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Beginner August 2025 Somerset

Deaf bride/hoh/bsl/vows

Zoe, 25 April, 2024 at 13:35 Posted on Planning 0 1

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Hi 👋 this is my first post so bare with me..

Me & my partner are getting married summer of 2025 so still planning.

I am deaf or hard of hearing, depends what you want to call it. I can hear with hearing aids, without is very muffled. We started learning BSL about 4 years ago, mainly to support our autistic son with communication as he was a delayed talker but continued. We are both not fluent - I probably know and remember more signs than him, but he tries and always signs to me when I'm not wearing my hearing aids.

To the point... We have both decided to sign our vows/promises during our ceremony, mainly because that means something to us both but also because we are very private people. I also personally think BSL is a very beautiful language.

My thing that I keep getting stuck on is what the vows should be in a way that's sweet but short and simple enough to sign. I want it to be something we both repeat back to each other, like repetition. I also love how beautiful but simple the vows are in the wedding scene in 'Braveheart', especially with the hand-fasting (which we also plan on doing).

Has anyone been in a similar situation?

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Latest activity by RomanticGreenStationery27135, 1 May, 2024 at 21:24

VIP July 2020 Monmouthshire
RomanticGreenStationery27135 · 1 May, 2024 at 21:24
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Is this your legal wedding ceremony? If so, there are standard declarations that have to be made, so you would need to ask the registrar what those are in sign language.
If you are getting legally married beforehand, or are planning to speak your legal vows and just want to add some personal vows in BSL, then you can have whatever you want. Obviously, the shorter the easier, but you have over a year to practice, which should be plenty of time to get it word perfect. I think it's a lovely idea to include something in your ceremony in a language that is so important to you, and that your son will be able to understand so well.
If you have non BSL speaking people at your ceremony, it might be a nice touch to include a little bit of information about your BSL vows in your order of service. I know a lot of people don't realise that it is a whole language by itself, and not just a way of 'saying English', so it could be a lovely way of raising awareness of the language.
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