A bilingual wedding ceremony script in English and Spanish
Runtime: 25–30 minutes said in both languages · 14–16 minutes in one
Updated August 2026
This is a complete bilingual wedding ceremony in English and Spanish. Every spoken line appears twice, English first and Spanish immediately after, so an officiant can perform the whole ceremony in both languages, hand the Spanish to a second voice, or read only one column and still have a whole ceremony.
The Spanish is written to be spoken, not to be a gloss on the English. Each pair says the same thing in the way that language would actually say it at a wedding. Stage directions and the officiant’s notes stay in English throughout, because nobody says them out loud. Where a word changes with gender, the brackets give you both forms.
The ceremony, step by step
Processional · La entrada
2–3 minStand to one side and let the couple be the picture. Nothing is spoken here, so this is your last quiet moment to check that both language columns are in front of you in the right order.
[Guests are seated. The wedding party enters, then the couple. Everyone remains standing until the officiant invites them to sit.]
Welcome · La bienvenida
3 minOpen in whichever language the room needs first, and keep the two halves the same warmth and the same length. Check your microphone on the first sentence, and slow down slightly in your second language.
Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome. Please, be seated.
Buenas tardes a todos, y bienvenidos. Por favor, tomen asiento.
We are here today for the happiest of reasons: to celebrate the marriage of [Partner A] and [Partner B]. There are two families in this room, and from today they are one. On behalf of the couple, thank you all for being here.
Estamos aquí hoy por la más feliz de las razones: celebrar el matrimonio de [Pareja A] y [Pareja B]. En esta sala hay dos familias, y a partir de hoy son una sola. En nombre de la pareja, gracias a todos por acompañarlos.
Everything said today will be said twice, in English and in Spanish, so that nobody here has to guess at what is happening. Both languages carry the same promises. Neither one is a translation of the other. They are both the ceremony.
Todo lo que se diga hoy se dirá dos veces, en inglés y en español, para que nadie tenga que adivinar lo que está pasando. Los dos idiomas llevan las mismas promesas. Ninguno es la traducción del otro: los dos son la ceremonia.
On this marriage · Sobre este matrimonio
3 minThe one block that must be about these two people. Prepare the personal story in both languages in advance and never improvise it in your second language, where a warm sentence can come out sideways.
[Partner A] and [Partner B], the promise you are about to make is a large one, and you are making it with your eyes open. Marriage is not the end of a love story. It is the decision to keep writing one together, on the ordinary days as much as the extraordinary ones.
[Pareja A] y [Pareja B], la promesa que están a punto de hacer es grande, y la hacen con los ojos abiertos. El matrimonio no es el final de una historia de amor: es la decisión de seguir escribiéndola [juntos / juntas], en los días comunes tanto como en los extraordinarios.
[Tell one short, true story from your conversation with the couple here.] That is what you are protecting today, and it is worth protecting.
[Cuente aquí una historia breve y verdadera de su conversación con la pareja.] Eso es lo que están protegiendo hoy, y vale la pena protegerlo.
A reading · La lectura
2 minOptional. Two readers, one per language, works better than one reader switching halfway, and it gives a second family member something to do.
[If there is a reading, the officiant invites the reader forward now. Where two readers give the same piece in the two languages, they come up together and read one after the other.]
Before [Partner A] and [Partner B] make their promises, [Reader’s name] will share a few words they chose for today.
Antes de que [Pareja A] y [Pareja B] hagan sus promesas, [nombre del lector] compartirá unas palabras que ellos eligieron para hoy.
[The reading is given. The officiant thanks the reader by name in both languages.]
Declaration of intent · La declaración de intención
2 minAsk each partner in the language they answer most naturally in, then give the other language for the room. Wait for each answer, and let the room hear it.
[Partner A], do you take [Partner B] to be your [wife / husband / partner], to love and to respect, to stand beside them in health and in sickness, in good times and in hard ones, for as long as you both shall live?
[Pareja A], ¿aceptas a [Pareja B] como tu [esposa / esposo / compañera de vida / compañero de vida], para amar y respetar a esta persona, para acompañarla en la salud y en la enfermedad, en la alegría y en la dificultad, todos los días de tu vida?
[Partner A]: I do. · Sí, acepto.
And [Partner B], do you take [Partner A] to be your [wife / husband / partner], to love and to respect, to stand beside them in health and in sickness, in good times and in hard ones, for as long as you both shall live?
Y [Pareja B], ¿aceptas a [Pareja A] como tu [esposa / esposo / compañera de vida / compañero de vida], para amar y respetar a esta persona, para acompañarla en la salud y en la enfermedad, en la alegría y en la dificultad, todos los días de tu vida?
[Partner B]: I do. · Sí, acepto.
The vows · Los votos
4 minThe emotional center, and the block where the doubling costs the most time. Let each partner speak the vow in the language they think in, then give the other language once so the whole room has heard it.
Please face each other and join hands. [Partner A], repeat after me.
Por favor, colóquense frente a frente y tómense de las manos. [Pareja A], repite después de mí.
I, [Partner A], take you, [Partner B], to be my [wife / husband / partner]. I promise to stand beside you and never in your way, to tell you the truth gently and to listen for yours, and to build this life with you day by day. From today, whatever comes, I am yours.
Yo, [Pareja A], te tomo a ti, [Pareja B], como mi [esposa / esposo / compañera de vida / compañero de vida]. Prometo estar siempre a tu lado y nunca en tu camino, decirte la verdad con ternura y escuchar la tuya, y construir esta vida contigo día a día. Desde hoy, pase lo que pase, soy [tuya / tuyo].
And [Partner B], repeat after me.
Y [Pareja B], repite después de mí.
I, [Partner B], take you, [Partner A], to be my [wife / husband / partner]. I promise to stand beside you and never in your way, to tell you the truth gently and to listen for yours, and to build this life with you day by day. From today, whatever comes, I am yours.
Yo, [Pareja B], te tomo a ti, [Pareja A], como mi [esposa / esposo / compañera de vida / compañero de vida]. Prometo estar siempre a tu lado y nunca en tu camino, decirte la verdad con ternura y escuchar la tuya, y construir esta vida contigo día a día. Desde hoy, pase lo que pase, soy [tuya / tuyo].
The rings · Los anillos
3 minKnow who is holding the rings before you ask for them. Say the ring words once in each language and then stop talking while the rings actually go on. [Pause.]
May we have the rings, please.
Los anillos, por favor.
A ring is a small, plain circle, and we give it an enormous meaning: it has no beginning and no end, and it is worn where everyone can see it. Every time you notice it on your hand, let it bring you back to what you promised here.
Un anillo es un círculo pequeño y sencillo, y le damos un significado enorme: no tiene principio ni fin, y se lleva donde todo el mundo puede verlo. Cada vez que lo notes en tu mano, que te recuerde lo que prometiste aquí.
[Partner A], place the ring on [Partner B]’s finger and repeat after me.
[Pareja A], coloca el anillo en el dedo de [Pareja B] y repite después de mí.
I give you this ring as a sign of my love and of everything I promised today. Wear it, and know that I am yours.
Te doy este anillo como señal de mi amor y de todo lo que prometí hoy. Llévalo contigo, y recuerda que soy [tuya / tuyo].
And [Partner B], the same.
Y [Pareja B], lo mismo.
Pronouncement · La declaración
2 minLift your voice for both languages, and give the second one the same energy as the first. Pause after each declaration so each half of the room gets its own moment.
[Partner A] and [Partner B], you have declared your intention in front of everyone here, made your promises to each other, and sealed them with rings. And so, by the power vested in me by the [state / jurisdiction], it is my great joy to declare that you are married.
[Pareja A] y [Pareja B], han declarado su intención delante de todos, se han hecho sus promesas y las han sellado con anillos. Por lo tanto, por la autoridad que me confiere el estado de [estado / jurisdicción], tengo la enorme alegría de [declararlos unidos / declararlas unidas] en matrimonio.
You may share your first kiss as a married couple.
Pueden darse el primer beso como pareja casada.
[The couple kisses. The officiant waits for the applause to crest.]
Recessional · La salida
2 minIntroduce them exactly as they asked, in both languages, and check the pronunciation of every name with both families beforehand. Then end high and step back.
Friends and family, it is my privilege to introduce, for the very first time, [the newly married couple, announced as they wish].
Familia y amigos, tengo el honor de presentarles, por primera vez, a [la pareja recién casada, presentada como prefieran].
[The couple leads the recessional back up the aisle, the wedding party behind them, the officiant last.]
Officiant’s notes
Two languages, one ceremony
The rule that makes a bilingual wedding ceremony script work is that the second language is never a summary. If the English gets three sentences, the Spanish gets three sentences, with the same warmth and the same jokes. Guests can tell instantly when one language is being given the short version, and the family on the receiving end of it will remember. Write the two columns side by side from the start rather than translating a finished English script, because a script written first in one language and then converted tends to keep sentence shapes that sound stiff in the other.
Doubling every line roughly doubles the runtime, so cut before you translate. A fourteen-minute ceremony becomes a comfortable bilingual one; a twenty-five-minute ceremony becomes a fifty-minute endurance test. Trim the address rather than the vows, keep only one reading, and consider alternating by block for the narrative sections while keeping the vows, the declaration, and the pronouncement fully doubled. Those three are what people came to hear, and they are the ones both families should hear in their own words.
Delivering it without losing half the room
Decide early whether you are performing both languages yourself or sharing the ceremony with a second voice. Two officiants, or one officiant and a family member reading the Spanish, is often warmer than a single person switching every sentence, and it is much easier on your pacing. If you are doing both, rehearse the whole thing aloud with a native speaker, not to remove your accent but to catch the lines that read fine and land oddly. Nobody minds an accent at a wedding. Everybody notices a sentence that means something slightly different from what was intended.
Print the script so the language is unmistakable at a glance, whether you use two columns or strict alternation, and mark which of your two languages you are in at the top of every page in case you lose your place. Confirm the pronunciation of every name with both families, including the surnames you think you know. Ask the couple which relatives most need which language, and seat your Spanish-language delivery toward them. The legal effect of a marriage does not depend on the language it is performed in, but if the license or the venue raises any question about it, ask the county clerk who issued the license rather than guessing.
Write and perform every ceremony from one desk
RiteBinder is the booking desk and the writing desk in one: interview the couple, draft and personalize the script, and read from a podium that needs no signal on the day. Free to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How does a bilingual wedding ceremony work?
- Every spoken line is delivered in both languages, either sentence by sentence or block by block, with the vows and the pronouncement always doubled so both families hear them. One officiant can do it all, or a second voice can carry the second language. The script on this page is written in matched pairs so either arrangement works without rewriting.
- How long is a bilingual ceremony?
- Roughly twice as long as the same ceremony in one language, so plan for it by cutting first. This script runs about twenty-five to thirty minutes fully doubled and fourteen to sixteen in a single language. Trim the address and keep one reading rather than shortening the vows, which are the part everybody came to hear.
- Do we need two officiants for a Spanish and English wedding?
- No, though it often helps. One bilingual officiant can perform the whole ceremony, and many do. Sharing it with a second voice, either a co-officiant or a family member reading one language, gives you cleaner pacing and lets a relative take a real part. Only the officiant with legal authority in that state signs the license.
- Can the ceremony be performed only in Spanish?
- Read only the Spanish lines on this page and you have a complete ceremony, with nothing missing. The same is true of the English. That is the point of writing it in matched pairs rather than as a translation, and it means you can decide the balance late, once you know who is actually in the room.
- What if the officiant’s Spanish is not perfect?
- Rehearse the whole script aloud with a fluent speaker and fix the lines that land oddly, then perform it with an accent and without apology. If a passage still feels risky, hand that passage to a family member rather than delivering it uncertainly. The vows and the pronouncement are the ones worth practicing most, since those are the sentences everyone is listening to.