A wedding invitation message needs six things: who is getting married, what event this is, the date, the time, the venue, and one clear way to reply by a deadline. Everything else is decoration. Below are five messages you can copy and edit, written for WhatsApp first because that is where most Nigerian invitations are read now, with notes on what changes for the printed card. Each one has been kept short on purpose. An invitation that needs scrolling is an invitation that gets skimmed.
1. The traditional wedding
The families of Chief and Mrs Adeyemi and Mr and Mrs Okafor invite you to the traditional wedding of their children, Kemi and Tunde.
Saturday 21 November 2026, 10am Grand Hall, Ikeja
Please reply YES or NO to this message by 7 November. Your access pass is below; it is for you alone and will be scanned at the gate.
Aso ebi: emerald and gold.
The families lead because that is who is hosting. The reply line names a date and a method. The pass sits in the same message as the invitation, so nobody has to search for it on the day.
2. The white wedding
Kemi and Tunde are getting married, and they would love you there.
Saturday 28 November 2026 Church service: 11am, St Paul's, Yaba Reception: 2pm, Grand Hall, Ikeja
Reply YES or NO by 14 November. Your access pass for the reception is below.
Dress code: formal. Colours of the day: emerald and gold.
Two times, two venues, one reply. If the reception has a gate and the church does not, say which one the pass is for.
3. Both events, one message
You are invited to celebrate Kemi and Tunde.
Traditional wedding: Saturday 21 November, 10am, Grand Hall, Ikeja White wedding and reception: Saturday 28 November, 11am, St Paul's, Yaba, then Grand Hall
Reply with TRAD, WHITE or BOTH by 7 November so we can plan for you. Your passes are below.
A guest may be invited to one event and not the other. Asking for TRAD, WHITE or BOTH tells you which plates to cook without a second message.
4. The reminder
A reminder from Kemi and Tunde: the traditional wedding is this Saturday, 21 November, 10am at Grand Hall, Ikeja.
If you have not replied yet, please tap YES or NO now. Your access pass is below.
Send this seven to ten days before the event to everyone who has not replied. Do not send it to people who already said yes; they will wonder whether their reply was lost. A live guest list makes that split obvious. Reading it out of a chat does not.
5. The change of venue (or time)
Important change for Kemi and Tunde's reception on 28 November: the venue is now Grand Hall, Ikeja, not the Civic Hall. The time is unchanged, 2pm.
Your access pass still works. Please reply OK so we know you have seen this.
Lead with the word change, name what changed and what did not, and ask for an OK. On the day, the people who did not reply OK are the ones your ushers should expect at the wrong venue.
What every message needs, and what to leave out
Needed: the couple's names, the type of event, the date written in full (Saturday 21 November 2026, not 21/11), the time, the venue with the area, one reply method with a deadline, and the access pass in the same message.
Leave out: the love story, a paragraph of gratitude before the facts, three different phone numbers to reply to, and a greeting that expects an answer before the invitation. On WhatsApp, avoid images that carry the only copy of the date and venue; guests search chats by text, not by picture.
For the printed card, the same six things apply. Cards usually add the RSVP line as a name and phone number; we wrote about what RSVP actually means and why so few people do it.
Sending it without losing your number
Copying one message into three hundred chats is how planners get restricted on WhatsApp. The safe way is covered in how to send wedding invitations on WhatsApp without getting your number blocked. On Comtev the invitation and the QR pass go out together in one tap, each guest gets their own message with their own name, and the replies land on one live list.
FAQs
How do I write a wedding invitation message for WhatsApp?
Six things in this order: who is getting married, which event, the date in full, the time, the venue and area, and one way to reply by a deadline. Put the access pass in the same message. Keep it under ten lines.
What is a polite way to ask guests to reply?
Give them the smallest possible action and a date: "Reply YES or NO to this message by 7 November so we can plan for you." A single tap gets more replies than "kindly RSVP to the numbers below".
Should I send the invitation as a picture or as text?
Text, with the picture attached if you have one. Guests search their chats by text when the day comes, and a picture cannot be read by the screen reader or copied into a diary.
How early should wedding invitations go out?
Four to six weeks before the event for most Nigerian weddings, with a reminder seven to ten days before to everyone who has not replied.
Can I put the access card inside the invitation?
Yes. On Comtev each guest's QR pass travels inside their invitation message, and a pass for a guest who is later removed stops working at the gate.