Accessibility Checklist: How to Ensure Your Wedding is Wheelchair Accessible

1 day ago 11

Claire McGowran &
Karen Louise Daly

It can be hard to find advice and insights on both planning a wedding with a disability and making your wedding accessible and enjoyable for all your guests. With that in mind, we’ve worked with journalist, writer and disability rights activist Louise Bruton (Substack: Legless in Dublin) on some really valuable wedding accessibility content — from her tips on finding an accessible wedding venue to a handy checklist to help make sure every part of your day is wheelchair accessible.

How to Ensure Your Wedding is Wheelchair Accessible

Until you’ve planned a wedding (or a hen or stag - let’s be real, they’re hard work), you’ve never given Excel sheets the appreciation they deserve. When it comes to picking a wedding venue that’s perfectly accessible for either you or your guests that may have limited mobility, all you have to do is add a few more questions to that all important venue checklist.

Most HSE-approved sites should be considered accessible but unfortunately that might mean that they’ve done the bare minimum to pass the test. And in order to preserve the heritage status for older buildings, access for people with disability may have been lowered down on the priority list, so it never hurts to ask ‘…and what’s the access like in this room?’ when you’re viewing venues. We have a great list of accessibility-related questions at the end of this feature.

Most places will be able to tell you right away whether or not they have all of the right facilities in check, but the main things you should look out for are steps, the location of accessible bathrooms and if there’s enough room for guests in wheelchairs to move around.

From the wedding ceremony to late night sing-song in the residents’ bar, you want your wedding guests to enjoy themselves and this quick access check should make that a reality. When you’re running through your Excel checklist for the last time, the satisfaction of knowing that your venue is easily accessible to all of your guests will give you peace of mind on the day.

The Ceremony

The four main points of access to consider with the venue for your wedding ceremony are:

Steps: If the main entrance to the venue has steps, ask if there is a second entrance that can be used and make sure that it is open and someone there on the day (hello, ushers) can direct your guests in the right direction.
Space: Once inside, be sure that there's enough room for a wheelchair user to view the ceremony comfortably. You don’t want them to feel like they’re just plonked in the middle of nowhere - away from all of their friends or family - or in the way of people going up and down for readings.
Seats: Church pews are logistically a bit of a nightmare for anyone with limited mobility. Make sure that there are other seating options available in the church or venue and if you can rearrange seats, keep a spot that has a clear path to it saved for your guest. And if there’s a fear of the ushers slacking off, let your guests know in advance.
Parking: If the parking for the venue is miles away but there’s plenty space right beside the venue for the immediate wedding party, let your guests know that they can sneak their car in there.

The Drinks Reception

If you’ve chosen a scenic or outdoor location for all of your guests to greet you with a glass of bubbly in hand, request that the paths are easy to manage and are kept clear… and that there are no surprise steps. If this part of the celebration can’t be fully accessible to your guests, make sure the staff send double the prosecco their way.

The Reception Venue

When it come to steps and stairs, it’s possible to rent out ramps for short periods of time from places like mobilityhire.ie. When choosing the length of the ramp, it’s advisable to hire one that’s 6-8 times the height of the step. The longer the ramp, the less steep it will be to use. Homemade ramps can be a little bit dodgy and they require a lot of trust so ask your guest before you start hacking your old kitchen table apart for bits.

In some of the older houses, door widths may be an issue for wheelchairs. Ideally, door frames should be at least 75cm wide and if they’re any smaller than that, there are few alternatives. You want your guests to be as comfortable as possible and unless they’re happy to find a way to shimmy in and out of their wheelchair, and into a different chair while someone else takes apart the wheelchair, only to reassemble it on the other side and then be carried through the door… It’s an exhausting rigamarole. You wouldn’t inflict it on anyone.

Outdoor Spaces

If the outdoors feature a lot in your big day, like if you are using a marquee for your wedding, it might be worth taking the combination of grass and rain into consideration. If you can lay down carpet or even plywood planks to form a path, you’ll be making life a little bit easier for any guests with mobility issues. The same goes for cobblestones and gravel - the ultimate enemy of wheelchair users. Ask the venue if it’s possible to put down a temporary path.

The Bathrooms

When you’re checking out the space for the reception, take a quick look to see where the bathrooms are. In older venues, the disabled bathrooms can sometimes be in just one part of the building, so make sure that there’s one close to all of the action. These bathrooms must be large enough for a wheelchair user and they must have bars and handrails. Make sure that they have soap, mirrors and bins and if the other toilets have bouquets of flowers or baskets of essentials, make sure this one does too.

Dining, Drinking and Dancing

When you’re planning who’s sitting where, leave enough space between tables and chairs for any guests with mobility issues to get around. If it’s possible, let the manager of the venue know that there will be some guests that might require table service for their drinks.

And then when it’s time to get dancing… Like all great movers and shakers, make sure that there’s enough room on the dance floor for everyone to do their best Tina Turner impression. If you have a band, make sure their gear doesn’t block any pathways to and from the toilets, tables or smoking area.

Accommodation

Double check that the accessible accommodation is to the same standard as the other rooms in the venue. Accessible rooms should either be on the ground floor or accessible by lift and they should come with a bathroom that is fitted with a lowered sink, a stool in the shower and bars and handrails by the toilet and in the shower.

If there’s an adjacent spa or if you’ve arranged activities for day two, ask the staff what they can do to make your guests’ stay as comfortable as possible. This could mean adding a shower stool into the spa area or organising lifts to and from the different activities.

Wedding Venue Accessibility Checklist

For many people with a disability, weddings are something they have come to dread. But all it takes are a few extra lines on your checklist to ensure your wedding is inclusive and enjoyable for everyone.

Is there accessible parking close to the venue?
Can wheelchair users view the ceremony clearly?
Are all venue entrances accessible?
Will accessible entrances be open?
Are there steps?
Can you hire a ramp to place over the steps?
Are all doorways at least 75cm wide?
Is there cobblestones, gravel or grass - can you create a makeshift path?
Are the accessible bathrooms close to the party?
Are they spacious enough for a wheelchair user?
Have they got bars and handrails?
Have they got soap, a low mirror and a bin?
Is there enough space between the tables?
Can the bar offer table service?
Is the accommodation on the ground floor or accessible by a lift?
Is it the same standard as other rooms?
Is the hotel bathroom fitted with a lowered sink, a stool in the shower and bars and handrails?