Henna night invitation: who to invite and how to word it

The henna night is the event most often overlooked during wedding preparation. The wedding gets months of planning, while the henna is remembered in the final week and guests are invited in a rush of phone calls. The result is that nobody is quite sure who has been told. Below we cover the guest list, the wording and the timing separately.

Who gets invited

The henna night is smaller than the wedding and stays within a closer circle. The general rule: if 250 people are invited to the wedding, 40 to 70 come to the henna.

• The bride's close relatives and friends.
• Women from the groom's side, depending on the family's customs.
• Older women from both families, who lead the main part of the ceremony.
• Childhood and university friends, usually the liveliest part of the evening.

Mixed henna nights have become common in recent years, with the groom and his friends taking part. When that is the case the wording changes too: addressing only the women no longer works.

Ready wording examples

Traditional

We would be delighted to have you with us at our henna night. We want to share this warm evening with the people closest to us.

When the bride invites in her own words

The evening before our wedding we are holding our henna night. It would mean a great deal to me to have you there.

For a mixed evening

We would love you to join our henna night. An evening of music, dancing and good company awaits.

Keep the wording short. A henna invitation is not a formal one, so long and grand sentences feel out of place.

What the invitation needs to carry

1. 01Date and time, as the henna usually starts between 7pm and 8pm.
2. 02Venue, most often a home or a small hall, which makes clear directions important.
3. 03A dress code note, since henna nights often settle on one colour.
4. 04A contact number, usually the bride's sister or a close friend.

The dress code deserves its own line. Guests wearing one agreed colour has become a custom at henna nights in recent years. Put it in the invitation as a single sentence, otherwise half the guests will not know and the photographs come out mismatched.

When to send it

The henna is usually held one or two days before the wedding, and the invitation goes out 1 to 2 weeks beforehand. Most of these guests are already invited to the wedding, so there is no need for long notice.

A practical solution: send the henna invitation together with the wedding one. In a digital invitation both dates appear on the same page and the guest adds both to their calendar at once. That saves gathering the list a second time.

The most common mistake

Inviting to the henna by phone call alone. You call, the person says they will come, and then the date and time slip away. With a written invitation the guest can check it whenever they need to. It is a small detail, but it affects the turnout directly.

To see designs that show the wedding and henna dates on one page, browse the templates.

Quick answers

When is the henna night held?

Traditionally the evening before the wedding. Some families hold it two days ahead so the bride can rest before the wedding day.

Are men invited to the henna night?

The traditional henna night is a women's event. Mixed versions have become more common recently, and that is the family's decision.

Can the henna invitation be sent with the wedding one?

Yes, and it is the easiest option. Henna guests are usually wedding guests too, so both dates can sit in the same invitation.