diff --git a/drizzle/meta/_journal.json b/drizzle/meta/_journal.json
index 784b314..b452467 100644
--- a/drizzle/meta/_journal.json
+++ b/drizzle/meta/_journal.json
@@ -43,6 +43,13 @@
       "when": 1748307600000,
       "tag": "0005_email_verification",
       "breakpoints": true
+    },
+    {
+      "idx": 6,
+      "version": "7",
+      "when": 1748394000000,
+      "tag": "0006_family_invites_missing_cols",
+      "breakpoints": true
     }
   ]
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/app/api/invites/route.ts b/src/app/api/invites/route.ts
index d7bcc44..dfbc526 100644
--- a/src/app/api/invites/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/invites/route.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { NextResponse } from "next/server";
 import { sql } from "@/db";
 import { requireFamily } from "@/lib/auth";
 import { randomBytes } from "crypto";
+import { sendFamilyInviteEmail } from "@/lib/email";
 
 // GET - list invites for a family
 export async function GET(request: Request) {
@@ -61,9 +62,32 @@ export async function POST(request: Request) {
       `INSERT INTO family_invites (family_id, email, role, display_name, token, expires_at)
        VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6)
        RETURNING id, email, role, display_name as "displayName", expires_at as "expiresAt"`,
-      [auth.session!.familyId, email, role || "caregiver", displayName, token, expiresAt.toISOString()]
+      [auth.session!.familyId, email, role || "caregiver", displayName || null, token, expiresAt.toISOString()]
     );
 
+    // Fetch inviter name + family name for the email
+    try {
+      const [meta] = await sql.unsafe(
+        `SELECT u.name as inviter_name, f.name as family_name
+         FROM family_members fm
+         JOIN users u ON u.id = fm.user_id
+         JOIN families f ON f.id = fm.family_id
+         WHERE fm.family_id = $1 AND fm.user_id = $2
+         LIMIT 1`,
+        [auth.session!.familyId, auth.session!.userId]
+      );
+      await sendFamilyInviteEmail({
+        to: email,
+        inviterName: meta?.inviter_name || "Someone",
+        familyName: meta?.family_name || "your family",
+        token,
+        role: role || "caregiver",
+      });
+    } catch (emailErr) {
+      console.error("[INVITE-EMAIL-ERROR]", emailErr);
+      // non-fatal — invite was created, email just didn't send
+    }
+
     return NextResponse.json({ success: true, invite, inviteUrl: `/invite/${token}` });
   } catch (error) {
     console.error(error);
diff --git a/src/lib/email.ts b/src/lib/email.ts
index 2b1c6f0..2547125 100644
--- a/src/lib/email.ts
+++ b/src/lib/email.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,51 @@ const RESEND_API_KEY = process.env.RESEND_API_KEY;
 const EMAIL_FROM = process.env.EMAIL_FROM || "Tia <noreply@tia.manohargupta.com>";
 const APP_URL = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL || "https://tia.manohargupta.com";
 
+/** Sends a family invite email, or logs the link in dev. */
+export async function sendFamilyInviteEmail(opts: {
+  to: string;
+  inviterName: string;
+  familyName: string;
+  token: string;
+  role: string;
+}) {
+  const { to, inviterName, familyName, token, role } = opts;
+  const link = `${APP_URL}/invite/${token}`;
+  const roleLabel = role === "admin" ? "an admin" : "a caregiver";
+
+  if (!RESEND_API_KEY) {
+    console.log(`[INVITE-LINK] to=${to} family=${familyName} link=${link}`);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  try {
+    const resend = new Resend(RESEND_API_KEY);
+    await resend.emails.send({
+      from: EMAIL_FROM,
+      to,
+      subject: `${inviterName} invited you to join their family on Tia 🍼`,
+      html: `
+        <div style="font-family:system-ui,sans-serif;max-width:500px;margin:0 auto;">
+          <h2 style="color:#1f2937;">You're invited! 🎉</h2>
+          <p style="color:#374151;font-size:16px;">
+            <strong>${inviterName}</strong> has invited you to join <strong>${familyName}</strong> on Tia as ${roleLabel}.
+          </p>
+          <p style="color:#374151;font-size:15px;">
+            Tia helps families track feeds, sleep, growth, memories, and more — all in one place.
+          </p>
+          <a href="${link}"
+             style="display:inline-block;background:#fb7185;color:#fff;padding:14px 28px;text-decoration:none;border-radius:8px;margin:20px 0;font-size:16px;font-weight:600;">
+            Accept Invitation
+          </a>
+          <p style="color:#9ca3af;font-size:13px;">This link expires in 7 days. If you didn't expect this, you can safely ignore it.</p>
+        </div>`,
+    });
+    console.log(`[INVITE-EMAIL-SENT] to=${to} family=${familyName}`);
+  } catch (e) {
+    console.error("[INVITE-EMAIL-FAILED]", e);
+  }
+}
+
 /** Sends an account-verification email, or logs the link in dev. */
 export async function sendVerificationEmail(email: string, token: string, userId: string) {
   const link = `${APP_URL}/api/auth/verify-email?token=${token}`;