Hindu priest to perform wedding while explaining in English - Boston

[Deleted User]

Hi everyone! First time poster, so forgive me if this topic has been beaten to death but I'm just now beginning to plan my inter-faith wedding.

I am an American-born gujarati (Indian( woman that is marrying an American-born catholic man. We both live right outside of Boston and are planning to have a Hindu ceremony as well as a secular ceremony (same day.. eeps!).
 
I am in need of a priest that can perform the hindu wedding ceremony in less than two hours and be able to effectively translate in English so that my fiance's side of the family (as well as younger generations on my side of the family) can understand the significance and meaning of the rituals we are partaking in during.

Can anyone provide some guidance or suggestions? Any bit can help.

Thanks so much!

artikaur

Hi there,

I'm also doing an interfaith wedding (my fiance is Jewish and I'm Indian). I will be honest with you, after having gone to my fair share of Indian weddings, 2 hours is a long time to hold your guests' attention, especially if you'll be having a secular ceremony the same day. The guests might get confused if there's no information for them to follow along with, or if the entire program is in Hindi. They non-Indian guests may not be accustomed to such a lengthy ceremony, and might find it tiresome.

One way to alleviate this issue is to make a list of all the rituals that you consider essential to your wedding. For instance, you could do the jai malas, seven steps, sindoor and mangal sutra. Or you might include a full Ganesh puja. It just depends on what is personally significant to you. This way, you can cut out some of the not-so-important ceremonies, and save some time, allowing for a shorter, more meaningful ceremony that will capture the attention span of most guests.

If you really can't find a pundit who can speak English, you and your fiance can go ahead and use the pundit, but be sure to 1. have a program in English and 2. you two can do readings in English of your vows.

Hope I was helpful. Happy planning,

Arti.



Again, with the time issue, I'd check with your venue to make sure that 2 hours does not exceed their limit (I know ours is pretty strict about a 1 hour timeframe.)

imimahoney

I live in Burlington where there is a substantial Indian popluation. While I am not Indian, I know of serval clubs and stores that cater to the Indian community. Maybe you could contact one and ask them if they know anyone. 

Here is the website for the market in town:

 http://www.yelp.com/biz/raja-and-ranas-wholesale-grocery-burlington