Some time ago, I officiated a beautiful wedding, full of special moments, for Daniel and Donovan, a dashing couple from Singapore. The wedding, coordinated by Pop the Knot, took place in the rooftop penthouse of Ink 48. For those not familiar with this Kimpton Hotel, it is on the far west side of mid-town Manhattan. Housed in a former printing press, it has some of the best views of the Manhattan skyline—anywhere!
Our grooms were joined by a dozen or so family members—all of whom traveled to the event from Asia. As I met the grooms when they arrived to New York, they expressed some concerns that a number of their guests did not speak English and would be confused by the western-style ceremony. I mentioned that in cases like this in the past, I’d organized to have a copy of the ceremony script available in the guests’ native language. They quite liked that idea. So Presto! Through the wonders of social media, a dear old friend from Oklahoma connected me with a friend and colleague, a college professor, who translated the script to Cantonese. I distributed copies of the translation to guests in advance of the ceremony.
The personalized ceremony, which included telling the romantic story of the grooms’ courtship, was followed by more traditionally aspects of the celebration. There were traditional gift offerings and a tea ceremony, where the grooms served both sets of parents. It was a wonderful day and a beautiful “marriage” of an American style wedding, with plenty of touches from home.
