The short answer
- Ask the guest what helpsPeople with the same hearing or sight loss want different things. A short conversation a few weeks before the wedding tells you more than any guide.
- A loop only carries what goes into the microphoneCheck the venue has a working hearing loop, that their hearing aid has the loop setting, and that every speaker uses the microphone.
- Large print and good light help with sight lossPrint the order of service in 16 to 18 point type and seat them where light falls on the couple. Someone they trust can guide them between rooms.
- Give one person the job of helping themSomeone who stays with them, explains what is happening and guides them round the venue. That person should not also be in the wedding party.
The guest's audiologist or eye clinic can advise on anything specific to their hearing aids or their eyes.
Ask them first
Start by asking the guest what helps them
Hearing and sight loss vary a great deal. One grandparent lipreads; another hears well on a loop but cannot follow a conversation in a marquee. A short conversation a few weeks ahead gives you time to arrange what works for them.
How do they hear best?
What can they see?
What would they like in writing?
Who would they like beside them?
If they are hesitant, ask the person who knows them best, and keep the questions practical. An older guest may not want to make a fuss at someone else's wedding, and offering two or three options can be easier for them to answer than "what do you need?" Write the answers into a wedding day care plan so the people helping on the day all know them.
For a guest with both hearing and sight loss, Sense, the charity for people with complex disabilities and deafblindness, gives advice on communication. The pages on hearing loss and care at home and sight loss and care at home explain how each one affects day-to-day life.
Loops and microphones
Hearing loops, microphones and seating for a hard of hearing guest
A hearing loop sends sound from a microphone straight to a hearing aid or cochlear implant, cutting out the background noise of a large room. It helps a guest who uses hearing aids only when three things are in place.
| What it does | Who it suits | How to arrange it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Room hearing loop | A cable round the room sends the microphone sound to hearing aids switched to the loop setting | Guests whose hearing aids or implants have a loop setting | Ask the venue whether it has one, where it covers and when it was last tested |
| Portable loop | A small loop unit with its own microphone, set up on the day | A venue with no fixed loop, or a top table outside the loop area | Ask the venue, the officiant or a local audio hire firm |
| Personal listener | The speaker wears a small microphone that sends to the guest's own receiver | Guests who already own one, such as a Roger system | Ask the guest to bring it and brief the speakers |
| Speech-to-text reporter | A trained reporter types every word live onto a screen or tablet | Deaf guests who read English comfortably | Book through the NRCPD register and send names in advance |
| BSL interpreter or lipspeaker | Relays the ceremony and speeches in sign language, or as clear lip patterns | Guests who use British Sign Language or rely on lipreading | Book through the NRCPD register as early as you can |
Room hearing loop
- What it does
- A cable round the room sends the microphone sound to hearing aids switched to the loop setting
- Who it suits
- Guests whose hearing aids or implants have a loop setting
- How to arrange it
- Ask the venue whether it has one, where it covers and when it was last tested
Portable loop
- What it does
- A small loop unit with its own microphone, set up on the day
- Who it suits
- A venue with no fixed loop, or a top table outside the loop area
- How to arrange it
- Ask the venue, the officiant or a local audio hire firm
Personal listener
- What it does
- The speaker wears a small microphone that sends to the guest's own receiver
- Who it suits
- Guests who already own one, such as a Roger system
- How to arrange it
- Ask the guest to bring it and brief the speakers
Speech-to-text reporter
- What it does
- A trained reporter types every word live onto a screen or tablet
- Who it suits
- Deaf guests who read English comfortably
- How to arrange it
- Book through the NRCPD register and send names in advance
BSL interpreter or lipspeaker
- What it does
- Relays the ceremony and speeches in sign language, or as clear lip patterns
- Who it suits
- Guests who use British Sign Language or rely on lipreading
- How to arrange it
- Book through the NRCPD register as early as you can
The NRCPD is the UK register of communication professionals working with deaf and deafblind people. Ask each one for a quote.
The three things are these. The guest's hearing aid needs a loop programme, sometimes called the T setting, and they need to know how to switch to it. RNID, the national charity for deaf people and people with hearing loss, says most NHS hearing aids have a loop coil built in but an audiologist has to set up the programme, so ask well before the wedding. The loop needs to be switched on and tested in the room on the day. And every voice that matters has to go through a microphone: the officiant, the couple saying their vows, the readers and every speech. A loop does nothing for a best man who puts the microphone down and walks about.
Seat them near the front, on the side of their better ear, where they can see the faces of the couple and the speakers. RNID says lots of people rely on lipreading to some degree, and advises good light on the speaker's face, facing the person, and repeating or rephrasing rather than shouting. A copy of the vows, readings and speeches in their hand helps too. Where the guest sits at the meal is covered in where grandparents should sit at a wedding.
If your guest uses British Sign Language, an interpreter lets them follow the ceremony and join in conversation. RNID's advice for events is to speak to the deaf person rather than to the interpreter. A speech-to-text reporter types every word, not a summary, and needs a list of names beforehand so the captions get them right. Both can be found on the NRCPD register.
Print, light and guiding
Large print, lighting and a guide for a guest with sight loss
A guest with sight loss may follow the ceremony well by ear, then struggle with the order of service, the seating plan, a dim reception room and finding the toilet. Small changes to each of these help them join in.
What helps
- An order of service in large print, which the RNIB describes as 16 to 18 point
- Dark print on white or pale paper, with a matt finish that does not reflect light
- Telling them who is at their table, and saying your name when you talk to them
- Letting them take your arm, and saying where steps, kerbs and doors are as you reach them
- Placing their hand on the back of a chair before they sit
- Asking the venue for a quiet spot and a bowl of water for a guide dog, and where it can go outside
What makes it harder
- Script fonts, gold foil and text printed over photographs on the stationery
- A seating plan on a mirror or chalkboard as the only way to find their table
- Candlelight only, or a seat facing a bright window
- Steering them by the elbow or walking off without saying you are going
- Stroking or calling a guide dog while it is working
The RNIB, the national charity for blind and partially sighted people, has a short guide to guiding someone, and it starts with asking how they like to be guided. If the guest uses a guide dog, tell the venue ahead. Assistance dogs are not pets, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission says refusing a disabled person with an assistance dog would be unlawful except in the most exceptional circumstances. Guide Dogs gives advice to owners and to the people around them.
Light matters as much as print. A reception lit only by candles and fairy lights can leave someone with sight loss unable to see their plate or the edge of a step. Ask the venue whether a lamp can stay on near their table and whether steps and the route to the toilets are well lit after dark.
Through the day
What helps at each part of the wedding day
A guest who follows the ceremony well may lose track at a noisy drinks reception or in a dark marquee. Find the part of the day you are worried about.
Arriving and finding a seat
If they have hearing loss
Someone they know meets them at the door and tells them where they are sitting, so they are not trying to catch an usher's directions in a noisy entrance.
If they have sight loss
A named person guides them in on their arm, says where steps and doors are, and places their hand on the back of the chair before they sit.
The ceremony and the vows
If they have hearing loss
A seat near the front on the side of their better ear, with a clear view of the couple's faces. The officiant and the couple speak into a microphone, linked to the loop if there is one.
If they have sight loss
An aisle seat near the front, a large print order of service, and a quiet word from the person beside them about what is happening, such as the couple arriving or the rings.
Photographs and drinks
If they have hearing loss
A crowded drinks reception is hard to follow. Tell them in person when they are needed for a photograph.
If they have sight loss
Someone stays with them on uneven ground, tells them who is nearby, and makes sure they have a seat out of the sun and away from steps.
The meal
If they have hearing loss
A table away from the band, the bar and the kitchen doors, with people they know beside them. Round tables let them see more faces.
If they have sight loss
Tell them who is at the table. Describe what is on the plate using the clock face if they like that, and keep the glasses in one place.
The speeches
If they have hearing loss
Every speaker uses the microphone and does not wander away from it. Give them a printed copy of the speeches, or a live caption screen if you have booked a speech-to-text reporter.
If they have sight loss
A good microphone matters most. A large print copy of the speeches lets them keep a favourite line.
The evening and the dancing
If they have hearing loss
Loud music drowns out speech for anyone with hearing aids. Keep a quieter room or corner free where they can sit and talk.
If they have sight loss
Low, coloured lighting and a crowded floor make moving about harder. Someone walks with them to the toilet and back, and the route stays clear of bags and chairs.
Each of these is easier with one person staying close to the guest: guiding them, telling them what is happening, repeating a missed line and noticing when they are tired. That person needs to be free all day. If it would normally be a parent of the couple who is also greeting guests and giving a speech, they cannot do both. Who does what on the day explains how to share the job across the family, and if nobody is free you could book a wedding carer who stays with them all day.
A guest who also has dementia may find noise and an unfamiliar place harder still, and taking someone with dementia to a wedding covers keeping them settled. If the day may simply be too much, when a grandparent cannot come to the wedding has ways to bring it to them.
Questions
Questions families ask about hearing and sight loss at a wedding
Not as a blanket rule. Under the Equality Act 2010 a venue has a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, which can include providing an auxiliary aid such as a hearing loop, and what is reasonable depends on cost and practicality. In Northern Ireland the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 sets a similar duty. Ask when you book, and ask about a portable loop if there is no fixed one.
Only if the hearing aid has a loop coil and the loop programme, often called the T setting, has been set up. RNID says most NHS hearing aids have the coil built in, but an audiologist needs to switch the programme on. Ask them to check well before the wedding, and practise switching to it.
Make sure every speaker uses the microphone and the loop is on. Seat the guest where they can see the speakers' faces, with light on them rather than behind. A printed copy of the speeches helps, and for a deaf guest a speech-to-text reporter can put every word on a screen as it is spoken.
If the guest uses British Sign Language as their main language, an interpreter lets them follow the ceremony and the speeches and talk with other guests. Ask the guest first. Interpreters can be found on the NRCPD register, and it is best to contact them as soon as you have a date.
The RNIB describes clear print as 14 point and large print as 16 to 18 point. Use a plain font, dark text on white or pale matt paper, and no text over pictures. Ask the guest what size they read comfortably.