Many weddings bring together families who do not share a first language. A grandmother in Seville, cousins in Lyon and colleagues in Chicago all need the same facts: when, where, what to wear and how to reply. A bilingual wedding website lets each of them read those facts comfortably, without asking you to translate on the phone. This guide covers when you need one, how to set it up and how to keep two languages saying exactly the same thing.
Do you need a bilingual wedding website?
Usually yes if any of these apply:
- A meaningful part of the guest list reads one language much more comfortably than the other
- Older relatives will reply on their own, without a younger family member helping
- Guests are travelling from abroad and need practical details: hotels, transport, local customs
- The ceremony itself will be in two languages, or in the language only half the guests speak
If only one or two guests need help, a short personal message in their language, with the key details, may be simpler than translating the whole site.
Three ways to set it up
| Approach | How it works | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Both languages on one page | Each section appears twice, one language under the other | Short sites with little text | Pages get long; guests scroll past half the text |
| A language switch | The same site in each language, with a button to change | Most bilingual weddings | Every change must be made in both versions |
| Two separate websites | One site per language, each with its own link | Very different events for each side of the family | Two reply lists to merge, and facts can drift apart |
For most couples, a language switch strikes the right balance: each guest reads one clean version, and all replies arrive in one list.
What to translate first
Translate in the order guests need things. If time is short, the first six items matter most:
- The date, with the month written as a word
- Ceremony and reception times, with the time zone if guests travel
- Venue names and addresses (names stay as they are; translate only the directions around them)
- The schedule of the day
- The dress code, with one sentence on what it means in practice
- The reply form, its questions and the reply-by date
- Travel, parking and hotels
- Questions and answers
- Your story and photo captions
Write dates with the month as a word in every language. A date written in numbers only, such as 06/12/27, means June 12 to an American guest and 6 December to a European one; the W3C's guidance on date formats recommends spelled-out months for exactly this reason.
Dates, times and how you address guests
Each language has its own conventions, and guests notice when they are wrong. Use this as a starting point and ask a native speaker to confirm:
| Language | Formal or informal "you" | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| English (US) | One form | June 12, 2027 | 4:30 pm |
| English (UK) | One form | 12 June 2027 | 4.30pm |
| Spanish | tú or usted | 12 de junio de 2027 | 16:30 |
| French | tu or vous | 12 juin 2027 | 16 h 30 |
| German | du or Sie | 12. Juni 2027 | 16:30 Uhr |
| Turkish | sen or siz | 12 Haziran 2027 | 16.30 |
Choose one level of formality per language and keep it on every page. Many couples use the informal form for a relaxed wedding and the formal one when older relatives are a large part of the guest list.
Machine translation: a first draft, not the final text
Automatic translation is a useful start, especially for long sections like travel tips. It also makes predictable mistakes:
- Names get translated. A venue called "The Olive Grove" or a dish on the menu may come back as a literal translation. Keep proper names as they are.
- Jokes and idioms fall flat. A playful line in one language can read as odd or rude in another. Plain sentences translate best.
- Formality wobbles. One paragraph may use the formal "you" and the next the informal one.
- Numbers and times can shift format. Check every date, time and price by hand.
The safest routine is to write short, plain sentences in your main language, translate them automatically, then ask one relative or friend who speaks the other language to read every page on their phone.
Keep both versions in step
The biggest risk of a bilingual site is not a bad translation; it is two versions that say different things. A guest who reads that the ceremony starts at 4:00 in one language and 4:30 in the other will not know which to trust.
- Write every change in your main language first.
- Update the translation the same day, before you share the change.
- Keep a short list of what changed, so the person checking the translation knows where to look.
- Read the key facts (date, times, addresses, reply-by date) in both versions side by side before every reminder you send.
Sharing each language with the right guests
Send every guest the version they will read most easily, in a personal message in that language. If your platform gives each language its own link, use that link in the message, so guests do not land on a language they do not read.
For printed invitations, the details card can carry a short line in each language, such as "Details and RSVP" followed by its translation, and the same address. Our guide on putting your website on the invitation has wording for each card, and the destination wedding website checklist covers what travelling guests need.
Beyond the website
The same care helps on the day: a printed program or welcome sign in both languages, a few words of each language in the speeches, and a bilingual friend seated near guests who may feel left out. None of this needs to be perfect; guests notice the effort.
Bilingual wedding websites with us
Your website can be shown in English, Spanish, French, German or Turkish, or in several of them. You choose a main language (the one you write in) and add the others. The design's headings, buttons, the reply form and the dates come translated by us. Your own words (story, details, schedule, questions and answers, travel notes) are translated field by field: you can write each translation yourself or make an automatic first draft, which uses your browser's built-in translator when it has one and otherwise a free online translation service. Guests see a translation only after you approve it, and if you change the original later, they see your main language for that text until you check the translation again. Guests get a small language button on every page, and each language has its own link to send. See the features, open the Olive & Ivory demo, or read do you need a wedding website and an invitation. If you are starting from scratch, begin with how to make a wedding website on your phone.
FAQ
Should a bilingual wedding website show both languages on the same page?
Only if the site is short. For most weddings, a language switch works better: each guest reads one clean version, and the pages stay short on a phone. Put both languages side by side only for a few key lines, such as the date and the reply-by date.
Is it OK to use machine translation for a wedding website?
Yes, as a first draft. Automatic translation handles practical text well but often translates names, mixes formal and informal forms and misses the tone of jokes. Ask someone who speaks the language to read every page before you share it, and check dates and times by hand.
Which language should come first on a bilingual wedding website?
Use the language most guests read as the main one, or the language of the country where the wedding takes place. What matters more is that every guest receives the link in their own language, so the order on the page hardly matters to them.
Do we need bilingual invitations as well as a bilingual website?
Not necessarily. Many couples print one invitation in the main language with a short line in the second language pointing to the website, then let the website carry the full details in both. For a formal wedding with two large families, two printed versions are a thoughtful touch.