Multilingual Ceremonies

I offer marriage blessings in several languages to help make your ceremony special.

As for languages, the truth is I don't speak any fluently other than English. That said, I have some knowledge of and can read the following languages with complete understanding and with an excellent accent. They are translated by professionals.

In order of knowledge:

Hebrew, Russian, German, Italian, Spanish, and French.

I can learn to recite the blessing "May the Lord bless you and keep you" in any language I'm asked to. So far I have done this for Russian, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Coming soon: Tagalog. 

My multilingual ceremony experience

Many years ago, I did an entire service ceremony in Russian and English. 

Three years ago, a man of Dominican background contacted me. He was raised here, but his bride had arrived only four months before after leaving the DR. I asked him if she understood English, and he said no. I thought to myself, "I can't/won't officiate a ceremony without being understood by both members of the couple." I contacted an American friend who is fluent in Spanish and I asked him to translate the entire ceremony. I did it bilingually, alternating languages each paragraph. The couple was extremely thankful, and their guests were...well, kind of amazed. They knew that I didn't speak Spanish, but were impressed with what they heard. More, they were moved by my generosity in wanting to make sure the bride understood exactly what was going on. 

Since then, I've used that ceremony either whole or in part over two dozen times.