Bilingual Wedding Invitation Wording (English & Vietnamese): Examples You Can Copy

Many Vietnamese-American couples have two audiences for one invitation: grandparents and aunts who read Vietnamese, and friends and coworkers who read English. Translating word for word rarely works — Vietnamese invitations follow family customs English doesn't have. Here's how to write both so each feels natural.

What a Vietnamese invitation traditionally includes

• Both sets of parents, by name. The invitation is traditionally sent by the families: "Ông Bà Nguyễn Văn Hùng" for the groom's side and "Ông Bà Lê Quang Minh" for the bride's side.
• Your place in the family. "Trưởng nam" (eldest son), "Thứ nữ" (second daughter) and so on, written under each name.
• The ceremonies. Often a tea ceremony at home — Lễ Vu Quy at the bride's family, Lễ Thành Hôn at the groom's — and then the reception, Tiệc Cưới.
• The lunar date next to the Western date, which many elders still look for.

English invitations usually lead with the couple and keep the families in a single line. Neither is wrong — the trick is letting each language follow its own custom.

Opening lines, side by side

Addressing each guest the right way

This is where bilingual invitations most often go wrong. In Vietnamese, the way you address someone — and the way you refer to yourselves — depends on their place in the family. A personal invitation reads very differently to a grandparent than to a college friend.

So the line to an aunt and uncle might read:

Kính mời Cô Chú Hải. Chúng cháu kính mời Cô Chú đến chung vui cùng gia đình trong ngày trọng đại của chúng cháu.

…while the same moment for a friend becomes:

Thân mời Linh. Tụi mình mời bạn đến chung vui trong ngày cưới nha — nhất định phải có mặt đó!

Paper invitations can't do this — you'd need a different print for every relationship. Online, each guest's link can carry its own greeting and wording. In Lumière's guest list you pick the salutation (Ông Bà, Cô Chú, Anh Chị, Bạn, Mr. & Mrs., Friend…) and the matching wording fills itself in; you can still edit every word.

Show both languages — or let guests choose

There are three good layouts:

1. Side by side. Vietnamese and English next to each other. Elegant on a printed card; on a phone it can feel crowded.
2. One language, with a switch. The invitation opens in one language and guests tap to switch. Cleaner on small screens.
3. Each guest's own language. Your aunt's link opens in Vietnamese, your coworker's in English. The best experience when you know your guests.

Whichever you choose, avoid mixing both languages inside one sentence or button — it reads as a draft. Keep each line in one language.

Dates, times and the lunar calendar

• English: Saturday, December 19, 2026 · 5:30 PM
• Vietnamese: 17 giờ 30, Thứ Bảy, ngày 19.12.2026 — and, if your families keep it, the lunar date: nhằm ngày 11 tháng 11 năm Bính Ngọ.

Double-check the lunar date with your family; it's the detail elders notice first.

A full example

Notice the English version doesn't translate "Trưởng nam" or the parents' honorifics — it says the same thing the way an English invitation would.

Before you send

• Ask a parent or aunt to read the Vietnamese once — especially names, honorifics and the lunar date.
• Check the diacritics on every name (Ngọc, not Ngoc) in the Vietnamese version.
• Decide which guests get which language, and whether elders get a personal greeting.

Every Lumière design works in English, Vietnamese or both, with salutation presets for both languages built into the guest list.