It is safe to say that our international guests from Germany and Russia can easily read English. Most of our Japanese guests also know enough English to understand our invitation…however, I have one special Japanese guest who doesn’t know any English.
Although I was motivated to translate because of my teacher, I decided to include the translation for all of my Japanese guests. I had two main goals for my Japanese version:
a) to sound good in Japanese
b) to maintain the aesthetic of my invitation
I hit a snag with my first translation draft because the differences in Japanese grammar didn’t allow me to present the information in its original order. So, I looked into using traditional Japanese invitation wording…but that was too far removed from what I was looking for. A truly Japanese wedding invitation is a flowery, formal letter. It announces the couple’s engagement and intent to marry, and requests the guest’s presence at the ceremony and/or reception. Below the letter, the ceremony and reception details are given bulletin-style (see this example in Japanese).
In the end, I chose to create a hybrid that had elements of both styles and maintained my invitation layout. I asked one of my host families to help me finalize the wording, as I wanted to ensure that it was mistake-free and that it sounded appropriate in Japanese. *
RSVP overlay
I printed the Japanese text on vellum paper, which I bought at my favorite paper store, Semikolon, in Munich. I managed to fit one set—invitation and RSVP—onto one sheet of paper. I printed the amount that I needed and a few extras, then cut them to the right size with a paper cutter (Thanks again to MOH R!).
When my Japanese guests received their envelopes, they were be greeted by…
An envelope addressed by me in print—sadly not in Japanese calligraphy *sigh*
A hint of Japanese text
The complete set: invitation, information, and RSVP + envelope
The same information in Japanese
RSVP overlay (getting the spacing right took forever)
Did you do anything special for your international guests?
* Wording wedding invitations is not something regularly covered in Japanese class :p
Catch up on our wedding invitation details:
I love the idea of using the vellum overlay and it really shows how hard you’ve worked to make all of your guests feel special and included.
That is so super awesome. Sadly I didn’t keep in touch from any of my Japanese friends or host family after my semester there in college.
I love the use of the vellum overlay! This was probably a ton of work, but I’m sure your Japanese guests really appreciated it!
This is amazing. How special that you took the time to do this for them!
We had our invitations printed in English and Japanese. Even though it was a lot more time and effort FI and I both think it was worth it as half of our guests will be traveling from Japan and don’t speak any english either. We ended up just going with the Traditional flowery wording for the Japanese invitations instead of trying to incorporate the same elements that are included in the English versions. Anyways I love how they turned out your invitations look so beautiful! I can definitely tell you put many hours of work into them. 
This is so cool! You are very thoughtful to do this for your guests.
@everyone: Thanks so much!
@ItsPronounced_ABear: You could always send them wedding announcements and a photo. And by now you might be able to find some of your friends on fb.. ‘the Japanese’ have started using fb instead of mixi lately.
@Pink.panda: Thank you. It makes sense that you had two different invitations printed up with so many guests from Japan. I hope many will make the trip across the ocean for you!
I love that you took time, not only to translate, but to get the context to match the Japanese standards in a sense! Half of my family is Japanese and I plan on doing the same for them! Domo arigato gozaimasu for your post!!!
Yay thank you for sharing your bilingual invite suite. I have been thinking about doing a vellum insert for my Chinese family. And you showed me that it can look really good!
PS, your handwriting is really pretty and personal May be an even better choice than having someone else write envelops in calligraphy.
@GenkiKanojo: I can send you a copy of my wording if you’d like. If you’re looking to replicate the English text it would probably be quite helpful.
@sloyourroll: I’m happy that I inspire you. And thanks for the compliment…. I do hope to master “pen calligraphy” as some point in my life. 
Miss Bracelet, Frankfurt, Germany/Rapid City, SD Age and Occupation: 26, Post-Graduate Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineering Student/ Ex-Navy Cal Tech Engagement Date: May 11, 2011 Wedding Date: September 2012 Venue: Schloss Heiligenberg/ Spearfish Canyon Lodge About Me: I'm a half-American from Germany who fell in love with a wonderful guy from Montana. We met in Japan and have been in a LDR for most of our relationship. I love organizing so much that it could be my middle name (Post-Its, anyone?). I have a serious addiction to paper products and milk chocolate. My fiancé totally gets my tomboy-princess-combo personality and will bring me chocolate when I need a pick-me-up. After a legal ceremony in Germany, we're planning a down-to-earth (semi-destination) wedding with our friends and family in the US.
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