Bilingual or international wedding: welcoming guests who speak different languages

A wedding between two cultures is no more complicated than any other, provided you do not assume that everyone understands everything. What isolates a foreign guest is almost never a poor accent, it is not knowing what is happening, when, or why everyone suddenly stands up.

First, decide the languages of the day

Before translating anything, decide: what is the language of the day? Pick a clear split rather than one language for everything.

• The language of the ceremony: the officiant’s, the vows, the readings. It can differ from the language of the meal.
• The language of the microphone during the reception: speeches, announcements, games.
• The written language: invitation, signs, menu, programme. This one can easily be double.
• The language of conversation: you cannot control that one, and that is just as it should be.

A bilingual invitation without overload

An invitation that repeats the same information three times in three languages ends up not being read. A few principles help keep the card elegant.

Whichever formula you use, always translate in full whatever could make someone miss a step: the reply deadline, the address, the start time of the ceremony, the requested dress. A poetic phrase lost in translation is forgiven; a misunderstood time is not.

Speeches and translation

This is the moment the room can switch off. A funny speech translated without humour falls flat, a moving one translated too fast loses everything.

1. Brief the speakersShort sentences, pauses, no untranslatable expressions. Tell them the translation is part of the speech, not a delay.
2. Choose the translation modeAlternating in blocks of a few sentences, as a summary at the end, or with a printed text handed to each table. The first is livelier, the last less risky.
3. Have the texts reviewedThe translator receives the speeches in advance to prepare difficult passages, jokes and proper names.
4. Limit the numberEach translated speech takes twice as long. Four or five speeches, not ten.

Choosing your informal interpreters

A professional interpreter suits a long religious or civil ceremony with precise wording, or a whole family who speaks only one language. For the rest, a friend does better: they know the people, the humour, the names.

• They are truly bilingual, not just comfortable on holiday.
• They enjoy speaking in public, or at least do not dread it.
• They know both families and will not take sides while translating.
• They agree to go easy on alcohol before their turn: nobody translates well after three glasses.
• A second person is lined up, so the same one does not translate all weekend.

Thank them properly: a mention in a speech, a small gift, a seat at the top table. They worked while the others were dancing.

Welcoming those who do not speak the language

A guest arriving from another country does not need a tourist guide, they need not to feel alone. A few simple gestures are enough.

• One contact per language group: someone on the couple’s side who welcomes them, introduces them and explains how the day will run.
• A seating plan that puts people who can talk to each other side by side, rather than all the non-speakers at the same table, which creates an isolated corner.
• A practical sheet in their language when they arrive at the hotel: programme, address, useful numbers, return time.
• A few words learned: hello and thank you in the other family’s language is little, and it counts for a lot.
• Clear transport: shuttles, taxis, departure times, from the airport or station to the venue.

Programme, signs and menu in two languages

What is written on site is read at one’s own pace, far from the microphone, so it is where being bilingual costs least and gives most. Translate the programme, the menu, the directional signs and instructions (shoes, outdoor ceremony, meeting point).

A multilingual wedding page

This is where translation does the most good: an online page, available before, during and after the weekend, which you can edit without reprinting, and which everyone reads in their own language. Foreign guests find their answers at their own pace, without having to ask the same question three times.

Weddtap wedding pages exist in French, English and Spanish: each guest chooses their language, and you write the programme once and then translate it. Whether you use Weddtap or something else, here is what a good multilingual page should contain.

• The hour-by-hour programme, with places and transport times.
• The address, a map, and directions from the airport or station.
• Accommodation at different budgets, with indicative prices and booking links.
• The dress code and the usual weather for the season, with what to bring for an outdoor wedding.
• A word on the traditions of the day, so nobody is surprised by a procession or a game.
• A way to reply on the spot, in each person’s language.

Two cultures’ traditions: choose and explain

A wedding between two cultures is often two sets of rituals, each with its own importance. You cannot do all of them, nor keep all of them.

1. List what really mattersEach of you writes down three traditions you do not want to lose. The rest is negotiable.
2. Place them in the dayOne tradition at the ceremony, one at the meal, one in the evening. This split stops one culture taking all the space.
3. Explain them in two sentencesIn the programme, on the wedding page, or said by the host. A tradition explained is one people join; one imposed without explanation isolates.
4. Plan moments for everyoneA musical moment from one culture, a dish from the other, a game you can follow without speaking: the balance is in the details.

In what order to go about it

• When you draw up the list: count guests by language and decide the languages of the day.
• Four months before: have the invitation and wedding page translated, review with a native speaker.
• Three months before: choose the informal interpreters, give them the outline.
• One month before: translate programme, menu, signs and ceremony booklet.
• Two weeks before: hand the speeches to the translators, check transport.
• The day before: brief the language contacts, print the practical sheets.