Original post: February 18, 2015
Valentine's Day is a busy day for weddings at the Marriage Factory, as you might imagine. It's not a madhouse, like 8/8/08 or 11/11/11, but a lot of folks put a lot of stock in calendar-based romance. So many did this year that the Hall of Records opened on a Saturday just to marry those romantic souls, even taking appointments.
When a couple gets married at the Hall of Records, they can choose to have the ceremony in one of several non-English languages, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Spanish among them. Four years of high school Spanish classes, and a little help from a couple of fluent friends, qualify me as a bilingual marriage commissioner. I can conduct weddings en Español. The English to Spanish ratio on an average Friday is 4:1, mas o menos.
There were 5 commissioners on hand Saturday, more than enough to handle the traffic. Since I was the only Spanish speaker, I got all the Spanish-language weddings. That kept me very busy. The groups ranged from 3-person walk-ins to full houses chanting "Beso! Beso!" when the ceremony was finished.
One challenge with Spanish weddings is that I know the ceremony very well, but I'm not good at free-style conversation. I can say "Please silence your phones." or "Do you have rings?" but trouble arises with something complicated like "You have to go downstairs and ask the clerk for your legal certificate, which might take 10-15 minutes before it's ready." Luckily, at least one person in every group spoke or understood enough English that I could communicate the next steps after the ceremony, and I struggled my way through it a couple times in Spanish, just for good measure.
We opened at 9 and got everyone done by 2, which was a credit mostly to the wonderful clerks who got folks registered, including a bunch of walk-ins, fixed typos, and made sure licenses got recorded properly. They even got us donuts and pizza!
Fashion report
Lots of beautiful dresses and suits, of course. Why get married on Valentine's Day if you're not going to do it right?
By the numbers
Total ceremonies: 40
Ceremonies conducted by me: 15
Spanish ceremonies: 14
Formal wear: 12
Donuts eaten: 2
Showing posts with label Español. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Español. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Le Deluge
Original post date: September 8, 2013
It's been a long time since I've written. A lot has happened. I'll hit the highlights.
The week after same-sex marriage was legalized (or de-de-legalized), the marriage factory was empty. I did maybe 8 ceremonies. The next week, I did 30 in 4 1/2 hours. Le deluge, indeed. The couples were all grateful, and almost all sweet. Standouts include the men who had matching bow ties. I was wearing one as well, purchased for the occasion by my wife from Jessie Tyler Ferguson's marriage-equality-supporting company, tietheknot.org.
After the initial rush (20 ceremonies the next week, 18 the week after that), things calmed down, as I knew they would. The average is 12-15 ceremonies, with the volume picking up toward midday. The summer has been busier, so I wasn't surprised to read that Miss Janet kept busy when she filled in for me.
Last week's couples were almost all dressed for the occasion, from those with one witness to a crew of 20 or more. It wasn't until the end of my shift that I got a t-shirt & jeans couple. Trumping all comers were a group from an African country. Each woman in the crowd wore a different color. They posed for pictures in the lobby, and it looked like a rainbow - so beautiful! I also had two couples with English grooms. That accent! No wonder their spouses fell for them.
This week, there was an early wedding with a problem that pops up every once in a while: the member of the couple who does not speak English. No worries for me if his/her language is Spanish - I do Spanish ceremonies every week. This time, he spoke French. My wife's French is good, but mine is non-existent. As usually happens in these cases, there was a witness who was translating most of what is going on. That person cannot translate the vows, however. The groom must agree to the marriage without prompting. The translator is only trying to help, but unfortunately, we must be rude and ask her to stop talking. Luckily in this case, the groom understood enough to tell me that he wanted to marry his bride, and everything else went off without a hitch. I used Google Translate to learn how to ask the necessary question: Voulez vous epouser BRIDE'S NAME? Now I am prepared - unless the couple speaks German. Then I'm out of luck.
It's been a long time since I've written. A lot has happened. I'll hit the highlights.
The week after same-sex marriage was legalized (or de-de-legalized), the marriage factory was empty. I did maybe 8 ceremonies. The next week, I did 30 in 4 1/2 hours. Le deluge, indeed. The couples were all grateful, and almost all sweet. Standouts include the men who had matching bow ties. I was wearing one as well, purchased for the occasion by my wife from Jessie Tyler Ferguson's marriage-equality-supporting company, tietheknot.org.
After the initial rush (20 ceremonies the next week, 18 the week after that), things calmed down, as I knew they would. The average is 12-15 ceremonies, with the volume picking up toward midday. The summer has been busier, so I wasn't surprised to read that Miss Janet kept busy when she filled in for me.
Last week's couples were almost all dressed for the occasion, from those with one witness to a crew of 20 or more. It wasn't until the end of my shift that I got a t-shirt & jeans couple. Trumping all comers were a group from an African country. Each woman in the crowd wore a different color. They posed for pictures in the lobby, and it looked like a rainbow - so beautiful! I also had two couples with English grooms. That accent! No wonder their spouses fell for them.
This week, there was an early wedding with a problem that pops up every once in a while: the member of the couple who does not speak English. No worries for me if his/her language is Spanish - I do Spanish ceremonies every week. This time, he spoke French. My wife's French is good, but mine is non-existent. As usually happens in these cases, there was a witness who was translating most of what is going on. That person cannot translate the vows, however. The groom must agree to the marriage without prompting. The translator is only trying to help, but unfortunately, we must be rude and ask her to stop talking. Luckily in this case, the groom understood enough to tell me that he wanted to marry his bride, and everything else went off without a hitch. I used Google Translate to learn how to ask the necessary question: Voulez vous epouser BRIDE'S NAME? Now I am prepared - unless the couple speaks German. Then I'm out of luck.
My Name In Ink
Original post date: October 5, 2012
It only took me 4 years at the Hall of Records to get tired of printing my name, which I do 2 times for most ceremonies. I decided that a stamp would be much more legible, if not easier. (This is for my spelled name, not signed name. That is still unreadable.) My lovely wife Sue got me the stamp and wouldn't you know it, the next week at the Hall of Records was rather slow. I only used my stamp about 5 times, and one of the clerks had to reprint a license because I stamped a little off-center. Practice will make perfect, I'm sure.
The main problem with being able to perform Spanish ceremonies will be familiar to anyone who knows a bit of a different language. The people for whom I perform the ceremony assume I understand Spanish. I can get the gist of most conversations, but not at the speed at which most people speak their native language. I need to learn more and better Spanish.
Photo sharing as a way of saving effort and space is obviously not catching on. The group at one ceremony had 9 different cameras & phones going at once, with some people working 2 in tandem. There's no squashing the feeling that someone else's pictures won't be the ones we would've taken.
Fashion report
Cutest rings: matching Scrabble tiles with the mate's initial - hers had his first initial, his had hers. Both were worth 1 point - nice and equal.
A few lovely asymmetrical, flowing dresses, one beaded with a beaded headband, like an understated tiara.
So much ink, including a bride with a breastplate tattoo of a winged heart. Still not tempted to get one myself. She wore a lovely black dress, but kept a denim jacket over it.
It only took me 4 years at the Hall of Records to get tired of printing my name, which I do 2 times for most ceremonies. I decided that a stamp would be much more legible, if not easier. (This is for my spelled name, not signed name. That is still unreadable.) My lovely wife Sue got me the stamp and wouldn't you know it, the next week at the Hall of Records was rather slow. I only used my stamp about 5 times, and one of the clerks had to reprint a license because I stamped a little off-center. Practice will make perfect, I'm sure.
The main problem with being able to perform Spanish ceremonies will be familiar to anyone who knows a bit of a different language. The people for whom I perform the ceremony assume I understand Spanish. I can get the gist of most conversations, but not at the speed at which most people speak their native language. I need to learn more and better Spanish.
Photo sharing as a way of saving effort and space is obviously not catching on. The group at one ceremony had 9 different cameras & phones going at once, with some people working 2 in tandem. There's no squashing the feeling that someone else's pictures won't be the ones we would've taken.
Fashion report
Cutest rings: matching Scrabble tiles with the mate's initial - hers had his first initial, his had hers. Both were worth 1 point - nice and equal.
A few lovely asymmetrical, flowing dresses, one beaded with a beaded headband, like an understated tiara.
So much ink, including a bride with a breastplate tattoo of a winged heart. Still not tempted to get one myself. She wore a lovely black dress, but kept a denim jacket over it.
FIRE!
Original post date: September 4, 2012
The big story at the marriage factory Friday morning wasn't weddings - it was fire. A fight between two of the people who sleep in the Hall of Records entryway turned nasty, and someone set fire to the front of the building. The recording department had to move into the area where I sit. Normally, that space is almost empty, with all the clerks out front, helping customers. This week, folks I'd never met with piles of papers were at every desk. It felt claustrophobic. Surprising how habituated one gets to an environment.
There was a wedding waiting as soon as I arrived. The bride & groom wore flip-flops & shorts and chewed gum. Luckily, the day got better from there.
I did more Spanish than English weddings, including a multi-lingual ceremony where the mother of the bride spoke no English and the groom spoke no Spanish. Everyone was happy at the end. Four of the eleven brides Friday morning had the same name. I don't think that's happened before.
Fashion report
The big story at the marriage factory Friday morning wasn't weddings - it was fire. A fight between two of the people who sleep in the Hall of Records entryway turned nasty, and someone set fire to the front of the building. The recording department had to move into the area where I sit. Normally, that space is almost empty, with all the clerks out front, helping customers. This week, folks I'd never met with piles of papers were at every desk. It felt claustrophobic. Surprising how habituated one gets to an environment.
There was a wedding waiting as soon as I arrived. The bride & groom wore flip-flops & shorts and chewed gum. Luckily, the day got better from there.
I did more Spanish than English weddings, including a multi-lingual ceremony where the mother of the bride spoke no English and the groom spoke no Spanish. Everyone was happy at the end. Four of the eleven brides Friday morning had the same name. I don't think that's happened before.
Fashion report
- A pair of blond twin boys in matching corduroy coats - adorable!
- Matching rhinestone shoes (looking ever so slightly like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hirst-Love-Of-God.jpg) and fingernails
- A cute dress & leggings that looked like they'd been dyed with potato-print
- A matching white dress and feathery hair comb
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