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jennifer rose

Mar 29, 2004, 4:29 PM

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Padrinos de Velacion

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A friend's daughter who is marrying an American asked me to create a translation of her formal wedding invitation into English, along with the instruction that the translation sound elegant even if the translation wasn't literal. Now I know perfectly well what "Padrinos de velacion" means, but I'm stumped on a nice way of translating that. Does "Marriage Godparents" sound all right? The padrinos are unrelated. Somehow "Best Man" and "Matron of Honor" doesn't seem to work right. Ideas?

TomG

Mar 30, 2004, 8:31 PM

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Re: [jennifer rose] Padrinos de Velacion

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The groom should take the responsibilty of making sure his family and friends understand the cultural differences in the marriage ceremony, so that the invitation and wedding arrive into understanding.

The brides family is already doing a good job on their part from what you say. I already like his mother-in-law to be.

jennifer rose

Mar 30, 2004, 8:44 PM

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Re: [TomG] Padrinos de Velacion

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We went with "Marriage Godparents," because the padrinos turned out to be elderly relatives of the bride and groom, both of whom are professionals and fairly well-integrated into both cultures. But not after pulling out the Emily Post and Amy Vanderbilt from the shelves of my library. When I finished, they asked me to edit the Spanish version of the invitation!