As K&S told me in January about their plan to have a bilingual wedding in English and German, we had a closer look at their wishes and the language background of their guests. As they said that the groom’s dad would not understand much, we reached the decision that this wouldn’t do – to fly abroad to witness your son marry the love of his life is so special! What a pity if would be to miss the wedding speech due to a language barrier!
Luckily, S’s cousin was so kind to agree to help us with the Greek translation: I finalized the speech a bit earlier in English so that she would have sufficient time to translate everything into Greek and thus, we had a special handout – for a very special guest.
It was a pleasure to visit K&S and their very lively Labrador at their cozy home – they were wonderful interviewees, very open and reflected, the best I could wish for! And it was such a great surprise to see their wedding location – one of the most unusual ones I have ever seen! The ceremony was to take place in a circus tent and there was a kind of a truck with chickens peeking out into the sun. The decorations were great beyond any expectations – K&S made a lot themselves and one could feel their love for details everywhere.
It was also a pleasure for me to meet Flo Huber, the photographer, a very friendly and open guy, talented and professional.
The ceremony went smooth, some people were moved to tears, some had very nice laughs, everyone could follow the bilingual speech wonderfully and S’s dad could both feel the special vibe and look at the Greek text. The handfasting was a nice break in the speech and a beautiful bonding ritual for both my lovebirds and their families, and the wedding vows were the absolute highlight – so sweet and so sincere. I knew what they were about to say because I had read the vows previously – and yet seeing them standing there with the notes, looking at each other with love and excitement, made me really take in the uniqueness of these moments in this young couple’s lives.
After the ceremony, numerous guests approached me about the speech, but the most memorable feedback came from the Greek father: he shook my hand and said “thank you” with such an expression on his face that made my heart melt.
I have always been firmly convinced that it is obligatory to let parents and closest family feel special during the wedding, and translating the speech or some passages or even just the greeting into their mother tongue is the best way to honour their presence and make them feel welcome, but on this day I realized that it is more than honouring the presence – it is about sharing the feelings of a great intensity in the moments which can never be repeated.
K&S named their wedding “welcome party” and indeed, thanks to all the love and creativity they had invested into that day, and to their decision to have a bilingual (actually, kind of trilingual) ceremony, this title fit their big day perfectly – just as perfectly as they fit together. I am very thankful to K&S for having been a part of their welcome party and for the time we have spent together preparing for this perfect day.