Your phupho in Birmingham, a cousin in Houston, chacha's family in Dubai: for many Pakistani families, half the guest list lives abroad. A card that works for guests in Lahore is not quite enough for them. They need the dates early, the city and airport, and times they can understand without doing sums at work.
Quick answer: a good wedding invitation for overseas guests goes out in two steps. Send a save the date three to six months ahead so relatives can book leave and flights, then the full card with each event's date, time, venue and Google Maps link, the nearest airport and one contact person. Add the time in their country to your WhatsApp message, and share one invitation website link where they can see the programme and RSVP.
When to tell overseas family
December is the busiest time to fly to Pakistan. School holidays, Christmas leave and the wedding season all land in the same weeks, and fares tend to climb the closer you get. Our advice: send a save the date for overseas guests three to six months before, and earlier still if guests need a visa or are coming from the US, where the journey is long and leave is short.
- 3–6 months before: save the date with the week and the city. Exact halls can follow.
- 6–8 weeks before: the full card or invitation website with every event.
- 1 week before: a reminder with times in their country and the contact person's number.
If the date is not fixed yet, the shaadi dates for 2026–27 guide shows where the Islamic months fall. For ready wording, see these save the date messages, including one written for a family in Toronto.
What a wedding invitation for overseas guests needs
Guests in Lahore know which hall "Royal Palm" means. Guests flying in from Manchester or New Jersey may not. Make sure the invitation, or the website behind it, answers these:
- Every event with its own day and date: Mehndi, Wednesday 16 December 2026; Barat, Friday 18 December 2026; Walima, Saturday 19 December 2026.
- The city first, then the venue: "Lahore, Royal Palm" reads faster to someone planning flights.
- A Google Maps link for every venue, so a driver or a taxi app can find it.
- The nearest airport: for Lahore, Allama Iqbal International Airport (LHE).
- A dress code hint: "mehndi: yellow and green", "barat: formal". Cousins born abroad are often unsure what to pack.
- One contact person with a WhatsApp number, ideally someone who will answer questions about pickups and hotels.
Most families put all the events on one nikah invitation card or one shaadi card for the whole programme, and keep travel details for the WhatsApp message or website so the card stays clean.
Wedding invitation time zone table
Print Pakistan time on the card, because that is when the barat actually arrives. Then give guests abroad the local time in your message. Here is what an 8 pm barat in Lahore on Friday 18 December 2026 looks like elsewhere:
| Where | December offset | Difference | Barat time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lahore, Pakistan | UTC+5 | – | 8:00 pm |
| Dubai, UAE | UTC+4 | 1 h behind | 7:00 pm |
| London or Birmingham, UK | UTC+0 | 5 h behind | 3:00 pm |
| New York or Toronto | UTC−5 | 10 h behind | 10:00 am |
| Houston, US | UTC−6 | 11 h behind | 9:00 am |
| Los Angeles, US | UTC−8 | 13 h behind | 7:00 am |
These are winter offsets. Pakistan does not change its clocks, but the UK and North America do in spring, so for a summer wedding the gap is one hour shorter. Always check the date of the event, not today's difference.
English and Urdu wording for family abroad
Elders in the UK often prefer Urdu; their children usually read English more easily. You can send both. Make the card in English, then make the same card in Urdu on the Urdu nikah card page, and check that names, dates and venues match exactly.
Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim
Mr & Mrs Tariq Mehmood request the pleasure of your company
at the Barat of their daughter Ayesha
with Hamza, son of Javed Iqbal
Friday, 18 December 2026 · 8:00 pm (Pakistan time)
Royal Palm, Lahore
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
بسلسلہ تقریبِ بارات
عزیزہ عائشہ بنت طارق محمود
ہمراہ حمزہ ولد جاوید اقبال
بروز جمعہ، ۱۸ دسمبر ۲۰۲۶
وقت: رات ۸ بجے
بمقام: رائل پام، لاہور
منتظرین: طارق محمود و اہلِ خانہ
WhatsApp messages for relatives abroad
The card is the formal part. The message under it is where you can be warm and practical. Copy and change the names:
For an uncle in the UK:
Assalam o Alaikum Rashid chacha! Ayesha's shaadi is in Lahore, 16–19 December 2026, inshaAllah. The barat is on Friday 18 December at 8 pm Pakistan time, which is 3 pm in Birmingham. Flights fill up in December, so please book early. Usman will pick you up from Lahore airport. The full programme and map are here: chatwrapper.site/i/ayesha-hamza
For a cousin in the US:
Sana! Ayesha and Hamza's wedding is happening in Lahore this December. Mehndi on Wednesday 16th, barat on Friday 18th, walima on Saturday 19th. If you can't make it, the barat is 9 am Friday your time in Houston and we'll video call you in. Please RSVP on the link so Ammi can count heads: chatwrapper.site/i/ayesha-hamza
In Roman Urdu:
Assalam o Alaikum! Ayesha aur Hamza ki shaadi 16 se 19 December 2026 tak Lahore mein hai, inshaAllah. Barat Friday 18 December, raat 8 baje Pakistan time. Aap sab ka intezar rahega. Programme, location aur RSVP is link par hai: chatwrapper.site/i/ayesha-hamza
More wording, from formal to short, is in our wedding invitation message collection.
Why an online wedding invitation helps family abroad
A picture on WhatsApp gets buried under forwards. A link stays useful. An online wedding invitation for family abroad on ChatWrapper gets its own address, such as chatwrapper.site/i/ayesha-hamza, and holds everything overseas guests keep asking about:
- A countdown to the first event.
- The programme with each event's date, time and venue, plus Google Maps directions and Add to calendar, so the barat lands in their phone calendar.
- RSVP with guest count, so you know whether the Houston family is four people or six.
- Duas and wishes from relatives who cannot travel.
You can preview your invitation website with your own names for free, without an account, and choose an opening such as the wax-seal envelope or haveli doors. A free account gets you the link. It switches off 30 days after the last event. Our guide to the online wedding invitation website walks through each part.
Visas, travel and guests who cannot come
Do not guess visa rules for your guests. Rules differ for Pakistani, dual-national and foreign passports. Ask them to check entry requirements with the official Pakistan online visa portal or their embassy, and to do it before booking flights.
Some relatives will not manage the trip. Plan for them too: ask one family member to hold a phone on a WhatsApp video call during the nikah and the rukhsati, with a charged power bank and good Wi-Fi at the venue. Tell overseas guests the call time in their own time zone, so a cousin in Los Angeles knows to wake up at 7 am.
Checklist for inviting relatives abroad
- Save the date sent 3–6 months ahead, with the week and city.
- Each event listed with day, date, time and venue.
- Google Maps link for every venue.
- Nearest airport and who will do pickups.
- Dress code hint for each event.
- One contact person with a WhatsApp number.
- Local times worked out for the UK, US, Canada and the Gulf.
- Card made in English and Urdu, with matching details.
- Invitation website link with RSVP shared.
- A video call plan for those who cannot travel.
Get these right and your family abroad will spend less time asking questions and more time planning their trip home.
