Planning a wedding in Delhi isn’t just stressful — it’s a full-blown family sport. One moment you’re looking at lehengas online, the next, your chachi is yelling across the dining table about card font sizes. Somewhere in this chaos, somebody always says: “Chawri Bazar chalte hain.”
At first, you don’t get it. What’s so special about an old market in the middle of Old Delhi, where finding parking is a myth and the heat feels like personal revenge from the sun? But then you visit — and it makes sense.
Chawri Bazar is not just a market. It’s the wedding card capital of the city. Maybe even the country. Rows and rows of shops, tiny, packed, buzzing with people, all devoted to one thing: getting your wedding invite right. And not just right. Perfect.
When you walk into one of these shops, they don’t greet you with pre-made designs or catalogues. They hand you options like they’re family. What’s the theme? How many inserts? Do you want Ganesha embossed or foiled? Traditional scroll-style or modern white and gold? Do you need gift envelopes to match? QR codes? Map inserts? They’ve done it all before — 10,000 times.
The range is mind-blowing. Handmade paper, metallic sheets, pastels, ribbons, tassels, laser-cut finishes. Every design you’ve saved on Pinterest? They’ve probably done it already — at a fraction of the cost you imagined.
You’ll find families sitting on plastic stools, sipping chai, arguing about whether the font should be a little thicker. You’ll see shop owners remembering what design they did for your mausi’s wedding back in 2007. It’s oddly heartwarming. Personal. Not transactional.
And the price? That's the real kicker. Cards that would cost ₹120–150 per piece in GK or South Ex will come down to ₹45–70 here. With envelopes, inserts, and foil work included. And they’ll even throw in delivery.
Chawri Bazar doesn’t sell cards. It sells memories before the big day. That moment when a bride sees her name in print for the first time. That moment when the family finally agrees on a colour. That moment when a groom’s father tries bargaining like it’s still 1995.
And while you wait, there’s food. Spicy aloo kachoris, sugar-dripping jalebis, and thick lassi served in clay kulhads. You eat standing up, dodging cycle rickshaws and dholwalas. There’s no peace. But there’s joy. And it's very, very Delhi.
Of course, it’s not perfect. It’s hot. It’s crowded. And if you’re not careful, you’ll end up with 500 cards with a spelling mistake. So check proofs, take samples, and don’t finalize anything in a rush. Many shops work on verbal deals, so get timelines in writing if you’re on a tight schedule.
But all that aside, there’s a reason Chawri Bazar has outlived every new designer card studio in the city. It’s built on trust, craft, and familiarity. Generations of printers working with generations of families. There’s no website. No online booking system. Just decades of experience and an instinct for getting it right.
So if you’re getting married in Delhi — or even nearby — skip the glitzy showrooms and head to where the real magic begins. You’ll leave sweaty, full, and maybe slightly overwhelmed. But you’ll also walk away with something much more meaningful than a wedding card.
You’ll walk away with a story.
At first, you don’t get it. What’s so special about an old market in the middle of Old Delhi, where finding parking is a myth and the heat feels like personal revenge from the sun? But then you visit — and it makes sense.
Chawri Bazar is not just a market. It’s the wedding card capital of the city. Maybe even the country. Rows and rows of shops, tiny, packed, buzzing with people, all devoted to one thing: getting your wedding invite right. And not just right. Perfect.
When you walk into one of these shops, they don’t greet you with pre-made designs or catalogues. They hand you options like they’re family. What’s the theme? How many inserts? Do you want Ganesha embossed or foiled? Traditional scroll-style or modern white and gold? Do you need gift envelopes to match? QR codes? Map inserts? They’ve done it all before — 10,000 times.
The range is mind-blowing. Handmade paper, metallic sheets, pastels, ribbons, tassels, laser-cut finishes. Every design you’ve saved on Pinterest? They’ve probably done it already — at a fraction of the cost you imagined.
You’ll find families sitting on plastic stools, sipping chai, arguing about whether the font should be a little thicker. You’ll see shop owners remembering what design they did for your mausi’s wedding back in 2007. It’s oddly heartwarming. Personal. Not transactional.
And the price? That's the real kicker. Cards that would cost ₹120–150 per piece in GK or South Ex will come down to ₹45–70 here. With envelopes, inserts, and foil work included. And they’ll even throw in delivery.
Chawri Bazar doesn’t sell cards. It sells memories before the big day. That moment when a bride sees her name in print for the first time. That moment when the family finally agrees on a colour. That moment when a groom’s father tries bargaining like it’s still 1995.
And while you wait, there’s food. Spicy aloo kachoris, sugar-dripping jalebis, and thick lassi served in clay kulhads. You eat standing up, dodging cycle rickshaws and dholwalas. There’s no peace. But there’s joy. And it's very, very Delhi.
Of course, it’s not perfect. It’s hot. It’s crowded. And if you’re not careful, you’ll end up with 500 cards with a spelling mistake. So check proofs, take samples, and don’t finalize anything in a rush. Many shops work on verbal deals, so get timelines in writing if you’re on a tight schedule.
But all that aside, there’s a reason Chawri Bazar has outlived every new designer card studio in the city. It’s built on trust, craft, and familiarity. Generations of printers working with generations of families. There’s no website. No online booking system. Just decades of experience and an instinct for getting it right.
So if you’re getting married in Delhi — or even nearby — skip the glitzy showrooms and head to where the real magic begins. You’ll leave sweaty, full, and maybe slightly overwhelmed. But you’ll also walk away with something much more meaningful than a wedding card.
You’ll walk away with a story.