Naomi Brunnlehrman
New York, NY
An ASL Interpreter Becomes A Bride – Hiring ASL Interpreters For Your Own Wedding
On Thanksgiving of last year, my husband Steven and I became engaged. We agreed to get married on Sunday August 9, 1998, the first Sunday after Tisha B’Av. In December, immediately after hiring the two rabbis who would co-officiate at our wedding, we began discussing whom we wanted to hire as our ASL interpreters. Certainly, I could not interpret at my own wedding! On the other hand, I wanted to “practice what I preach,” providing true access to our Deaf friends and colleagues, not simply providing “lip-service” to the idea of access. In other words, I did not want unqualified interpreters at our wedding simply to say “Our wedding is ASL interpreted!”
Many hearing people.with good intentions decide FOR the Deaf community whom to hire, instead of asking the Deaf community whom they recommend. It was important to us that we hire two ASL interpreters who could meet the communication needs of our Deaf guests. We therefore selected two ASL interpreters whom our Deaf guests recommended. It was obvious that two ASL interpreters were required for the job; our wedding celebration began at 10:30 am and ended at 5 pm. We and the Deaf community wanted two ASL interpreters who had experience working together and who were willing to study with my husband and I in order to understand the traditional elements as well as the unique themes of our wedding simcha. These included Kabbalat Panim, Bedekin, our egalitarian wedding ceremony with two rabbis speaking, entertaining the chatan and kallah, a double Mezinka, and a full Birkat Hamazon with Sheva Brachot.
In all our subsequent hiring decisions
