Multilingual wedding ceremonies in Switzerland & abroad
One story. Two families. Maybe three languages.
When two people with different cultural roots marry, that day often brings different languages, cultures and families together too. And sooner or later the question comes up:
So which language do we actually hold the ceremony in?
German only, even though half the guests won’t understand a word?
Tell everything twice?
Or hand every guest a printed translation?
There is another way.
Multilingual ceremonies have been part of MissionLove from the very beginning – in Switzerland just as much as at destination weddings abroad. My aim is very simple: nobody should feel like a mere guest in someone else’s story during your ceremony.
Principle
Multilingual does not mean double.
A bilingual ceremony does not have to mean that every sentence is said twice. Quite the opposite.
If a story is told first in German and then again in full in English, 50 per cent of the guests already know what comes next. By the third “And then they went on their first date …” at the latest, holding the tension becomes difficult.
So I work differently. I weave the languages together. How we distribute them depends on who you are and who is there on your day.
The result should not be a translated ceremony. It should be a shared one.
Which languages are ceremonies possible in?
These languages can be combined with each other. The two of you do not need to share a mother tongue – and neither do your guests. That is precisely the point.
Bilingual ceremony
Two languages – one ceremony.
A bilingual ceremony is ideal when, for example, one part of your family speaks German or Swiss German and the other speaks English, French, Italian or Spanish.
Maybe one family understands a little of the other language. Maybe none at all. Maybe English is your shared language even though neither of you comes from an English-speaking country.
That is why there is no fixed formula at MissionLove. The language adapts to you – not the other way round.
Trilingual ceremony
That works too.
Sometimes two languages are not enough. For example: you live in Switzerland and speak English with each other. His family is from Italy, hers from German-speaking Switzerland.
What matters is not that every language gets exactly the same number of minutes. What matters is that people feel spoken to.
Sometimes single passages, a welcome or a personal moment in one language are enough. And sometimes it takes more. We find that out together.
The advantage
One celebrant instead of a celebrant and an interpreter.
One advantage of a multilingual celebrant is that the ceremony can be written from the very start as one story in several languages. I don’t write a German ceremony first and then have it translated.
Where do we switch languages?
Which punchline works in which language?
Which emotional moment should be understood by everyone?
Which guests do we need to think about especially?
This keeps the rhythm and the flow of the story intact. And during your ceremony you have one person in front of you who knows your story and tells it in each of the languages.
The vows
Which language gets the “I do”?
The one that feels right for you.
The “I do” does not have to be in the same language as the rest of the ceremony. Maybe he wants to hear his question in Italian and she wants hers in Swiss German. Maybe you both want to answer in English. Or speak your vows each in your own mother tongue.
It is exactly these differences that can create an incredibly personal moment. Because sometimes love really does need more than one language.
Frequently asked questions about multilingual ceremonies
Does everything have to be translated in a bilingual ceremony?
How long does a multilingual ceremony take?
Can three languages appear in one ceremony?
Can our vows be in different languages?
Are multilingual ceremonies possible abroad as well?
Which languages belong to your story?
Tell me where you are marrying, which languages you speak with each other and which countries your families and guests come from. We’ll work out the rest together.
