Wedding

What to write in a wedding card

Wedding cards are surprisingly hard. Too generic and you sound like the inside of a card-shop verse; too clever and you risk overshadowing the day. The right note is warm, specific, and short enough to leave room on the page for the next person.

WhatToWrite's wedding message generator helps you find that note in seconds. Pick the tone — heartfelt, poetic, casual, or formal — choose your relationship to the couple, and add anything specific (a shared memory, an inside joke, a wish for the year ahead). We'll write you something you can sign your name to and mean it.

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A few wedding messages, by tone

Heartfelt

Wishing you both a marriage as warm and steady as the love that brought you here — full of small daily kindnesses and the kind of laughter that fills a room.

Poetic

May the years ahead be measured not in milestones but in mornings: ordinary ones, beside the person you chose.

Funny

Marriage is mostly figuring out who put the dishes in wrong. Wishing you a lifetime of cheerfully losing that argument.

Formal

Please accept our warmest congratulations on your wedding. We wish you a long and happy life together.

Casual

So happy for you both — yesterday was perfect, and you two are great together. Here's to whatever comes next.

Professional

Congratulations on your wedding. Wishing you both every happiness in the years ahead.

How to write a wedding card that actually means something

Write to the couple, not just one of them. Even if you only know one half well, the card belongs on a shelf both of them will see — "to you both" or "to you and Sam" sits better than something addressed only to your friend.

Skip the marriage advice. Whoever they are, they're not looking for it on their wedding day. Wishes for the future, gratitude for being included, a memory of the bride or groom that the other half might enjoy hearing — all of these land better than a paragraph on "the secret to a happy marriage."

Length depends on the card. A signed group card wants one warm line. A card you've bought yourself has room for two or three sentences. A speech is a different thing entirely — different rules, different length, different stakes.

Frequently asked

What do you write in a wedding card if you don't know the couple well?

Keep it short and warm. "Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness — so glad to be part of the day" works for almost anyone. Avoid in-jokes or claims of intimacy you don't really have; sincerity at one sentence is better than warmth stretched to a paragraph.

Is it okay to write a funny wedding card message?

Yes — if your relationship with the couple supports it. Funny works best when it's gentle and self-aware ("marriage is mostly figuring out who put the dishes in wrong"), not when it pokes at one of them or recycles old stag-do material. If in doubt, skew warm.

What should I write in a wedding card to my best friend?

Specificity. The thing you're proudest of in them, the moment you knew this was the right partner, a memory only the two of you share. A wedding card from a best friend can carry weight a card from an aunt can't — use it.

How much money should I include with my wedding card?

There's no fixed rule, but most guides suggest matching what you'd spend on a gift for a similar occasion — typically £50–£150 in the UK, $75–$200 in North America, depending on closeness and your budget. Cash is most useful; a card alone is also entirely fine.

For more examples across every tone, see our full guide: what to write in a wedding card →