For a wedding in the Netherlands with English and Dutch-speaking guests, The Private Wedding App gives you one invitation link where each guest picks English or Dutch, with the buttons, RSVP form and menus translated. You add the ceremony, the dinner and the evening party as separate events, and give day guests, dinner guests and evening guests each their own private link that shows only their part of the day, with every reply in one guest list. It costs $189 once for lifetime access, or $19.99/month (€189 or €19.99 in the eurozone). 3-day free trial.
One of you is Dutch, the other is not, and the wedding is in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Haarlem or a farm venue in the countryside. Most Dutch guests read English well, but the grandparents, the neighbours and some aunts would rather read Dutch, and your English-speaking guests have never been to a Dutch wedding. Dutch weddings also split guests in a way English-speaking weddings rarely do: daggasten for the whole day, sometimes a smaller group for the dinner, and avondgasten who come for the party. This guide shows how to run that from one invitation in English and Dutch, with a separate link for each group.
Explain the Dutch wedding day to your English-speaking guests
A Dutch wedding day often starts with the official ceremony, led by a trouwambtenaar (registrar) at the town hall or at a venue, followed by drinks and congratulations, where guests queue to wish you well one by one. Then a dinner for a smaller circle, and an evening party where the avondgasten arrive. Guests from the UK or the US may not know that evening guests are a normal, separate group, or that the congratulations line is part of the programme.
Put each part on the schedule with a time, a place and, in English only if you like, a line explaining it. Write in an info section how to get there: by train, by bike, where to park in a city where parking is scarce.
The Private Wedding App's schedule lists each moment with its venue and map, and each info section can carry a button to any web address. See the digital wedding invitation.
- Ceremony with the trouwambtenaar: time and place
- Drinks and congratulations
- Dinner, for the dinner guests
- Evening party, from the time evening guests arrive
- Getting there: train, bike, parking
English and Dutch on the same invitation
Dutch is one of the guest languages, so the buttons, the RSVP form and the menus are already translated. You write your own texts once and fill the Dutch or English field under each one, or let the AI Translation button fill the empty fields and then adjust them.
Each guest picks English or Dutch when they open the link, once, and it is remembered on their phone. You can send the Dutch family a link that opens straight in Dutch with ?lang=nl. If part of the family speaks a third language, German or Turkish for example, it can be added as a third.
Read about the bilingual wedding invitation.
Daggasten, dinner guests and avondgasten, each with their own link
This is where most invitation tools fall short: they assume one guest list with one invitation. Switch on 'This wedding has multiple events' and add the ceremony, the dinner and the party. Then create a group for each kind of guest and tick the events they are invited to: the whole day, the ceremony and the party, or the party only.
Each group's private link shows only its events, its schedule moments and the info sections you choose, and the cover can show the evening venue and the evening start time for the party guests. Nobody sees a dinner they are not invited to, and every reply lands in the same guest list with a total per event.
See multi-event RSVP, and our guide to evening wedding invitations for the wording.
Dinner choices and allergies for the dinner guests only
Only the dinner guests need to choose a dish. On the ceremony and the party, untick 'Ask the meal choice for this event', and guests who only say yes to those skip the menu. Dinner guests choose from the dishes you list in both languages and can write dietary notes or flag a severe allergy, which shows next to their name and on the seating plan.
The caterer day sheet gives the venue plates per dish and the allergy list with tables. More on the meal and allergy tracker.
Sending it, and knowing who has not replied
Send each guest their own link from their row on the Guests page: by WhatsApp, which most Dutch families use, or by email with 'Email the invitation'. Guests in a group automatically get their group's link. The Pending filter shows who has not answered, per event, and optional reminder emails go to guests with an email address before the reply-by date.
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Try the full planner →How do we make a wedding invitation in English and Dutch?
Write it once and fill the second language under each text, or use the AI Translation button and check the result. In The Private Wedding App each guest picks English or Dutch when they open the link, and Dutch is a built-in guest language, so the buttons and RSVP form are already translated.
How do we invite day guests and evening guests separately?
Create a group for each and tick the events each group is invited to. In The Private Wedding App each group gets its own private link that shows only its events and info, and every reply lands in one guest list with a total per event.
What are daggasten and avondgasten?
Daggasten are invited to the whole day, from the ceremony on; avondgasten join for the evening party. Many Dutch weddings also have a smaller dinner group in between.
Can evening guests skip the meal question?
Yes. Untick 'Ask the meal choice for this event' on the party, and guests who only say yes to the party never see the menu.
Do Dutch guests need the invitation in Dutch if they speak English?
Many do not, but grandparents and older relatives usually prefer it, and it reads warmer. With one link in both languages you do not have to choose.
How much does The Private Wedding App cost?
$189 once for lifetime access, or $19.99/month; in the eurozone €189 once or €19.99/month, with the bilingual invitation, group links, RSVP per event, meals and seating included. 3-day free trial.