Comments on: Accommodating deaf wedding guests

By: Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 03 May 2010 20:09:35 +0000

My husband and I are a bilingual couple (French and English) and we used surtitles (like subtitles, but projected on a screen) for our ceremony, so that no matter what language was being spoken, it was translated into the other language. I would think that this could also work as a low-budget option to an ASL interpreter. It worked wonderfully for us. We liked that it was eco-friendly, didn't single people out as obviously as a translated script might, and with good placement of the screen, it allows for easily looking back and forth between the screen and ceremony action.

By: Ashley

Ashley — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:40:54 +0000

my soon-to-be mother in law is deaf and i wouldn't dream of doing it without an interpreter. she reads lips and communicates extremely well orally (she didn't even learn sign until high school!). being so independent in the hearing world, she doesn't ever ask for an interpreter and never expects accommodations. however, she is such a huge part of us (we've been dating for 5 years, she's practically my second mom) that i will be SURE she can relax and enjoy every moment (and every word) of our wedding like the rest of our parents will.
quick question…where are people planning on putting their interpreters for guests? i don't want him/her to be too far from us so she won't have to keep looking back and forth.

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:48:04 +0000

This is an older post, but your wedding is still a little ways away, so I thought I'd share. My cousin's husband is Deaf, as are about 50% of their friends. For their ceremony they had two interpreters – one who stood near the celebrant and interpreted for Matt (her husband), another stood on a chair and interpreted for the guests. Then they were present at the reception – including one who stood by the bar to interpret drink orders for the Deaf guests. I thought this was great – I never would have thought of it myself, but obviously it was very important and I'm sure made the event a lot more enjoyable for the Deaf guests.

By: Kate

Kate — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:06:24 +0000

One option for finding an interpreter might be to ask around houses of worship in your community. Some have interpreters and they would obviously be comfortable with interpreting formal language and sermons on the fly.

By: Summer

Summer — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 05:40:26 +0000

I second this. Interpreting is very difficult and even being fluent in ASL is not enough training to be a good interpreter.

Also, you really shouldn't get a student in an interpreting program because they are not allowed to act as interpreters until they finish their degrees and go through a whole certification process.

Another option could be c-print or some other captioning system. This is a great resource when your deaf/HOH guests don't know ASL.

If you do decide to go with an interpreter, also keep in mind with time that if you need one for over an hour you may have to get a second one too. We usually have ASL interpreters in my classes and they typically have 2 interpreters for a 2 hour class but only 1 for a one hour one.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:34:27 +0000

For weddings with deaf or hard of hearing guests, another option might be to hire a CART (Communcations Access Realtime Translation) provider. These are individuals trained on a stenotype machine to type proceedings word-for-word. Often used in classrooms, meetings, and churches, they can provide, essentially, live captioning of the wedding available on a computer screen. The realtime interpretation could be available on a smaller screen positioned in the audience for weddings with a few deaf or hard of hearing guests; a large screen toward the front of the hall/church for weddings with a larger number of guests is another option.

More information on CART can be found here: http://www.cart-info.org/

By: Yanique

Yanique — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:06:37 +0000

I think this is an AMAZING topic! I think we sometimes encounter a situation such as this and aren't sure how to handle it. I often see interpreters at church services and think it's a beautiful addition.

By: Vivi

Vivi — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:13:46 +0000

This is a great topic! My Aunt and Uncle are deaf and my cousin (who is in highschool) is sort of forced to be an interpreter at many family events. If you can afford it, definately get an interpreter. Not only is it nicer for your guests who are hearing impaired but it's really interesting to watch. It adds something really special to see an interpretation of wedding vows through ASL as it is such a beautiful and expressive language.

By: Marmite

Marmite — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 16:37:43 +0000

I know this is an old post now but if people are interested my cousin married into a spanish family, where the older family members spoke no english at all.

We effectively had 2 ceremonies simultaneously, things were said in english and then repeated in spanish. It was beautiful to just let the words wash over you, and it didn't distract from the anything either.

By: purplepuppy

purplepuppy — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:57:28 +0000

This website is a blessing. I decided to google Deaf Weddings and this website came up…
I am Deaf and also have Low Vision, My fiance is hearing and learning ASL… We are going to be married October 2, 2010. We are currently trying to figure out what exactly we want to do about interpreters.
I have ONLY attended Hearing weddings some with interpreters some without.
I want to make sure that my Deaf guests are 100% included in the wedding because I have been to weddings where I don't understand what's going on and it's tremendously boring!! I would NEVER want my guests to experience that especially since I'm Deaf myself…

As for me I'm trying to figure out how the interpreter will be placed due to my having very low vision… I want to make sure that I can see my fiance and the interpreter to understand the words and what's being said and what's happening.

I was able to ask around and have several interpreters who are willing to interpret the wedding as a wedding present to my fiance and me. I am planning to have 2 interpreters.
I am obviously going to need one with me the whole time, but because of my low vision it will be more work for them… I will also need an interpreter for my Deaf friends who will be attending the wedding.
I am going to make sure that each interpreter has a copy of the vows, and the words for songs that will be used during the slideshow as well as ANY Other part of the ceramony that will have words including the toast.

We are having 2 receptions one for ALL of our guest's with cake and punch and a second smaller dinner and dancing reception for our out of town guest's.. Most of my Deaf friends are local and therefore will be attending ONLY the FIRST reception. There are a few Deaf friends who are the exception and will be attending the second reception which will have dinner and dancing…
I want to make sure that No one feel's left out at either reception!! I am would like to have whichever interpreter is not with me interpret the toast's and things of that nature anything that should require interpreting at the receptions… Any suggestions to make this process go smoothly?

Thank you in advance.