Jenni Pettican, a 30-year-old wheelchair user with two chronic illnesses, spent months ensuring her £16,000 wedding was accessible. Yet on the day, the ramp she needed to reach her husband at the altar had been forgotten by staff.
The Wedding Day Incident
Jenni, from Basildon, Essex, was left making jokes to break the tension as family members scrambled to assemble the ramp while guests watched. The delay lasted only a couple of minutes, but Jenni says it still haunts her. 'I had 100 people watching me,' she says. 'It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment I'm never going to get back.'
The couple, together for six years, married on 16 May at Newland Hall near Chelmsford, Essex. They chose the venue's garden with a gazebo and marquee. Jenni had personally tested a newly-installed ramp on the morning of the wedding. Staff temporarily moved it to avoid obstructing other wheelchair users, assuring her it would be repositioned before the ceremony. Instead, when she reached the front of the aisle, the ramp was nowhere to be seen. 'My heart just sank,' she recalls. 'The ramp had been left where they'd moved it, tucked inside the gazebo.'
Guests Step In
Trying to lighten the mood, Jenni joked to the crowd: 'How am I supposed to get up there?' Guests laughed awkwardly before she spotted the ramp's location. With no staff member immediately available, one of Jenni's wheelchair-using friends directed her father and the couple's best man to position it. 'They got it upside down, got it the wrong way round,' she explains. 'That could have been a massive problem. If I'd fallen off that ramp, again the venue would have been liable.' Only once assembled could Jenni reach her husband Ian to continue the ceremony.
Health Conditions and Aftermath
Jenni has hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). The rest of the day passed without further accessibility issues, but she says the incident tainted the day. 'We have a beautiful picture of us going back down the aisle, but all I can focus on is the ramp.'
Prior Accessibility Concerns
Before the wedding, Jenni had raised concerns about the venue's accessibility. After first viewing with Ian, she returned with her support worker. The venue initially said it wouldn't be a problem. However, she later discovered the Grade II listed Tudor house would be locked during the reception, blocking the only step-free route between the garden marquee and the car park. She challenged this, claiming she was told the doors could remain unlocked only if she paid a larger deposit due to insurance concerns. 'I called out the Equality Act,' she says. 'They tried to charge me more for accessibility.' An agreement was reached allowing disabled guests to use the route through the house.
Complaint and Venue Response
Jenni submitted a formal complaint, seeking acknowledgement and assurance that lessons would be learned. She says the venue failed to accept responsibility, and communication stopped after she shared a video online. 'I deal with access issues every single day ... But the one day I didn't think I would have to deal with it was my wedding day.'
In a statement, Newland Hall said the event occurred before new ownership on 1 June 2026. The current owners stated they are 'committed to ensuring Newland Hall is a welcoming, inclusive and non-discriminatory venue' and are reviewing policies, arranging a professional accessibility assessment, and investing in disability awareness training.
