Hi Guys!

My freind is getting married, and the marriage kaisha that is helping us with our reservations wanted us to translate the wedding invitations to english. Can anyone help translate this to the appropriate Formal English?

This is quite a difficult challenge for me, so I wanted to reach out to you guys for help! Thanks so much!!

初日の光を仰ぎ、穏やかに年が明け、皆様にはご清祥のこととお慶び申し上げます。

このたび、私達は結婚式をあげることになりました。

つきましては、皆様からのお励ましをいただきたく、ささやかな小宴をもうけました。

お忙しい中、誠に恐縮ですが、ご出席くださいますよう、ご案内申し上げます。


my freind tried to translate... but it doesnt seem right:

A new year has dawned upon us calmly with the bright sunlight.
We would like to rejoice over everyone's health and well-being.
On this note, we announce to you that we have decided to get married.
Since we'd like to have this happy occasion with you and ask your supportive encouragement, we have arranged to hold a small wedding reception.
We request the honor of your presence.
We would be so grateful to you for taking time out of your busy schedule to attend.

I had this issue when I translated my own wedding invitations. There's lots of Japanese style phrases that just don't translate well into English since each country has its own style or phrases for wedding invitations. Here's my attempt at it though.

"With the joy of the new year we would like to tell you of our own joyous event.
For this occasion, we request your presence for a small reception following our wedding. Thank you for sharing this wonderful time with us."

That just looks like any other formal wedding invitation in Japanese. It's like a template taken off of the internet. So your average formal invitation works just fine as a good translation as long as it contains the same or larger amount of information. What each sentence is doing is:

初日の光を仰ぎ、穏やかに年が明け、皆様にはご清祥のこととお慶び申し上げます。
(A sentence a formal letter typically begin with.)

このたび、私達は結婚式をあげることになりました。
(Saying, "we're going to marry.")

つきましては、皆様からのお励ましをいただきたく、ささやかな小宴をもうけました。
(There will be 小宴, which is most likely referring to a wedding party held after the formal wedding ceremony.)

お忙しい中、誠に恐縮ですが、ご出席くださいますよう、ご案内申し上げます。
(This is a normal "your presence is requested" sentence.)

thank you guys so much for your help!!!