Asistir a means attend. Atender means look after.

Tell a coworker you're going to atender your cousin's wedding and they'll assume you're doing the catering.

You said

Voy a atender la boda de mi prima.

What it means: I'm going to serve at my cousin's wedding.

A local says

Voy a ir a la boda de mi prima.

I'm going to my cousin's wedding.

Why: Atender means to serve or look after. To attend an event, use asistir a, or simply ir a.

Chatting with a coworker in Monterrey

El sábado voy a atender la boda de mi prima.

"Ah, ¿trabajas en banquetes?"

Atender looks like attend, and it's a very common verb, so it comes out easily. It means to serve, look after or deal with. A waiter atiende your table, a shop assistant asks ¿ya lo atienden? (are you being helped?), and you atiendes el teléfono when you answer it. So voy a atender la boda sounds like you've been hired to work it: carrying trays, not raising a glass.

To attend as a guest or a participant, the verb is asistir, and it always takes a: asistí a la reunión, ¿vas a asistir a la boda? It's a little formal, the word on invitations and in emails (confirme su asistencia, please confirm your attendance). In conversation most people simply use ir: ¿vas a ir a la boda? Sí, ahí nos vemos.

The twist: asistir looks like assist, and in a few formal settings it does mean to help, as when a nurse asiste a surgeon. For everyday help, though, the word is ayudar: ¿te ayudo? (can I help?). And atender has one more job worth recognising: in some countries a teacher's ¡atiendan! means pay attention. In Mexico you'll more often hear pongan atención.

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Also worth knowing

Spanish	English
¿Ya lo atienden?	Are you being helped?
¿Vas a ir a la boda?	Are you going to the wedding?
Asistieron más de cien personas.	More than a hundred people attended.

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Questions people ask

What does atender mean in Spanish?

To serve, look after or deal with: atender a un cliente (serve a customer), atender el teléfono (answer the phone). It does not mean to attend an event.

How do you say attend in Spanish?

Asistir a: asistí a la conferencia (I attended the conference). In everyday speech, ir a is more common: fui a la boda (I went to the wedding).

Does asistir mean assist?

Only in formal or medical contexts, like a nurse assisting a doctor. For everyday help, use ayudar: ¿te ayudo? means can I help you?