Signs of love

Photo: CAROLYN THOMAS

COMMUNICATORS: Tony Walton and wife Megan Mansfield work together to make sure weddings run smoothly for the deaf.

AT WORK: Tony runs newly-weds Matt and Andrea Farmer through their vows.

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The language of love speaks volumes for deaf couples married by Tony Walton.

Tony is thought to be New Zealand’s only deaf, trained celebrant and conducts ceremonies using sign language.

The Titirangi resident says his services make things a lot more personal for those about to wed.

"It’s straight from me to them – it’s not going through someone else."

Tony is a teacher at the Kelston Deaf Education Centre in New Lynn, Auckland, and did a celebrant's course in 2006.

His motive was simple.

"Deaf couples want their wedding days to be in their own language," he says.

"It’s important to me and I feel proud to be part of it."

Tony, who was born deaf, hopes more people like him will become celebrants.

"I was quite surprised to find there weren’t many in the world," he says.

The grandfather of five was also a celebrant at the funeral of murdered Christchurch deaf woman Emma Agnew in 2007.

Emma’s body was dumped in a forest a week after she was reported missing.

Liam James Reid, then 35, was later charged with her murder and rape.

The high-profile case shocked the nation and Tony says the use of sign language was especially important during the funeral attended by around 1000 people – including large numbers from the deaf community.

"They were deaf and I was deaf too. Nothing was lost in translation," he says.

"The difficulty with a translator is that the languages are so different."

But it’s the wedding that bring the most satisfaction and Tony is always thrilled to get feedback from happy punters.

"I love doing it for me, but mostly for the deaf community," he says.

Tony’s wife of eight years is Megan Mansfield.

The pair have four children between them, including a 7-year-old daughter, and Megan also works at the Kelston school as a translator.

She helps her husband out by writing the wedding scripts."

We bring the two languages together," she says.