The Occasion Company Blog

Bilingual Wedding Invitations: English and Spanish Wording Examples

By The Occasion Company  ·  October 2026  ·  5 min read

When your guest list includes both English and Spanish speakers, your invitations need to speak to everyone. Getting bilingual wedding invitation wording right matters: you want both sides of the family to feel included, not like an afterthought.

The good news is that bilingual invitations are simpler than they look. Below are real wording examples for formal, casual, and religious invitations that you can copy and adapt. Each one shows the English and Spanish side by side.

How to format a bilingual invitation

There are two common approaches:

Side by side. English on one side, Spanish on the other, or English on top and Spanish below. This works well for printed invitations where you have space.

One language primary, key details in both. The main text in one language, with the essential details (date, time, place) repeated in the other. This suits simpler designs.

Whichever you choose, keep the important facts identical in both languages: names, date, time, venue name, and address. A guest should never have to guess which version is correct.

Formal bilingual wedding invitation wording

English:

> Mr. and Mrs. James Rodriguez > request the honour of your presence > at the marriage of their daughter > Emma > to > James Carter > Saturday, the twentieth of June, two thousand twenty-six > at half past four in the afternoon > St. Mary's Catholic Church > 123 Main Street, Phoenix, Arizona > Reception to follow

Español:

> Los señores James Rodriguez > tienen el honor de invitarle > al matrimonio de su hija > Emma > con > James Carter > El sábado, veinte de junio de dos mil veintiséis > a las cuatro y media de la tarde > Iglesia Católica Santa María > 123 Main Street, Phoenix, Arizona > Recepción a continuación

Casual bilingual wedding invitation wording

English:

> Together with their families, > Emma Rodriguez > and > James Carter > invite you to celebrate their wedding > Saturday, June 20, 2026 at 4:30 PM > Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, AZ > Dinner, drinks, and dancing to follow

Español:

> Junto con sus familias, > Emma Rodriguez > y > James Carter > les invitan a celebrar su boda > Sábado, 20 de junio de 2026 a las 4:30 PM > Jardín Botánico del Desierto, Phoenix, AZ > Cena, bebidas y baile a continuación

Religious bilingual wording (Catholic)

English:

> With the blessing of God > and their parents, > Emma Rodriguez > and > James Carter > request your presence > as they are united in the Sacrament of Marriage > Saturday, June 20, 2026 at 4:30 PM > St. Mary's Catholic Church, Phoenix, Arizona

Español:

> Con la bendición de Dios > y de sus padres, > Emma Rodriguez > y > James Carter > solicitan su presencia > al unirse en el Sacramento del Matrimonio > Sábado, 20 de junio de 2026 a las 4:30 PM > Iglesia Católica Santa María, Phoenix, Arizona

RSVP wording in both languages

English: > Kindly respond by May 1, 2026 > online at [your website]

Español: > Favor de confirmar su asistencia antes del 1 de mayo de 2026 > en línea en [su sitio web]

Short and clear beats fancy. Guests in both languages should understand exactly what to do and by when.

Tips for getting it right

• Have a native speaker review the Spanish. Machine translation gets the gist but misses tone. A relative or friend who writes Spanish well can catch awkward phrasing in minutes.
• Use proper accents. María, José, invitación, sábado. Missing accents are the most common giveaway of a rushed translation.
• Match names exactly. If the invitation says "Emma Rodriguez," do not let the Spanish version say "Ema Rodríguez." Pick one spelling and use it everywhere.
• Keep the design clean. Two languages means twice the text. Give it room to breathe instead of shrinking the font until nobody over forty can read it.

Match your website to your invitations

Your invitations set the tone, and your wedding website should carry it through. If your invitations are bilingual, your website should be too, with the same names, the same date formatting, and the same warmth in both languages. Guests notice when the details line up, and it saves you from maintaining two separate sets of information.

FAQ

Should a bilingual invitation be fully translated or just the key details? Fully translating the main text is the most welcoming approach, and it is what we recommend when space allows. At minimum, translate the names, date, time, venue, and RSVP instructions so no guest is left guessing.

Which language goes first on a bilingual wedding invitation? There is no rule. Many couples put the language of the host family first, or simply the language most guests speak. What matters is that both versions are complete and correct, not their order.

How do you write the date in Spanish on an invitation? The formal style writes it out: "veinte de junio de dos mil veintiséis." The casual style uses numerals: "20 de junio de 2026." Note that Spanish puts the day before the month, the reverse of the US English order.

Can I use the same wording on my wedding website? Yes, and you should. Reusing your invitation wording on your website keeps everything consistent and saves you from writing it twice. Just make sure both languages appear on the site, not only on the paper invitation.

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Once your invitations are worded, your website can carry the same message in both languages so every guest stays informed. We build bilingual wedding websites, done for you, at theoccasioncompany.co.