Bilingual weddings bring together two families, cultures, and languages. As a result, they often stray slightly from what some of your guests might expect. However, that mix celebrates the differences in your culture and helps everyone feel included. Feeling included starts with bilingual wedding invitations to guests from both sides of the family.

Let’s look at what goes on a bilingual wedding invitation and how to make them inclusive and clear.

Key Takeaways:

• Bilingual wedding invitations include both languages on the same invitation card.
• Choose a format that clearly distinguishes the different languages while still looking attractive.
• Work with a designer to find the perfect look, font, and wording to accommodate both languages.

Do I Need Bilingual Wedding Invitations?

Bilingual wedding invitations present your ceremony details in two languages for both sides of the family in multi-cultural weddings.

Printing two sets of invitations in two languages for a wedding can be quite expensive. Why not invest more in one set of stunning invitations that include both languages? Including both languages on one invitation also clearly communicates to guests that the ceremony and reception will be bilingual, so guests feel more at ease.

Printing bilingual wedding invitations versus two separate invitations simplifies the process. You’ll have fewer logistics, like putting the right language invitation in the correct envelopes. This frees up more time for you to focus on planning the wedding of your dreams.

How Do I Format Bilingual Wedding Invitations?

Bilingual wedding invitations can mean twice the information in the same space. It can start feeling cramped without proper organization. Here are some suggestions for organizing a bilingual wedding invitation so all details are clear in both languages.

Use Two Versions of Your Invitation

Keep the invitations simple by creating two versions, or create multiple versions of your enclosures to keep things easy to read for your guests. Your stationer can design an option in each language. That way, each language has an entire invitation face to fill with your details.

Have Double-Sided Invitations

You can opt for double-sided invitations if you don’t want to lose space on your invitation card.

While this option offers more space, it isn’t always possible, depending on your printing style. For instance, letterpress printing leaves an impression on the paper, which could conflict with back-side printing if the paper isn’t thick enough to support both sides.

Alternate Languages

After each line of your primary language, add the secondary language in italics. This format may be more challenging to follow but allows you more flexibility for formatting. With alternating text, you’ll have more room to work with as you aren’t splitting the invitation in two.

Keep in mind, when you choose this format, the order of languages should stay consistent for an organized appearance.

Place Wording Side-by-Side

You can divide your invitation into two columns, then list the information next to each other. Your names will remain front and center as they don’t require translation.

Split the Invitation Horizontally

One language can be at the top and the other at the bottom. This format keeps the sections less spread out so guests can quickly access the information they need in their language. It also works better for languages that vary more significantly in length, which might make other formats more challenging.

What to Consider with Bilingual Wedding Invitation Wording?

While your invitation details are the same across languages, the invitation wording will vary. Each language has unique traditions and etiquette for wedding invitations, so you’ll want to research your culture’s wedding invitation wording before deciding what to add.

If you need help deciding on your bilingual wedding invitation wording, contact our designers for some suggestions.

When choosing your wording in either language, always look at the translation. For example, a concise phrase in one language might be twice the length in the other, impacting your design and space. You’ll also want to consider any special characters and space necessary to accommodate those differences.

5 Tips to Design Stunning Bilingual Wedding Invitations

Use these five tips to create bilingual wedding invitations that are attractive and informative.

1. Limit Decorative Text and Elements

Stick to smaller fonts to maximize your available space. While calligraphy and script fonts are stunning, they often take up significantly more space than other fonts, which limits how much room you have left for your wedding details in both languages.

Decorative elements on the invitation will also use valuable space you may need for your invitation text. Instead of having extra decorations on the card, why not choose envelope liners? They’ll add a print and pop of color without taking away from space on your invitation card.

2. Proofread the Invitation in Both Languages

Bilingual invitations need a few more proofreading run-throughs. You’ll want someone fluent in both languages to double-check each text for accuracy.

You’ll also want to consider having someone bilingual compare the two texts. Your bilingual friend could tell you whether both languages provide the same information to avoid confusing guests.

There will be minor differences depending on cultural tradition. So, you’ll mainly want to check the following:

• The date
• The time
• The address

3. Work with a Designer

You have twice the details to consider and plan with a bilingual invitation. Thankfully, you don’t have to do it alone. Shine Wedding Invitation designers can help you pick the best designs for your invitation. A designer can give helpful tips like what fonts work best in each language and whether specific designs are compatible with special characters.

That’s one less thing for you to worry about!

4. Plan Extra Time for International Guests

If you are having a bilingual wedding, there’s a good possibility some of your guests are from out of town. International guests will require much prior notice for the wedding than your local friends and family.

Send your international invitations four or five months before your wedding. You’ll also want to send out save-the-dates at least a year before so guests have time to book flights and accommodations.

Extra inserts in your invitation suite with accommodation and travel information can help out-of-town guests plan for your big day.

5. Have a Bilingual Website for More Information

About 89% of couples today have a wedding website. A bilingual website gives you limitless space for all those details you couldn’t fit on the invitation, including a registry, travel details, and fun stories about you as a couple.

For example, your guests might not be sure of the dress expectations if both sides of the family wear different clothes to weddings. The wedding website is also a space to share special notes about each other’s culture and international wedding traditions to help guests feel more comfortable on the day of the wedding.

Design the Perfect Bilingual Wedding Invitation

Shine Wedding Invitations can help you design your bilingual invitation. We’ll walk you through every detail, including the format, design, and wording, to ensure you have the perfect and inclusive invitation suite.

Start your design by ordering a free sample of our timeless stationery.

Photo Credit
Looks Like Film | Kaley from Kansas | Pinterest | Junebug Weddings | Amazon