What to write in a wedding card, with 60 wedding wishes.

“Jess and Marco, watching you two laugh through your vows was the best part of my year. You make each other better, and everyone around you can see it. Congratulations, and here’s to a lifetime of Sunday pancakes.”

That’s a whole wedding card, and it’s about as long as one needs to be. It uses both names and mentions something the writer saw on the day, then ends on a wish that only fits these two. A lot of couples read every card once the adrenaline wears off, and those are the ones they keep. Below are 60 wedding wishes sorted by how well you know the couple, with notes on each kind, plus a section on gifts and one on signing a card as a group.

How to write a wedding card that sounds like you

Most good wedding messages follow the shape of that card. Congratulate them both, by name. Mention one thing about them or the day. Then wish them something that suits who they are, rather than a line about marriage in general.

The middle part is where people stall, because getting personal feels risky. It can be tiny, though. The way he looked at her during the vows. Both of them crying at the toast. The time they argued for twenty minutes about how to load a dishwasher and you knew they’d be fine. Anything that shows you know them as a couple will do.

Tom and Ade, I’ll never forget you two arguing at my birthday about the right way to load a dishwasher, then doing it together anyway. That’s when I knew. Congratulations, both of you, and good luck with the cutlery basket.

A few small rules help. Use both names, even if you only really know one of them. Spell them correctly, especially if someone is changing a name or keeping it. Skip anything about exes, how long the engagement took or when the kids are coming. And if you’re not sure whether a joke will land, it probably won’t in front of their grandmother, who may well read the card too.

Wedding wishes for close friends

This is where you can be most yourself. You have history, so use it. A line that refers back to how they met, or what they were like before they met each other, usually lands better than anything poetic.

• I’ve known you for fifteen years and I’ve never seen you this happy. Congratulations, both of you.
• From late-night diner runs to this. So proud of you, and so happy for you two.
• You found someone who gets your weird and adds some of their own. Hold on to each other.
• I knew she was the one when you started texting me about her constantly. Thank you for letting me be part of today.
• You two are my favorite couple to be around. I can’t wait for all the dinners ahead, and I’m bringing dessert to every one.
• Officially welcome to the friend group, Dan. Unofficially, you’ve been stuck with us for years.

Priya and Sam, I still remember Priya calling me after your first date to say she’d met someone who also puts hot sauce on everything. That was six years ago and the hot sauce shelf has only grown. I love you both, and I’m so happy you found each other. Congratulations.

Wedding wishes for family

Family cards can carry a lot of history in one sentence. They’re also a good place to welcome the new person explicitly, which they’ll notice and appreciate.

• Watching my little brother get married was one of the proudest days of my life. Welcome to the family, Aisha. We’re lucky to have you.
• Sis, you deserve every bit of this happiness. Congratulations to you both.
• To my favorite niece and her new husband, may your home be full of laughter and very good food.
• Your grandpa and I were married fifty-two years. I hope you get even more. All my love.
• Congratulations, cousin! I can’t wait to embarrass you at every family reunion from now on, now with a witness.
• Mom and I are so proud of the person you are and the partner you chose. Welcome home, Chris.
• We’ve loved having you at the holidays for years, Elena. Now it’s official, and you can’t get out of the cooking.

Wedding wishes for a coworker

Keep these warm and a bit lighter. You probably know a lot about the wedding planning from Monday mornings, so you can refer to that. Avoid anything you wouldn’t want read aloud by their new in-laws.

• Congratulations on your wedding! Wishing you both a wonderful life together.
• So happy for you. Enjoy the honeymoon and don’t check your email once. We’ll cope.
• You’ve talked about this wedding for a year and it sounds like it was perfect. Congratulations to you and Chris.
• After all those lunch breaks spent on seating charts, you made it. Congratulations!
• Congratulations from all of us. We hope the day was everything you planned and the parts you didn’t plan were even better.
• Congratulations on marrying someone who laughs at your jokes almost as much as we do.

For a couple you don’t know well

Maybe it’s your partner’s college friend, a plus-one situation or a cousin you see twice a decade. Warm and simple is the way. Thank them for including you, since that’s the one thing you know for sure.

• Congratulations on your wedding. Thank you for including us in such a special day.
• It was such a pleasure to celebrate with you. Best wishes for all the years ahead.
• Thank you for having us. What a wonderful day, and what a great start.
• Wishing you a happy home, good health and lots of love.
• Congratulations to you both. That first dance was the highlight of the night.

Funny wedding wishes

Funny works when you know the couple well and they share your sense of humor. It works even better when you pair the joke with one sincere line, so the card doesn’t read as only a bit. Skip anything about the ball and chain or the end of freedom. Those jokes were tired a long time ago.

• Congratulations on finding the one person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.
• Marriage is mostly texting each other “what do you want for dinner” for sixty years. You two will be great at it.
• Remember the two magic phrases. “You’re right” and “I’ll do the dishes.”
• Congratulations! I give it forever.
• Now you have someone to blame for everything, legally.
• Wishing you a marriage as strong as the coffee at this venue was weak. Love you both.

Short wedding wishes

For a gift tag, the corner of a group card or when the pen at the gift table is running out. Short is fine. It just helps to add both names.

• Congratulations to the happy couple!
• So happy for you both.
• Here’s to forever.
• Wishing you a lifetime of happiness.
• Best day ever. Best couple ever.
• Cheers to the two of you.

Religious wedding wishes

If the couple is religious and you share their faith, or you know they’d welcome a blessing, these fit well. If you’re not sure, a non-religious wish is always safe.

• May God bless your marriage and fill your home with love and peace.
• Praying that your marriage grows stronger with every year. God bless you both.
• “Love is patient, love is kind.” Wishing you a marriage built on both.
• May the Lord guide you, keep you and give you many happy years together.
• What God has joined together, may nothing ever pull apart. Congratulations to you both.

Non-religious wedding wishes

• May your life together be full of adventure, good friends and quiet mornings.
• Wishing you a marriage where you always feel like teammates.
• Here’s to growing old together and never running out of things to talk about.
• May you always find your way back to each other, whatever life throws at you.
• Wishing you patience on the hard days and gratitude on the easy ones.

Wedding wishes when you can’t attend

Missing a wedding can feel awkward, but a good card fixes most of it. Say you’re sorry without over-explaining, then make the rest of the card about them. An offer to celebrate together later helps too.

• I’m so sorry I can’t be there, but I’ll be thinking of you all day. Congratulations!
• Wish I could be there to celebrate with you. Raise a glass for me, and I’ll raise one back from here.
• Missing your wedding is breaking my heart. Dinner is on me the moment you’re back from the honeymoon.
• Sending all my love from across the country. Please save me a picture of the dance floor.
• Sorry to miss the party. Consider this card my RSVP to every anniversary dinner from now on.

For an elopement or a small wedding

When a couple elopes or keeps the guest list tiny, a card is often the only way friends get to mark it. Don’t make them feel guilty about not inviting you. Celebrate the choice.

• You did it your way, and it looks perfect. Congratulations to you both.
• A courthouse, two witnesses and the happiest photos I’ve ever seen. Congratulations!
• Best news in my inbox all year. So happy for you two. Let us take you out to celebrate soon.
• No fuss, just the two of you. That seems exactly right. Congratulations.

Lines for a group card from friends or the office

If you’re writing the header line on behalf of everyone, keep it simple and let the individual messages carry the stories.

• From everyone on the third floor, congratulations! We’re so happy for you both.
• The whole group chat is very emotional right now. Congratulations, you two.
• From your college crew, who saw this coming years before you did. Congratulations!

A word on gifts

If the couple has a registry, start there. They made it on purpose, and buying off it is the kindest thing you can do for someone who has to find room for everything later. Many couples also say up front that they’d prefer cash or a honeymoon fund, and that’s worth respecting even if it feels less personal. The card is where the personal part goes.

If there’s no registry, everything on it is gone, or a group of friends or coworkers wants to go in on something together, a few things tend to work for nearly any couple.

• A Le Creuset Dutch oven is a classic group gift, the kind of thing people use for decades and might not buy for themselves.
• A Lodge cast iron skillet is a smaller version of the same idea. Cast iron lasts basically forever if you look after it, which is a nice thing to give a couple starting out.
• An Aura Carver digital frame works well from a friend group. Load it with photos of the couple from over the years, plus a few from the wedding, before you hand it over.
• A Barefoot Dreams throw for the couch they’ll be collapsing onto the week after the wedding. Cozy gifts suit couples who already have a full kitchen.

If you’re pooling money for something bigger, our guide on organizing a group gift walks through collecting it without chasing people.

Signing a wedding card as a group

When a whole group wants to say something, one shared card often means more than ten separate ones. The couple gets everything in one place, and people who’d never give a toast still get to add a line. It’s especially handy when the group is spread out, like college friends in different cities, a half-remote team, or coworkers who aren’t invited to the wedding but still want to say congratulations.

Say your team wants to send something to Chris, who’s getting married on a Saturday in another state. Pick one person to organize, set a deadline a few days before the wedding, and ask everyone to add a memory with Chris or one piece of advice instead of a bare “Congrats!!” For an office card, keep the jokes friendly, because the couple may share it with family.

You can make an online wedding card on LittleSurprise and drop one link in the group chat or team channel. Everyone signs from their phone without an account, and the couple opens their messages one at a time from a private link, turning a handle for each one. On paid plans people can add a photo with their message, and you can set it to open on the evening of the wedding or once they’re back from the honeymoon. Our guide on how to make a virtual group card has more on getting everyone to sign in time, or you can start a card now.