I'm really pissed, I called the county office and the lady on the phone said is the person does not understand English sufficiently they cannot do the marriage ceremony. Can this be for real? I went through this whole process and now I can't get married?!?!?!

Try another city.

My husband's English is still VERY basic. Our service was half in English and half in Spanish with me translating in between a bit in Italian. Not the most beautiful or romantic of ceremonies, but it got the job done.

Don't worry, you WILL find somewhere that'll do it.

yeah try somewhere else, PLENTY of people (on here and just general) have done a civil ceremony where one of the people do not speak english.

That's strange, I've never heard of that before.. But yes definitely shop around.. there's plenty of places to get married.

Wasn't true for Kim and I. We went down to the court house paid the fee and said our I do's. I would think you could get someone to translate if it was a real issue where you live. Do not let this stop you

That is craziness. Never heard of such a thing!
good luck!

Hey,

Go to Vegas !!!

There is no such law in existence... you may have encountered a bigoted clerk who disaproves of biracial relationships, but there are plenty of people who have been married without speaking English! Take a translator with you...

I understand the reasoning since my lawyer (not for immigration) had advised me that in order for a marriage to be legal, both parties must understand the language of the ceremony OR it must be translated. I had to have my ceremony translated because we were married in Sweden and the person marrying us did not speak any English at all and my skills in Swedish are rather basic at best.

If they wont accept a translator, just go somewhere that will.

The thing is I didn't mention I brought her here on a K-1 visa. I wonder if that is proof enough that she understands she is getting married if I show those documents.

I guess its to do with the state you reside in.

They made us take a translator to the courthouse before they would give us the liscense. When it was said and done all the translation that needed to be done was to make sure that Lucero understood she was getting married. It was crazy. Her English was good enough for that without a translator.
We did have a church wedding with a translator that was very beautiful. The minister did a great job and I wanted Lucero to understand the ceremony without the language struggles.

That was seven months ago and Lucero's English is almost perfect now. English can come quickly in America with some hard work.

How can I bring a translator with me? Does this cost?

We only had a cival service as well. They did not question if Alex could speak English or not. But to make the ceremony better for him we had a friend translate. The JOP had no problem having a translator for the service. GOOD LUCK.

Hey, have a notary perform the ceremony one that speaks both English and Spanish, I got married in the court, however it was in Miami, I had no problems. By the way, I am happy that your girlfriend is here. Good luck

perhaps instead of county office you could get a minister or justice of peace that speaks spanish..........

You're kidding me right?

Your fiance is Cuban and just about everywhere in the USA "se habla español" especially that spanish is the next popular language to english here, but if that is not the case in your state then by all means get a translator.

Best of Luck to you both

I don't know what religion you two are but we went to the local catholic church and got a priest who was bi-lingual, not because Cristina didn't understand but for the 30 Spanish citizens who came from Spain for the ceremony. No extra charge at Church guys...

This wasn't an issue for us, but at San Francisco City Hall (where we were married) both the bride and groom must be able to speak English, and if they don't, the couple has to provide a third-party translator.

Thats strange..may be the clerk had had a bad day..try again> Language is not the barrier..get volunteers to translate

I understand the reasoning behind it because you need to be able to answer the questions asked when you get your licence like if you have been married before and take and repeat the oath.

When we went to do our civil ceremony, we were both asked if we spoke English and if we could understand what was asked.

All states view marriage as a civil contract. You must understand what you are agreeing to or maybe under the state law it is voidable..

go to Vegas, every chapel is begging everyone to marry there!

I witnessed a civil ceremony in Vegas and the groom could not speak a word of English. The bride was the translator. They were the witnesses for our ceremony too. I even cried at their wedding, but not at my own!

have someone you know who is bi-lingual get ordained on the ULC website. Its perfectly legal and in most states does not require that the ULC minister be registered with a county court. Just sign up online, get the minister's package for the marriage certificates and you're good to go.

http://www.ulc.org/

During my civil wedding in Peru. The Judge stopped half-way through and goes: Do we need to get him a translator? And my wife said --NO! keep going! hehe!

I guess I had this look of bewilderment on my face or something.

LOL! yep!

I am a court interpreter, and I and my colleagues have often interpreted marriage ceremonies for people who don't speak English. It's the second-happiest thing we do. (Happiest being adoption ceremonies.)

Where are you? That was in New Jersey and I see you're in the VSC's territory, so are you in NJ by any chance? Any state Superior Court (there's one in the county seat of every county) will provide an interpreter for your wedding.