Help with a wedding ceremony translation

[Tyrannosaurustex]

Hello! / Buen día!

I am officiating my sister's wedding vow renewals soon. My brother law is Mexican, so I am doing the ceremony in English and Spanish for them. I have plenty of experience speaking spanish (have lived/worked in various places in South America), but I'd like a native speaker, preferably Mexican, to look at my translation to check for two things:

1) that it makes sense, obviously. This is a formal event and I want it to be as close to perfect as possible, so feel free to be as nit-picky as you like when it comes to grammar and diction.

2) Does it make sense in Mexican spanish? I learned most of my spanish in Argentina and Colombia, so I want to using phrases or words that might not make as much sense in Mexico as they would in Medellín or Buenos Aires.

thank you all so much for your help!!

Here is the spanish version:

Buenas tardes amados y amadas nos hemos reunido aquí para ser testigos de la renovación de la unión de Marido y Esposa. Los apoyamos y celebramos su alegría, su amor, y su futuro.

Marido y Esposa, hoy renueven su pacto matrimonial; una promesa de que siempre tratarán de sacar las virtudes de compasión, cuidado mutuo, y integridad que hay en el otro y en su mismo.

Que sigan apreciando lo excepcional y lo único del otro. Compartan la felicidad de la vida. Manténganse firmes y anímense en el infortunio.

Marido, ¿recibes a Esposa por tu esposa, para amarla, honrarla y consolarla en salud y enfermedad, en prosperidad y en adversidad, y renunciando a todas las otras, te conservarás para ella solamente, mientras vivan?

Esposa, ¿recibes a Marido por tu marido, para amarlo, honrarlo y consolarlo en salud y enfermedad, en prosperidad y adversidad, y renunciando a todos los otros, te conservarás para él solamente, mientras vivan?

Estos anillos son emblemas del amor que celebramos hoy; intactos y continuos, de tal forma que no tiene principio ni fin.

Marido, por favor ponle el anillo al dedo de tu esposo y repite conmigo:

Hoy renuevo el compromiso que hice contigo hace 2 años. Este anillo es señal de mi amor y fidelidad. Tráelo en paz para siempre..

Esposa, por favor ponle el anillo al dedo de tu marido y repite conmigo:

Hoy renuevo el compromiso que hice contigo hace 2 años. Este anillo es señal de mi amor y fidelidad. Tráelo en paz para siempre.

Ahora los esposos realizar su unión renovada por la ritual de arena.

Empezamos por añadir la arena de esta misma playa donde ellos han hecho, de nuevo, su pacto matrimonial. Una relación estable se basa en amor absoluto y incondicional. La arena representa este amor, que es la fundación de una relación estable. Queremos celebrar este amor hoy.

Marido y Esposa, hoy renueven su promesa de compartir sus vidas desde aquí en adelante.

Su relación es symbolizada por estas vasijas individuales, cada grano como un momento único de sus vidas. Una te represta a tí, Marido.

Todo que eras, todo que eres, y todo que serás.

La otra te representa a tí, Esposa.
...todo que eras, todo que eres, y todo que serás.

Aunque ya están mezcladas, no quiere decir que antes no eran enteras. Cada una tenía su propia belleza, fuerza, y valor. Pero cuando las vasijas se mezclan, representan algo completamente nuevo y increíble.

Cuando las vasijas se vacíen, las individuales ya no existen.

Codo los granos de arena no pueden seperarse ni regresar a las vasijas individuales, también su amor los ha hecho como uno.

Marido y Esposa, Uds. han declarado su amor otra vez ante su familia y queridos, me honra mucho reconocer su compromiso renovado como esposos.

Marido, puedes besar tu esposa!

And here is the original english draft:

We are gathered here today as Marido and Esposa reaffirm their commitment to each other as beloveds and partners in marriage. We join in our support of them. We celebrate their joy, their love and their expectations.

Marido and Esposa, today you renew your promise to try always to bring out the qualities of forgiveness, compassion, and integrity in yourselves and in each other.

May you continue to cherish each other’s uniqueness. Continue to share in life's joys and remain steadfast and comfort each other through life's sorrows.

Please face each other and join hands.

Marido, do you vow to continue to have Esposa as your wife, to love, honor and cherish her in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her for as long as you both shall live?

Marido: I do

Esposa, do you vow to continue to have Marido as your husband, to love honor and cherish him in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him for as long as you both shall live?

Esposa: I do

“May we have the rings”

These rings represent the love we celebrate today; unbroken and never ending.

Marido, will you take this ring and place it upon Esposa’s finger, and repeat these words after me:

Today I recommit myself to you, and this ring is a symbol of my love and fidelity. Wear it in peace always.

Esposa, will you take this ring and place it upon Marido’s finger, and repeat these words after me:

From this day forward, I recommit myself to you, and this ring is a symbol of my love. Wear it in peace always

Now we shall observe Marido & Esposa’s union as symbolized through the pouring of sand.

We will start by adding sand from where Marido and Esposa stand today as they reaffirm their commitment to each other. This sand symbolizes absolute and unconditional love. It is the foundation on which successful relationships are built and it is the reason we celebrate here today.

*the officiant pours sand from a seashell filled with sand from the beach*

Marido and Esposa, today you are renewing a commitment to share the rest of your lives with each other.

Your relationship is symbolized through the pouring of these two individual containers of sand, each grain represents a unique moment in your lives; this one, represents you, Marido.
*Marido pours a portion of his sand in vase*
all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will ever be.

The other represents you, Esposa, *she pours a portion of her sand on top Marido’s sand* all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will ever be.

Each one holds its own unique beauty, strength, and character. They can stand on their own and be whole, without the need of anything else. Yet when the two are blended together they represent something entirely new and extraordinary.

As the two jars of sand are poured into one, *both F & C pour their remaining sand in the central vase together* the individual containers of sand will no longer exist.

Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual vases, so does the love between the two of you render you inseparable.

Now that you, Marido, and you, Esposa, have reaffirmed your commitment to each other before these family and friends, it is my honor to recognize your recommitment to one another as husband and wife.

You may kiss the Bride!

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Here are some comments for improving your text. I hope you'll find them useful. If you need clarification, let me know.

Buenas tardes, amados y amadas (This adjective needs a noun; religious ministers usually say "hermanos(as)"):
Nos hemos reunido aquí para ser testigos de la renovación de la unión de Marido y Esposa (I assume you'll be using their names here, right?). Los apoyamos y celebramos su alegría, su amor, y su futuro.

Marido y Esposa, hoy renueven su pacto matrimonial; una promesa de la (This "la" refers to the promise; it's used for clarity) que siempre tratarán de sacar las virtudes de compasión, cuidado mutuo, y (When the next word after the conjunction starts with an "i", the conjunction becomes "e" for reasons of euphony) integridad que hay en el otro y en su mismo (Attention: if you say "su mismo", you need a noun to go with it, but you mean "oneself", so you need to change the possessive adjective "su" for the necessary pronoun before mismo: "sí").

Que (This "que" sounds strange; if this is an exhortation, get rid of it, and leave the imperative conjugation.) sigan apreciando lo excepcional y lo único del otro. Compartan la felicidad de la vida. Manténganse firmes y anímense en el infortunio.

Marido, ¿recibes a Esposa por tu esposa, para amarla, honrarla y consolarla en la salud y en la enfermedad, en la prosperidad y en la adversidad (We need articles), y renunciando a todas las otras, te conservarás para ella solamente, mientras vivan?

Esposa, ¿recibes a Marido por tu marido, para amarlo, honrarlo y consolarlo en salud y enfermedad, en prosperidad y adversidad, (Check previous paragraph) y renunciando a todos los otros, te conservarás para él solamente, mientras vivan?

Estos anillos son emblemas (I'll be picky here, I prefer the singular here, because the rings symbolise one union) del amor que celebramos hoy; intactos y continuos (This would have to be singular too, if you decide to change to "emblema"), de tal forma que no tiene principio ni fin.

Marido, por favor ponle el anillo al dedo de tu esposo (This must be in feminine) y repite conmigo:

Hoy renuevo el compromiso que hice contigo hace 2 años. Este anillo es señal de mi amor y fidelidad. Tráelo en paz (I'm not sure I can understand how to wear a ring in peace, this sounds strange) para siempre.

Esposa, por favor ponle el anillo al dedo de tu marido y repite conmigo:

Hoy renuevo el compromiso que hice contigo hace 2 años. Este anillo es señal de mi amor y fidelidad. Tráelo en paz (same as previous.) para siempre.

Ahora los esposos realizar (This verb needs conjugation.) su unión renovada por la ritual ("Ritual" is masculine.) de arena.

Empezamos por añadir la arena de esta misma playa donde ellos han hecho, de nuevo, su pacto matrimonial. Una relación estable se basa en *** (Article needed) amor absoluto y (Same as previous "y" before "i") incondicional. La arena representa este amor, que es la fundación (This word is used for an action that establishes something, but I think you mean here "foundation" like in a building, so I suggest you to change to "cimiento", which is a masculine word) de una relación estable. Queremos celebrar este amor hoy.

Marido y Esposa, hoy renueven su promesa de compartir sus vidas desde aquí (Spanish collocation is "de aquí"; "desde" would imply a physical point of departure) en adelante.

Su relación es(1) symbolizada (Check spelling) por estas vasijas individuales, cada grano como un momento único de sus vidas. Una te represta a tí, Marido.

(1) The passive voice in Spanish is not used as often as it is in English. I suggest that you use a different construction with "se": "Su relación se simboliza con..."

Todo que eras, todo que eres, y todo que serás.

La otra te representa a tí, Esposa.
...todo que eras, todo que eres, y todo que serás.

Aunque ya están mezcladas, no quiere decir que antes no eran (The verb "estar" is more appropriate and conjugation in the past subjunctive wil lbe better) enteras. Cada una tenía su propia belleza, fuerza, y valor. Pero cuando las vasijas se mezclan, representan algo completamente nuevo y (Another "e" needed here) increíble.

Cuando las vasijas se vacíen, las individuales (Check your dictionary for the translation of "individual" as a noun, "individual" is an adjective.) ya no existen.

Codo (I think this is a typo) los granos de arena no pueden seperarse (Check spelling) ni regresar a las vasijas individuales, también su amor los ha hecho como uno (We need something else here; the usual collocation is "uno solo").

Marido y Esposa, Uds. han declarado su amor otra vez ante su familia y queridos (This adjective needs a noun; check your dictionary for "loved ones"), me honra mucho reconocer su compromiso renovado como esposos.

Marido, puedes besar *** (You need a preposition here for talking about people. Yo need an "a" here.) tu esposa!

[Tyrannosaurustex]

Hi Angelica.

First, a GIGANTIC THANK YOU for helping me out with this!!!!! This is exactly the help I needed with this. Just a couple of things to clarify:

- the phrase "wear it (the ring) in peace" was pulled from a texto for a vow renewal ceremony that I used to make this one. It's very romantic and a little old-fashioned even in english, and basically just means to wear it with an inner or personal peace and happiness. I'll consider taking this out of the spanish version if it doesn't make sense to a native speaker.

- Su relación es(1) simbolizada vs se simboliza - Are you saying that I can change the phrase from "su relación es simbolizada por estas vasijas" to "su relación se simboliza con estas vasijas"?
Also, I was taught that the reflexive "se" is preferred unless you include the agent (in this case, would be the "por las vasijas" part), in which case you defer to the passive ser + *participle* "por" formula. Even though reflexive se is more common, this rule is correct as long as it is applied in the right context, right?

All the other things make sense! I wish you could come to the ceremony to see the performance you helped me perfect! You are the A B S O L U T E B E S T!

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

If "wear the ring in peace" makes sense for the people in the ceremony, don't cross it out.

- Su relación es(1) simbolizada vs se simboliza - Are you saying that I can change the phrase from "su relación es simbolizada por estas vasijas" to "su relación se simboliza con estas vasijas"?

Yes, you can also say "estas vasijas simbolizan su relación".

Also, I was taught that the reflexive "se" is preferred unless you include the agent (in this case, would be the "por las vasijas" part), in which case you defer to the passive ser + *participle* "por" formula. Even though reflexive se is more common, this rule is correct as long as it is applied in the right context, right?

Yes, that's correct, I usually advice to avoid passive voice, because a Spanish speaker who is not in contact with foreign languages will find very strange the use of the passive voice if it's not in a newspaper or a book.


I'm glad you found this useful. Good luck in your ceremony and best wishes for the couple.