Two languages?

mflowers929

I'm not sure if this is the right place to put it (I'm new!), but I've got a bit of a dilemma. I've got time, but I've been thinking about it for a while now and have been having difficulty figuring out what to do.My fiance is Acadian, and his first language is French. His parents only speak French, and the rest of his family is 75-80% French.I'm an English girl slowly learning French, but most of my family is English only. I think only my mom and one aunt know any French at all. So, the problem is, how to combine the languages to make it fair for all? I had an idea for the ceremony of him saying his vows in English and me saying my vows in French, so that our families can understand. Does anybody else have any other ideas?And I have absolutely no ideas for the reception. All of the people taking part in the wedding (MOH, BM, MC) will be bilingual.

SarahPLiz

Im not sure what all the etiquette and rules people will say, but i like your ideas of each of you saying your vows to the other in their native language. I am Cajun (bastard child of the Acadians, I figure you are canadian) and my FI is Romanian. I was just saying to him yesterday that I would say my vows in Romanian (i have trouble rolling Rs, so it would be a challenge) if he would do his in French. We could even post translations in the program if we needed to. In my eyes, its you speaking to your future spouse in their native language, which i think is a nice guesture. You amy want to consider your guests, though, who might be confused.

chryse

It would be sweet to say your vows in your FI's first language. I would make both the invites and programs in both languages. Other than that, you can make sure that any announcements at the reception are done in both languages you should be ok. Think about it, if one of you were Roman Catholic and wanted a full Latin Mass or Greek Orthodox (think My Big Fat Greek Wedding), half of your guests wouldn't understand most of the ceremony anyway. It's a similar situation. It would be very nice if your officiant was also bilingual and could say the important bits in both languages (or if that's not possible ask if him/her would say those parts phonetically in the language they don't know, you'd have to provide it for him/her), but I don't think it's necessary. Everyone will get the important bits no matter what language it's said in.

ffmaid

How about getting a bilingual officientr and having everything done in alternating languages with good programs with translastions of everything I think biligual programs are needed in your case

e_jakiela

Hi, I am Polish and my FI is American. None of his family speaks Polish and the few guests of mine that are Polish understand English only a little bit (my mom included). We first thought about doing the same - me saying my vows in English, and him saying his vows in Polish. But, we realized that it takes him a while to learn any Polish phrases and to say the full vows in stress may be a disaster. We discussed having bilingual priest who would first do it in English and then in Polish - it is easier for my FI to repeat after someone - but the priest said that he would not like doing that. He said something smart and that's what we went with: This ceremony is a covenant between you and your loved fiance... the most important people who need to know what is said are the two of you... it is your moment. The rest of the family will figure out what you are saying... and if they don't, print your vow translations on the ceremony plan. We will say our vows in English, and our first dance will be to a Polish song... Good luck!