Numbers RSVP wording by wedding type
Bilingual wedding RSVP wording you can copy
Two languages, one date, one meaning. Repeat the reply lines, do not mix them into a single sentence guests have to parse.
The short answer
Stack the same three facts twice. Kindly reply by 29 May. / Se ruega confirmación antes del 29 de mayo. Names stay in the form each guest uses. Do not put a different date in the second language.
A bilingual card fails when one side gets more information than the other. Keep the host line and the reply date identical, then translate. The invitation wording guide covers the host line. This page is only the reply.
The invitation line
Print this on the invitation itself, or on a small enclosure if the main card is already full.
Kindly reply by 29 May. / Se ruega confirmación antes del 29 de mayo.
The reply card
4 lines, and nothing else that the kitchen or the seating chart will not use.
Name / Nombre ________________________________
Accepts with pleasure / Acepta con gusto
Declines with regret / Declinan con pesar
Kindly reply by 29 May. / Se ruega confirmación antes del 29 de mayo.
Use this when both families do not share a first language, or when older guests will only be sure of the date in one of them. Spanish is the example; the layout holds for another pair.
A reminder you can send
Wait until a few days after the printed date, then send this once. Copy the replies into the same list you use for the cards, so you are not keeping two headcounts.
Hola Ana, we are sending numbers to the caterer this week. Could you let us know by Friday whether you can come on 19 June. / Estamos confirmando números esta semana. ¿Puedes decirnos para el viernes si nos acompañas el 19 de junio.
When this wording fits, and when it does not
Do not machine-translate only the pretty words and leave the date in one language. Do not use two different reply dates. Do not put a joke in one language that the other side cannot read.
The date on the card is not a guess. Work it back from the caterer's headcount deadline with the RSVP deadline calculator. The usual window is ten days to two weeks before that date, as in when to send invitations.
Free toolWedding RSVP deadline calculatorWork back from your caterer's deadline to the date to print on your invitations.Find my RSVP dateOther RSVP wording. kids welcome, website, traditional.
Yes, I Do
Every guest, every reply
Paste a list from anywhere and it becomes names. Replies, plus-ones, dietary notes and tables stay in one place, for both of you.
Questions
How do you write a bilingual RSVP card?
Repeat the name line, the yes or no, and the date in both languages, in the same order. Keep the facts identical.
Should both languages be on the invitation too?
If the reply is bilingual, the invitation usually is as well, so the tone matches.
Which language goes first?
The one most of the room reads, or the hosts' language, used consistently on every piece.
Can the website be in one language only?
It can, if the card already has everything a guest needs to reply. If travel details live only online, translate those too.
Sources
- Wording below is written for a bilingual wedding. Change the names, the date and the seat count. Do not mix in a line from a different type of day.
- The RSVP date is set from the caterer's deadline, the method in when to send invitations.
- The longer invitation, from who is hosting, is in wedding invitation wording.
- The longer guide this card belongs with is wedding invitation wording.