5 Keys to the Best Multicultural Wedding Ceremony

Multicultural weddings can be tricky to tackle no matter the wedding venue, but this is even more true when all of your guests don’t speak the same language. Having a bilingual ceremony is a fantastic way to make sure that everyone can enjoy one of the happiest moments of your life equally. If you decide to say your “I do’s” in multiple languages, there are a few key tips that you might want to keep in mind to make your wedding inclusive.

Explore five simple tips to use for the best multicultural wedding:

1. Make all wedding communications inclusive

From your invitations and programs to your wedding website, you will want to make sure that all communications before and during the big day are inclusive. You should provide all materials in other languages to ensure that everyone is getting the information they need and feels welcome at the wedding.

2. Keep the ceremony readings short

It’s great you want to include everyone by hosting a mixed-language ceremony, but keep in mind that there will be moments when monolingual guests will be in the dark about anything you or your officiant is saying. Keep any single-language readings or vows short and sweet to ensure that your guests won’t get bored.

3. Read wedding vows in both languages

The ceremony is the reason why everyone is attending your wedding -- to see you and your happy spouse-to-be get married! The pinnacle of any wedding ceremony is reading the vows, especially if you both wrote them yourselves. It’s important to make sure that everyone can understand your vows -- even if you have to read them twice in different languages.

4. Hire a wedding translator or bilingual officiant

Hiring an interpreter or an officiant that speaks both languages is one of the easiest ways to ensure that everyone feels included on your big day. It can also be a great way for your monolingual guests to enjoy all parts of the ceremony, rather than only the portions in their language. If you can’t find a translator or don’t have the funds, consider recruiting any bilingual friends or family to help.

5. Incorporate diverse cuisines into your catering menu

Having a mix of foods from diverse locations can help your guests feel at home. Recent newlywed Trish shared with Refinery29: "We celebrated our cultures by having a mix of foods at our Zambian-English wedding. We had a three-course English meal and in the evening, we had a Zambian BBQ and traditional foods."

Up next, learn more about how to add custom, unique touches to your wedding.