New age wedding cards on display at a shop in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, June 24: With remarkable transformation in wedding couture, jewellery and mandap decorations in the past few years, it is now the turn of wedding cards to get a makeover. The invites now come in glamorous and revamped designs that have a classy yet fresh look.

According to traditions, the invitation card holds a special significance and meaning in weddings. The card not only informs about the events and venue but is also considered an auspicious symbol of the marriage ceremony. In fact, many believe that the bigger the card, the better it is. In recent times, grand invitation cards have become a status symbol too.

An array of designs and forms of the cards are found in the market now. Those with the traditional logo of the baraat embossed in simple floral motifs are now a thing of past. Shiny and stone-studded cards have become the moniker of new-age couples.

At present, invitation cards that are innovative, and most importantly different from all other wedding cards, are in demand.

Apart from the usual square, long rectangle, extra-large rectangle shapes, the trend is more towards door-folds, pocket or jacket folds and petite rectangle forms. To give a traditional touch, some even prefer scroll-down cards.

Red has always been the favourite wedding card colour. These days dark brown, brick red, maroon, mustard, beige, fluorescent orange are also catching up on the list of favourites. Those who want to try out something different are opting for purple, mauve and dark green shades.

“Customers wish to go beyond the same old design and patterns and look for something new. Bold colours and unusual prints are attracting wedding couples. Even the sale of white-coloured wedding cards have sharply increased in the past few years,” said Sunny, owner of a wedding card shop near Master Canteen.

However, one of the major breakthroughs in wedding card revolution is definitely the e-wedding card, which is gradually gaining its foothold in the city. With friends and relatives settled all over the globe, more and more families are now opting for e-wedding cards to avoid the hassles of the snail mail by sending the invite online. Inexpensive and sure to reach the destination in seconds, e-cards are preferred to the traditional hardbound wedding cards by many brides and grooms-to-be.

Online wedding invitations come with the option of myriad designs, colours and page layouts. Apart from informing about the ceremony the couple can also keep the invitees updated about the pre and post-wedding events with the help of such websites.

From pre-marriage ceremonies, to post-marriage events and honeymoon, the married couple can post writings and pictures about every moment of their cherished life.

“I had sent e-wedding cards to all my friends living abroad and now I keep them updated about my married life through blogs and pictures in that same e-wedding card webpage,” smiled newly-wed Deepti, a 27-year-old corporatev employee.