In laws/family

I don’t have much experience. You have time though! Get everyone together while you can. It’s important to you that you’re one family so get practicing! I know people can’t just up and learn a new language but if they’re excited to join together, they can find what ways they can communicate.

My fiances aunt is from from China and for a while and even still she struggled with English but we always find a way. Communication is a lot more than a language.

Thanks for the advise. We’re having a big engagement dinner in October so everyone will be able to meet each other. We will see how this goes.

My friend is from Spain and her non-English speaking mother came to her wedding a few years ago. There were a few guests and members of the wedding party that also speak Spanish but somehow we all managed to communicate with her mother and have a great time. I even learned a bit of Spanish for the ceremony itself.

I like the idea of your family learning a few words and phrases in Spanish. It might make everyone feel like one cohesive family. Do you have other family members that are bilingual? It might be a good idea to have more than one at the table if you can manage it. Either way they will all be there to celebrate with you and that crosses over any language barrier.

View Quoted Comment Thank you for the advice I do have mixed relatives but they don’t know how to speak Spanish. They was raised in an All English household. We will manage and make the big day great.

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I have the same problem when I visit my dad's family. Much of the family speaks French but my dad never taught my brother and me so we often stare blankly when the older cousins, aunts, uncles, and our dad have conversations.

I'm sure it will be a wonderful for everyone!

I would sit them with people they can speak to. My MIL and my parents are VERY much family (like, my mom went to thanksgiving at my MIL’s last year), and we’re all happy and love eachother and all that and always will. But at the party, I wanted everyone where they would be most comfortable. So MIL went with her family, and my parents went with their siblings. Everyone was happy. We sat them next to eachother table-wise and that worked well.

View Quoted Comment Ok that’s a way better ideal have them sit with their family but have the tables next to each other. That’s life saving because I didn’t want to look like I’m putting his family in a corner or in one side of the room. Thanks a whole lot I can mix the tables his family and mines next to them.

View Quoted Comment I actually even specifically assigned seats at the tables (only for the parents! for everyone else I only assigned tables) so that they’d be sat nearest to eachother and with the same vantage point for all the special moments

My mom doesn't speak English and my fiance doesn't speak Spanish (my mom's and mine native language), I translate for them. If your FH's father speaks English he could translate, if they live in USA, I assume he woul most likely been doing it somewhere else. And in my experience non-Spanish speaker try very hard to communicate with Spanish speakers.

View Quoted Comment Yes that what I’m going to do have them all in the same area