Spanish Congratulations for Weddings, Engagements, and New Babies

If you are reading this, it is probably because you have Spanish-speaking friends, colleagues, or family members who are going through a good time in their lives. They have fallen in love and now they are getting engaged, marrying each other, or having a new baby.

You are aware that it is something to celebrate, but you are not sure of how to congratulate them in Spanish.

Don’t panic — in this guide, we will show you Spanish wedding congratulations phrases, how to give wedding blessings in Spanish, and the vocabulary necessary for these happy, life-changing situations.

Wedding card messages in Spanish

Congratulating newlyweds in Spanish can be more difficult for you if you want to do it on a wedding card, especially because you can’t simply write «felicitaciones» (“congratulations”). Normally, the message on a wedding card is a bit longer and a bit more specific than that.

It may also change depending on how well you know the couple. But here are some Spanish wedding congratulations phrases that you can perfectly use in a wedding card:

Wedding blessings in Spanish tend to be similar as they are mainly focused on congratulating and wishing the best for the newlyweds.

► Note that «ojalá» is a word that can’t be directly translated as “may” but it does express your hopes and wishes for the newlyweds.

► Religious ceremonies may have different wedding blessings that vary depending on the religion. These are more detailed and specific while the ones we have presented are more general.

► A common synonym for «boda» is «casamiento», which can refer to the marriage ceremony or the wedding itself. These terms are interchangeable most of the time, except in countries like Argentina where the word «casamiento» is more common than «boda».

What to write on a Spanish wedding card when you can't attend?

Sadly, you don’t always have the opportunity to go to a wedding that you have been invited to. In this case, you can write a Spanish wedding card not only congratulating the newlyweds but also apologizing for your absence.

There are several ways to say “sorry” in Spanish: «lo siento», «perdón», «discúlpame» (or «discúlpenme» if you are addressing both the bride and the groom).

«Disculpar» is a verb that means apologize. «Perdón» comes from the act of «pedir perdón», which is equivalent to asking for forgiveness. Both of them are valid in this context.

To form a phrase using them, add «por» and introduce the reason. In this case, it is missing your friend’s or family member’s wedding. So the sentence would look like this:

You can also say something like «lamento no poder estar ahí». The word «lamento» comes from the verb «lamentar» and can be directly translated as “lament”, but it has an apologizing tone.

The card can also include phrases like these:

Writing wedding thank you cards in Spanish

If you are the one getting married, you might want to write a Spanish wedding thank you card. These are cards that show gratefulness to the guests that made it to the ceremony and/or the party.

Here are some examples of what you can read on a Spanish wedding thank you card:

Spanish engagement wishes

Maybe the couple is not getting married but they have just jumped to the previous stage —the engagement.

It is still something to celebrate and you can do it with several phrases:

Baby congratulations in Spanish

What if the couple is now having a new baby? The first thing that you can say is «felicidades por el nuevo bebé» or «enhorabuena por el nuevo bebé» (both meaning “congratulations on your new baby”).

Here are some more Spanish phrases which you can use to congratulate a couple for their new baby:

In this article we have covered Spanish vocabulary and phrases which are helpful for writing congratulations for weddings, engagements, and new babies.

On a related note, you might be interested in learning how to write a love letter in Spanish, or how to compliment someone in Spanish.

On a more general note, we have written a tutorial on how to write an email in Spanish. Some of the phrases covered there can be useful when writing a Spanish wedding card messages

Spanish is a romantic language, and so is French. Perhaps you might also be interested in an article on French wedding phrases.