indian wedding invitation

Baraat puts your guests right inside the procession. The cover is painted from the back of a decorated elephant: a lane of old havelis lit by street lamps, marigold strings criss-crossing overhead, a brass band in bright turbans, and the groom on a white horse with his sehra, riding towards a lit gateway while a firework opens in the violet dusk sky.

In North India the baraat is the part of the wedding everyone remembers, and the part that the groom's side looks forward to most. Friends dance in front of the ghodi, the band plays the same filmi songs every family loves, and the bride's family waits at the gate for the milni. This template is built for that energy. It is festive rather than formal, and full of movement.

It suits Hindu families from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and it is a particularly good fit when the groom's family is sending the invitation, because the baraat is their big moment. Families who love a lively sangeet and a big evening wedding usually like it.

Every function has its own page, so you can give the baraat its own time and gathering point, and keep the sangeet, mehendi, pheras and reception separate. A Google Maps button on each page means guests know exactly where the baraat starts and where it ends.

When guests open your link they see your names over the procession, hear your chosen song, and can watch the countdown to the wedding day. Add a voice note from the parents and a few pre-wedding photos to the gallery, and the RSVP tells you how many people are joining the baraat.