A wedding website used to feel like an extra. For a Tamil wedding with family in three countries, a Nichayathartham months before, a morning Muhurtham and an evening Reception, it is often the simplest way to keep everyone on the same page. Here is what to put on it.
The essentials
Your names, both families and the date
Guests should see your names, the date and the city the moment the page opens. On a Tamil wedding site, both families belong near the top too, just as they do on the pathirikai.
Every event, separately
List each event with its own date, time, venue and map link: Nichayathartham, Muhurtham, Reception and anything else you are hosting. Give the Muhurtham as a window, and say when guests should be seated. Not everyone is invited to everything, so the site should show each household only the events they are invited to.
Your pathirikai
Put the invitation itself on the site: the invocation if you use one, both sets of parents with their honorifics, the blessings line, the Muhurtham and the venue. Relatives who missed the WhatsApp message can always find it.
RSVP for each event
Halls and caterers charge per head, so ask for a headcount per event. If one event has a mixed menu, ask how many vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals, and leave room for dietary notes. A household should be able to reply for everyone in one go.
Travel and stay
Name the nearest airport and a couple of hotels close to the venues. Family flying in from abroad will thank you, and it saves you answering the same question forty times.
A short FAQ
Parking, children, dress, how long the ceremony lasts, whether lunch follows. Keep answers short and practical.
Nice to have
- Your story: how you met, in a few honest paragraphs.
- A photo gallery from your engagement or Nichayathartham.
- A guestbook where relatives who cannot come can leave a blessing and a photo.
- A Tamil word or line as part of the design, such as திருமணம் (Thirumanam) or வரவேற்பு (Varaverpu) beside the Reception.
What to leave out
- Your home address, unless the event is there and the page is limited to the guests invited to it.
- Long explanations of rituals your family does not actually do.
- Anything you would not want forwarded to the wider family group. Assume it will be.
Privacy
A wedding site holds names, dates and venues. Add a password if you want one, keep private events visible only to the households you invite, and make sure the site is hidden from search engines.
Make it look like your wedding
Generic templates tend to look like every other wedding. Choose a design that feels Tamil to you: kolam borders and temple gold for a traditional look, jasmine and ivory for something lighter, mango-leaf green for a bold, faith-neutral feel. Any Tamil script should be set in a proper Tamil typeface, so the letters join correctly on every phone.
When to publish
Put the site up when you send your save the date, even if it only has your names, the date, the city and the travel section. Add the events, the pathirikai and the RSVP when the invitation goes out, about two to three months before the wedding. Guests who checked early will find everything in the same place when they come back.
Sharing it
Most Tamil families share wedding news on WhatsApp. Check that your link shows a proper preview with your names and design, and send it from your own phone so it arrives from someone guests know. Many families still call elders personally or visit them with the printed or digital pathirikai; the website does not replace that, it backs it up.