Bilingual Wedding Ceremonies: How This Works
When you marry someone from another country, you may need an interpreter for the wedding. Many of your future spouse's family members may not speak English at all. You do not want them to miss out on the ceremony because they do not understand what is being said. Having a bilingual wedding works something like this.
Hire a Translator for Each Separate Language Translated
Some families have several relatives speaking other languages. The family of your betrothed may have relatives that speak only Cantonese on one side and only Mandarin Chinese on the other. Your family only speaks English. That said, you need to hire your spiritual/religious leader to conduct the ceremony, one person who can translate Cantonese, and one who can translate Mandarin.
The Pastor or Priest Delivers the Ceremony in English
Since the majority of the relatives present probably speak and understand English, just let your pastor or priest conduct the ceremony as usual in English. He or she will have to practice with the translators so that there is not a lot of verbal confusion. He/she delivers a line or two of the ceremony, then waits for each translator to translate. When all translators present have finished, another one or two lines of English are spoken, followed again by individual translations.
Cultural Considerations
If there are some cultural traditions your betrothed wants to honor, including having a second spiritual leader deliver a second wedding ceremony, try to figure out how to do this. You may need to abbreviate both ceremonies so that the translator(s) can properly translate from English for everyone else. Make sure all spiritual leaders and translators are present when you discuss how you want to conduct the ceremonies.
Consider Having the Ceremony in Your Reception Venue
One thing that might help is to have your wedding ceremony (or ceremonies) in the same location as your wedding reception. This cuts down on the time constraints for the delivery of the ceremony since you do not have to hurry through to get to the reception on time. For couples that speak solely English, this has also become quite popular as it saves on money for a church rental.
Talk to local wedding venues to see if they allow the ceremony to be held in the reception location. Most venues are quite accommodating. The charge is usually the same, whether you opt to have both the ceremony and reception in one place, or just the reception.
