Neel & Neerja's Wedding

Neel & Neerja : Bride & Groom

I did it! I interpreted at my first wedding ceremony. Two of the speeches I received ahead of time but the other two were emailed to me the day off. That was certainly a challenge but most defiantly a learning experience.

The bride's father is deaf, my teacher and her husband are also deaf so I had to stand in an area where all three could see me (which meant in front where everyone else could see me). Of course that made me shy but I was trying to not think about it too much. At the beginning it was a bit hard because the person was talking so fast and it was hard to keep up. I was next to the speaker so I heard a lot of echo and it was hard to understand the person speaking. So with that said... I missed a lot of information! Finally I just let them know that I couldn't understand because of the echo and I was moved to a more comfortable area! It was obvious I couldn't hear or understand because they were all quick to tell me that my move made a difference.

I was under the impression only 4 people were going to give a speech but instead it turned out to be more than 4. I thought to myself.. "God, please let me interpret right at this girl's wedding, this is her day and if these people don't understand me, thats going to really suck!!!" There were some parts I did miss, I tried catching up as fast as I could. At times it got rough because some family members had heavy accents and some words weren't pronounced correctly. Regardless I got through it.
There was one time when a friend of the family stood up to say a poem and next thing you know he started to speak in their language. I sort of froze and just stood there dumb-founded... and signed .." He is speaking another language"...they just laughed at me, I must have had a confused look!

Next the bride and groom were to do what would be considered their first "dance" as husband and wife but instead they "interpreted" their song for her father to understand. It was SOOOO awesome, they did an awesome job. Super unique and it was so nice to see how this girl made sure her father was included in everything.
Over all the wedding was AWESOME! Lots of color and very traditional. The women's dresses were beautiful. The fabric and beading of these dresses were super elegant! Not to mention, the jewelry was beautiful as well! I had a blast. Here are a few pics that I took with my phone, I was so worried about arriving late to the reception that I forgot my camera. (and yes I did get there on time)..lol