How to plan a wedding when your guests speak different languages
Start with the guest list: note the language each guest reads most comfortably, and use only the languages your guests need. Give everyone the essentials (dates, times, places and how to reply) in a language they read well, checked by a native speaker. On the day, translate the key moments aloud and put the rest in print, rather than saying everything twice.
In short
- One bilingual card suits two languages; three or more suit one version per language.
- Spell out the month, and keep names, dates, times and addresses consistent across versions.
- Write your own website texts in every language your guests need.
- Machine translation is a first draft; a native speaker approves the final proof.
Which languages does your wedding need?
Your wedding needs every language that some of your guests rely on for the essentials, and no more. Beside each name on your guest list, note the language that person reads most comfortably, taking particular care with older relatives.
One language is enough when every guest reads it comfortably, even as a second language. It is also enough when only a few guests do not, if each gets a translated note in their envelope and a dinner neighbour who speaks their language. A greeting or a reading in their language still tells them they were expected.
For a wedding in two languages, choose one to lead, such as the language most guests share or the one spoken at the venue, so everyone involved knows which comes first. With three or more, print only what everyone needs in the room and put the rest online, written in every language you need.
Should you send one bilingual invitation or one per language?
Send one bilingual card for two languages and mixed families, and one version per language for three or more languages or for groups that barely overlap. Either way, names, the date, times and addresses must agree in every version.
| One bilingual card | One version per language | |
|---|---|---|
| Suits | Two languages and mixed households | Three or more languages, or groups that barely overlap |
| Printing | One design, one print run | One design, set and proofed in each language |
| Sending | Everyone receives the same card | Each household needs the right version; a mixed one may want both |
| Main risk | A crowded card, or one language looking secondary | Versions drifting apart when a detail changes |
On a bilingual card, side-by-side columns give both languages equal weight; front and back gives each language the whole card; stacking suits short wording, with the lead language on top. Translations often run longer, so leave space.
Wording you can adapt
Have a native speaker write the second version, not a word-for-word translation.
Together with their families,
Alex Moreau and Sam Keller
invite you to celebrate their marriage
on Saturday 12 June 2027 at 3pm
at [venue name], [venue address as written locally].
Please reply by 1 May 2027 at [your website link].[Second language: the same text, with the date and time in that language's usual format]
How should you write names, dates, times and addresses?
Spell out the month, give times in each reader's format, write names as their owners do and follow each destination country's address format. Written in figures, 06/12/2027 is 12 June in the US but 6 December in the UK, Switzerland, Germany and Austria, where the day comes first. Adding the weekday gives a second check.
In German, written times use the 24-hour clock (15:00), while English invitations usually say 3pm or three o'clock. Give each version its own convention, and on shared signs write both: 3pm (15:00).
Keep every accent in guests' names. If a guest writes their name in another script, ask how they spell it in Latin letters, and never guess a transliteration. Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Hungarian names usually put the family name first, so check which part is which before sorting by surname.
Address each envelope as the guest's own country does: in Germany, Austria and Switzerland the house number follows the street and the postcode precedes the town; in the UK and US the house number comes first. Write the country alone on the last line in capitals, and for an address in another script, ask for a Latin-letter version too, so your own post office can read it. Give the venue's address as written locally, since that is what guests type into a map.
How do you set up a multilingual wedding website and RSVPs?
Use one website for all your guests, and put everything you write on it in every language they need, starting with the schedule, directions and where to stay. Take particular care with meal and dietary questions, where a misunderstanding is a safety matter. Describe the dress code rather than naming it, and tell guests which language each part of the day will be in.
On Glenthea, for example, you can assign each guest one of 32 languages when you send the invitations, and guests can switch language themselves; Arabic and Hebrew display right to left. Glenthea's own wording, such as headings, buttons, dates and the reply form, then appears in each guest's language. The texts you write yourselves, such as your welcome, story, schedule notes and FAQ answers, appear to every guest exactly as you wrote them, so write each one in every language you need, one after the other.
How do you plan a bilingual ceremony and speeches?
In a bilingual ceremony or speech, translate the key moments, summarise the rest and put full translations in print. Translating every line aloud roughly doubles the length.
The ceremony
A bilingual officiant is simplest; otherwise two officiants can share the ceremony, with each part agreed in advance, or one can work with an interpreter. Say a few moments in both languages, such as the welcome, the vows and the pronouncement, and give every other part a one-sentence summary in the other language. Alternate which language goes first, so neither family always hears the second-hand version.
Ask someone from each family to give a short reading in their own language. The order of service, or printed programme, carries whatever is not said twice: the running order, each reading in both languages side by side, and a line explaining any ritual one family may not know.
For a civil ceremony, ask the registry office early what it requires if either of you, or a witness, does not understand the language of the ceremony. Many offices then require an interpreter, sometimes a sworn one, and some do not let partners interpret for each other.
Speeches and toasts
Keep speeches short, and agree with each speaker in advance how the other half of the room will follow:
- Printed: a translation at each table to read along.
- Projected: the translation on a screen, advanced line by line by someone who knows the speech.
- Interpreted: someone translates each passage aloud, which roughly doubles the time, so halve the speech.
A bilingual host ties the evening together, welcoming guests, introducing each speaker and announcing dinner, dances and transport in both languages. Wordplay rarely survives translation, so stories work better than puns.
How do you handle signs, menus and place cards?
Keep signs and menus short and bilingual, copy names onto place cards exactly as guests write them, and let arrows, symbols and numbers do most of the work. On signs, give both languages the same size and weight, in the same order every time. Menus need each dish named, briefly described and its allergens listed in both languages.
The table plan should match the place cards, with names in both scripts where a guest uses two. Seat every guest beside at least one person who shares their language, and place bilingual friends where groups meet.
Arabic, Hebrew and other non-Latin scripts
Arabic and Hebrew read right to left, so a bilingual piece has to work in two directions.
- Give each script its own block or column, with Arabic or Hebrew aligned to the right.
- A booklet in these scripts opens from what an English reader calls the back, so agree which way a bilingual one opens.
- Software not set up for these scripts can print letters in reverse order or break the joins between Arabic letters; Hindi and Bengali need the same care. Use a designer who has set your script before.
- Pair a typeface made for the script with your Latin one, and check the Latin font has every accent you need.
- Have a native reader check the printer's final proof for reversed words and missing characters.
How do you get the translations right?
Have a native speaker of each language, ideally from your guests' own country, write or check every text; machine translation is a first draft at most, because it often misses tone and idiom. A bilingual relative makes a good second reader, but for the invitation, order of service and speeches, consider a professional translator.
Ask which variety or script your guests read, such as Brazilian or European Portuguese, Simplified or Traditional Chinese characters, or German as written in Switzerland, which uses ss in place of ß. Many languages have a formal and an informal "you" (German Sie and du, French vous and tu): choose one per version and keep to it. Ask older relatives how they like to be addressed, titles included.
When should each translation be ready?
| When | What to have ready |
|---|---|
| Drafting the guest list | Each guest's language, name spelling and address |
| Before save-the-dates | Your languages, invitation approach and translated save-the-date |
| Before printing invitations | Final text, checked on the printer's proof |
| When invitations go out | Website and RSVP in every language |
| Once the ceremony is planned | Order of service, readings and summaries |
| After the reply date | Table plan, place cards, menus and signs |
| The final week | Speech translations printed; officiant, host and screen operator briefed |
Before anything goes to print
- Every name spelt as its owner writes it
- The month as a word, and the right weekday
- The same date, times and addresses in every version
- Times in each language's own format
- Right-to-left text running the right way, with Arabic letters joined
- No missing characters, and a native speaker's approval of the final proof
Frequently asked questions
Which language goes first on a bilingual wedding invitation?
There is no fixed rule for which language goes first on a bilingual wedding invitation. Common choices are the language most guests share or the one spoken where you marry.
Should the whole ceremony be in both languages?
A bilingual ceremony does not need to be translated in full: translating every line aloud roughly doubles its length. Say the key moments in both languages, summarise the rest and print full translations in the order of service.
Can we use machine translation for wedding invitations?
Machine translation is fine for a first draft of a wedding invitation, but not for the final text. A native speaker of your guests' language should check the wording, names and dates, and approve the printed proof.
Do we need an interpreter at our wedding?
You may not need an interpreter at your wedding if your officiant and host are bilingual and translations are printed. For a civil ceremony, ask the registry office what it requires if either of you does not understand the language of the ceremony.
When you are ready to set a language for each guest, you can start your wedding on Glenthea.