The short answer
- Follow the route your guest will takeCheck the drop-off, the path to the door, the ceremony room, the toilet, the tables and the way out, in that order.
- Look inside the accessible toiletAsk how far it is from the tables, whether it is locked, and whether it will be kept clear on the day.
- Ask for a quiet roomA small, warm room near the toilet gives your guest somewhere to rest, so they can stay longer.
- The venue has a duty to adjustIn England, Scotland and Wales the Equality Act 2010 requires a venue to make reasonable adjustments for disabled guests, and it cannot charge your guest for them.
Ask for the important answers in an email, and keep it with your wedding paperwork.
The checklist
The accessible venue checklist to print and take with you
The questions follow the order your guest meets each part of the day. Skip the groups that do not apply, such as the marquee, and add anything particular to your guest.
Questions to ask the venue, in the order your guest meets them
Take it to the venue visit. When you print the page, each question comes with a line for the venue’s answer.
From the car to the door
Can a car pull up at the entrance to drop your guest off?
A drop-off at the door means the walk starts at the step rather than at the far end of the car park.
How far is the nearest parking from the entrance, in metres?
Ask for a number. "Just round the corner" can be a long walk for someone with a frame.
Are there disabled parking bays, and what are the rules for Blue Badge holders?
A private car park sets its own rules for badge holders, including whether they pay.
Is the route from the car to the door step-free, and what is it made of?
Gravel, cobbles, grass and steep slopes are hard work for wheelchairs, walking frames and unsteady feet.
The ceremony room
Is the ceremony room on the same level as the entrance? If not, is there a lift your guest can use?
Some lifts are for staff or goods only, and some are too small for a wheelchair and a second person.
How wide are the aisle and the gaps between rows?
Measure the wheelchair or walking frame at home and bring the number with you.
Can we have a chair with arms at the end of a row near the front?
Arms help someone get up without help, and the end of a row lets them step out without disturbing anyone.
Is there a microphone for the ceremony, and a hearing loop?
Vows are spoken softly. A guest with hearing loss may miss them without a microphone.
The toilets
Where is the accessible toilet, and how far is it from the ceremony and the tables?
Distance matters more as the day goes on and your guest gets tired.
Will it be kept clear on the day, rather than used to store chairs or flowers?
Ask the venue to keep it clear, and look inside it when you arrive.
Is it locked, and who holds the key?
A locked door with nobody to open it is a long wait for someone who cannot hurry.
Does the alarm cord hang down to the floor?
A cord tied up out of the way cannot be reached by someone who has slipped to the floor.
If your guest needs a hoist or a changing bench, is there a Changing Places toilet on site or close by?
An ordinary accessible toilet has neither. The official map shows where the nearest one is.
The drinks reception and the meal
Is there somewhere to sit during the drinks reception?
The gap between the ceremony and the meal can be long. Ask for chairs to be kept for your guest and whoever is with them.
Is the meal on the same floor as the ceremony?
If guests move upstairs, ask how your guest gets there and back to the toilet.
Can the table plan leave room for a wheelchair, and a clear route to the toilet and the door?
Ask the venue to keep that route open once the tables are dressed and the chairs are out.
How close will the band, the DJ or the speakers be to your guest's table?
Loud music next to a hearing aid makes conversation impossible and can be distressing.
A quiet room
Is there a small room your guest can use all day, away from the noise?
Somewhere to rest, take medicines, change, or calm down, and to come back from when they are ready.
Does it have a comfortable chair, and is it near the accessible toilet?
A room at the other end of the building will not get used.
Is it heated, and can the lights be turned down?
A cold room or harsh light defeats the point of going there.
Heat, light and leaving early
How are the rooms heated, and can a corner be kept warmer?
An older guest sitting still feels the cold long before the dancers do.
What is the lighting like after dark, inside and on the paths?
Candles and low lights look lovely, and they make steps, edges and changes of floor hard to see.
Can your guest leave early without crossing the dance floor, and can a taxi come to the door?
The easier it is to go home at 8pm, the more likely your guest is to enjoy the hours before.
A marquee or a garden ceremony
Is there a hard path or matting from the house or car park to the marquee?
Grass that is fine in the morning can be soft and rutted by the evening, wet or dry.
Is the marquee floor level, with no lip at the entrance?
A raised floor needs a ramp. Ask who supplies it and how steep it is.
Is there a portable accessible toilet, on firm ground, close to the marquee?
Check the step up into the unit, the space inside, and the route to it after dark.
Ask the venue to confirm anything your guest depends on, such as the drop-off, the lift, the accessible toilet and the quiet room, in an email you can bring on the day.
This list is about the building. The rest of the planning, such as who your guest travels with and how long they stay, is in planning a wedding with an older or disabled guest, which is the place to start if you have not yet thought about the day as a whole.
Checking a venue
How to check a venue's access before you book
A venue's website will show its best rooms on a sunny day. You need to see the route your guest will take, at the time of day they will take it, before you sign anything.
- 1
Ask for the access information first
ShortlistEmail each venue on your shortlist and ask for its access information, or an access statement if it has one. Add the two or three checklist questions that matter most for your guest, such as the parking distance. - 2
Walk the route on your visit
Venue visitPark where your guest would park and walk to the door. Then walk from the ceremony room to the accessible toilet, from the toilet to where the tables will be, and from there to the way out. Time each walk at your guest's pace, not yours. - 3
Measure what matters
Venue visitTake a tape measure and the width of the wheelchair or walking frame. Measure the narrowest door on the route, the lift, and the gap between rows if the chairs are out. Photograph the steps, slopes and accessible toilet. - 4
Bring your guest if you can
OptionalIf your guest can manage a visit, bring them. They will know at once whether a seat is too low or a ramp too steep. If they cannot come, film the route for them. - 5
Get the answers in writing
Before you bookAsk the venue to confirm the important points in an email: the drop-off, the lift, the accessible toilet, the quiet room and any furniture or ramps they have agreed to provide. Staff change, and an email settles any doubt on the day.
When you visit, picture your guest at four in the afternoon, after an early start and a long ceremony, when a walk that seemed fine in the morning can feel long. If you are still working out how your guest will get to the venue at all, getting an older guest to and from the wedding covers drivers, accessible taxis and the journey home.
Accessible toilets
Accessible toilets and Changing Places: what to ask
How easy the toilet is to reach can decide how long an older guest stays. If it is far away, hard to get into or occupied by spare furniture, your guest may drink less to avoid needing it, and want to go home early.
| Accessible toilet | Changing Places toilet | Portable accessible unit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it has | Space for a wheelchair, grab rails, a raised seat and an alarm cord. | A hoist, an adult-sized changing bench, curtains and space for carers, as well as the usual fittings. | A larger cabin with a ramp or low step, rails and room to turn, hired in for a marquee or garden. |
| Who it suits | A guest who can move from a wheelchair to the toilet themselves or with one person helping. | A guest who needs to be hoisted, or to lie down to be changed. | A guest at an outdoor wedding who would otherwise have to walk back to a building. |
| Where you find one | Common in hotels and purpose-built venues. Older and listed buildings may not have one. | Larger public buildings, some hotels and some motorway services. The official map lists them. | From the marquee company or a toilet hire company, booked for the day. |
| What to check | Distance from the tables, whether it is locked, and that it will be kept clear. | Whether there is one on site or nearby, opening hours and whether a key is needed. | Firm, level ground under it, lighting outside after dark and the step at the door. |
What it has
- Accessible toilet
- Space for a wheelchair, grab rails, a raised seat and an alarm cord.
- Changing Places toilet
- A hoist, an adult-sized changing bench, curtains and space for carers, as well as the usual fittings.
- Portable accessible unit
- A larger cabin with a ramp or low step, rails and room to turn, hired in for a marquee or garden.
Who it suits
- Accessible toilet
- A guest who can move from a wheelchair to the toilet themselves or with one person helping.
- Changing Places toilet
- A guest who needs to be hoisted, or to lie down to be changed.
- Portable accessible unit
- A guest at an outdoor wedding who would otherwise have to walk back to a building.
Where you find one
- Accessible toilet
- Common in hotels and purpose-built venues. Older and listed buildings may not have one.
- Changing Places toilet
- Larger public buildings, some hotels and some motorway services. The official map lists them.
- Portable accessible unit
- From the marquee company or a toilet hire company, booked for the day.
What to check
- Accessible toilet
- Distance from the tables, whether it is locked, and that it will be kept clear.
- Changing Places toilet
- Whether there is one on site or nearby, opening hours and whether a key is needed.
- Portable accessible unit
- Firm, level ground under it, lighting outside after dark and the step at the door.
A Changing Places toilet is a different facility from an accessible toilet. If your guest needs a hoist, ask about it by name.
In England, rules announced by the government in 2020 require Changing Places toilets in large public buildings when they are newly built or substantially refurbished. That includes places of worship, conference centres and hotels with leisure facilities that hold 350 or more people. An older building that has not been through that kind of work will not have been required to add one, so it is worth asking any venue directly. The official Changing Places toilet map shows the registered toilets near any postcode.
For an ordinary accessible toilet, look inside it when you arrive, as well as on the visit. If your guest has continence needs or takes medicines through the day, toilets, continence and medicines across a long wedding day goes through what to pack and how to time things, and hiring a wheelchair, scooter or commode for the day covers equipment you can bring if the venue's falls short.
Seating, rest, heat and light
A quiet room, a chair with arms, and a warm, well-lit space
Getting into the building is only the start. Your guest also needs to be able to stay comfortably for several hours.
A chair with arms, at the end of a row
Ceremony and meal
A quiet room near the toilet
All day
Heat that suits someone sitting still
Afternoon and evening
Enough light to see the floor
After dark
Dementia UK suggests setting aside a quiet room where a person with dementia can have some downtime at a family celebration, and keeping activities short with a break every 30 to 40 minutes. The same idea helps any older guest who tires easily, and a venue with a spare side room or a snug can set one aside. Their tips for a calmer celebration were written for Christmas, but most of them carry over to a wedding. If your guest lives with dementia, taking someone with dementia to a wedding goes further, including how to brief other guests.
Where grandparents should sit at a wedding weighs up seats near the front, near the toilet and away from the speakers. On warmth, the NHS advises heating the rooms you use to at least 18°C and lists people aged 65 and over among those most at risk from the cold, so it is fair to ask a venue what temperature it keeps a room at in the evening. On a summer day, the hot weather guide explains the signs of heat exhaustion to watch for.
A quiet room only works if someone notices when your guest needs it and takes them there. That person may be the bride's or groom's parent, who also has guests to greet and photographs to be in. If nobody in the family can be free for the whole day, a wedding carer who stays with your guest all day can do it, so the person who usually looks after them can be a guest too.
Marquees and old buildings
Marquees, grass, gravel and older buildings
Barns, country houses, churches and garden marquees are some of the loveliest places to marry, and they are also where access is hardest. The common problems have practical answers if you plan for them early.
What helps
- Hire matting or hard trackway for the path to the marquee and inside it
- Ask for a level marquee floor with a ramp at the entrance, and check how steep the ramp is
- Book a portable accessible toilet on firm ground close to the marquee, with a light outside it
- In a church or listed building, ask whether a portable ramp is available for the steps, and where the nearest step-free toilet is
What tends to cause problems
- Assuming grass that is firm in the morning will stay firm after a day of guests and caterers, wet or dry
- Loose gravel paths, which a wheelchair sinks into and a walking frame catches on
- Relying on a portable toilet at the far end of a field, reached across grass in the dark
- A ceremony in one building and the meal in another, with an uphill walk between them
None of this means ruling out a venue your family loves. A country house with steps at the front may have a level door at the side, and a barn with gravel may let a car drive to the door. A church may have a portable ramp or a side door. The point is to find out before you book, and to agree in writing what will be in place.
If the wedding is far from home, the overnight stay adds a second building to check. A wedding far from home with an older relative covers accessible rooms, hotel beds and the morning after. If your guest has poor sight, the sight loss guide explains why lighting and contrast matter.
What the venue must do
What a venue has to do under the Equality Act
A wedding venue provides a service to the public, so disability discrimination law applies to it.
In England, Scotland and Wales, the Equality Act 2010 says that anyone providing a service to the public must not discriminate against disabled people. Section 20 of the Act places a duty on them to make reasonable adjustments, and it sets out three kinds.
Changing the way they do things
A practice or policy
Dealing with a physical feature
Steps, doors, routes
Providing extra aids
Equipment and help
No charge to your guest
Section 20(7)
The duty is to take steps that are reasonable, not to rebuild a listed house. Citizens Advice explains that what counts as reasonable depends on things such as how much difference the adjustment would make, how practical it is, what it costs and the size and resources of the business. A large hotel may be expected to do more than a village hall. For service providers the duty is also anticipatory: Citizens Advice says organisations should usually think about the needs of disabled people and make their services accessible before anyone has to ask. Its page on the duty to make reasonable adjustments explains more.
The duty is owed to the disabled person, which here is your guest rather than you. Under the Act a person is disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term effect on their normal daily activities, and the government's guide to the definition explains what that means. A frail older person, someone with dementia or someone with serious hearing or sight loss may well meet it, and nothing stops you asking a venue for help either way. If your guest is deaf or hard of hearing, helping a guest with hearing or sight loss enjoy the wedding covers loops and microphones.
Questions
Questions families ask about wedding venue accessibility
Start with the venues you like and ask each one the questions on the checklist above, beginning with parking, step-free routes, the lift and the accessible toilet. Search the venue on Euan's Guide, where disabled visitors review access. Then visit, measure the narrowest door and the lift against your guest's wheelchair, and get the key answers in an email before you book.
A drop-off at the door, a short, level route from the car, the ceremony and the meal on one floor or a working lift, an accessible toilet close to the tables, chairs with arms, a quiet room, good heating and enough light after dark. Walk the whole route rather than take the word accessible on trust.
In England, Scotland and Wales the Equality Act 2010 requires venues providing a service to the public to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, such as a ramp, a different room or a change to how they do things. It does not require every old building to be fully step-free. What is reasonable depends on the cost, how practical it is and the size of the business. In Northern Ireland similar duties come from the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
Section 20(7) of the Equality Act 2010 says a service provider cannot require the disabled person to pay any part of the cost of an adjustment it has a duty to make. If a venue tries to charge for one, ask it to explain why in writing, and ask the Equality Advisory and Support Service for advice.
A quiet room is a small, warm side room near the accessible toilet that a guest can use at any time to rest away from the noise. Dementia UK suggests a quiet room and regular breaks for a person with dementia at a family celebration, and the same helps any older guest who tires easily. Ask the venue to set one aside and put a sign on the door.
Only if your guest needs a hoist or an adult-sized changing bench, which an ordinary accessible toilet does not have. Ask the venue about it by name, and if it has none, use the official Changing Places map to find the nearest one.