2 Wedding Dress Brands for Wheelchair Users! Plus Tips on Accessories and Venue Selection

Many women dream of wearing a wedding dress. Are you giving up on wearing one or having a wedding just because you're in a wheelchair?

This time, we will introduce wedding dresses that can be worn by wheelchair users and tips for choosing a venue!

Please use this as a reference.

1. What is a "Universal Wedding" where you can have a wedding even with a disability?

Recently, the term "Universal Wedding" has been seen in many hotels and wedding venues. This is a wedding plan designed for brides who use wheelchairs.

There are also wheelchairs specifically for Universal Weddings, which can have their seats adjusted and are available in white to match wedding dresses.

With traditional wheelchairs, there were issues such as height differences on the aisle between a bride in a wheelchair and an able-bodied groom, and the bride being unable to enter with the train of her dress trailing behind her.

Wheelchairs designed for Universal Weddings solve these problems.

Additionally, the wedding dresses used at these events are designed to be easy to put on and take off, and to look beautiful even when seated.

Below, we introduce two dress brands that wheelchair users can wear without inconvenience.

2. Two Wedding Dress Brands for Wheelchair Users

2-1. W2-Dress

W2-Dress is named after the two "W"s in "Wheelchair" and "Wedding".

Founder Kumi Miyazawa established the brand based on her long-standing thoughts about disability and fashion, inspired by the progression of her family member's spinocerebellar degeneration.

W2-Dress offers remade products that customize ready-made dresses under the mission of "Making tomorrow more enjoyable for people with disabilities through clothing."

Features of W2-Dress include:

• Easy to wear in about 5 minutes while seated in a wheelchair.
• Allows wearing voluminous princess line dresses in a wheelchair.
• Can be freely designed according to body shape, wheelchair type, and personal taste.

They also offer wheelchair dress rentals, allowing you to fulfill your dream of wearing a wedding dress without spending much money.

Consultations can be done online, so you can create your ideal dress without the burden of travel.

If you have any questions, why not consult via the inquiry form first?

W2-Dress also provides dress-related information on Instagram.

There are many posts that can serve as coordination references, so be sure to check them out.

Reference: W2-Dress｜Instagram
Reference: W2-Dress

2-2. Campanella

Campanella is a brand established by Shoko Ishikiriyama, who has over 30 years of experience as a stylist.

She has developed over 10 wedding dresses for wheelchair users so far.

The development cost per dress is about 400,000 yen. However, the rental fee is between 30,000 to 70,000 yen, about one-tenth of the average cost of regular dress rentals. Despite the difficulty in covering development costs, the price is set with the hope that people will shine brightly with style.

Additionally, the dress material is gentle cotton, making it comfortable to wear.

They offer both rental and custom orders, so if you're interested, please inquire.

Reference: Campanella

3. HopeWeddings: Proposing Universal Wedding Plans

HopeWeddings provides comprehensive support for wheelchair users' weddings and photo weddings, including dress arrangements, to realize universal weddings.

The dresses are arranged from W2-Dress, introduced in section 2-1.

The venues they introduce are thoroughly pre-checked for accessibility (routes and steps), availability of universal toilets, size and steps of the bridal room, dress carry-in fees, and staff arrangements.

Additionally, they only introduce venues that agree with HopeWeddings, ensuring no trouble or need for venue changes later.

They also provide assistance from service caregivers, such as support for wheelchair users, hemiplegic individuals, guide help for visually impaired individuals, and sign language interpreter arrangements for hearing-impaired individuals, ensuring a safe ceremony.

Their website includes model plans and testimonials from actual users, so if you're interested, please take a look.

Their Instagram account showcases scenes of people wearing dresses and venue information, which can be helpful.

Reference: HopeWeddings｜Instagram
Reference: HopeWeddings

4. Shoes "EKAHI" Born from Hemiplegia and Orthotic Users

For wheelchair users, prosthetic leg users, and lower limb orthotic users looking for shoes that match a wedding dress, we recommend "EKAHI" from the store "Mana'olana Select Shop," born from hemiplegia and orthotic users.

Orders are semi-custom, allowing you to try a sample of your desired size and make fine adjustments according to your orthotics and the shape and condition of your feet. You can also order different sizes for each foot.

The "EKAHI White (with Glitter)" features a glamorous and sophisticated design perfect for a wedding dress. The overlapping straps around the instep are secured with Velcro, allowing them to be firmly fixed to the user's size and making them easy to put on and take off.

The shoes also feature a high-grip sole that provides support when standing or moving, which is a nice touch.

Note that depending on the type of orthotics used, some may not be compatible, so be sure to check before ordering.

Reference: EKAHI White (with Glitter) | Mana'olana Select Shop

5. Can You Wear Traditional Japanese Attire in a Wheelchair?

Many people might want to wear not only a wedding dress but also traditional Japanese attire!

Traditional attire is often perceived as heavy and difficult to wear, leading some to think it's impossible in a wheelchair.

But rest assured! Wheelchair users can wear traditional Japanese attire.

For example, HopeWeddings, introduced in section 3, offers a lineup of traditional attire such as white kimonos and uchikake. These are designed with separate upper and lower parts, and the obi is secured with Velcro, minimizing physical strain.

Reference: Bridal Attire｜Wheelchair Traditional Attire

Also, please refer to the following report on a traditional Japanese photo wedding.

Reference: Odawara Castle Park Photo Wedding｜Weddings for Everyone～HopeWeddings｜note

6. [With Real Experience] Tips for Choosing a Dress Without Compromise in a Wheelchair

From here, Ayumi representative Yamaguchi, whose partner is a wheelchair user, will summarize points based on personal experience.

Initially, it was difficult to find information through searches on Google or Yahoo!

So, I decided to gather information using social media.

Considering the range of acquaintances and wanting to limit information sharing to friends of friends, I chose Facebook.

The following content is what I regret not including when gathering information through Facebook.

• Organizing the information you want
• Organizing and disclosing already gathered information

In this case,

• Wedding date and deadline for dress preparation
• Budget
• Dress image
• (If possible to disclose) Disability status (e.g., simple dress without decorations, no frills)
• Whether to remake a ready-made dress or request a full custom order
• Important factors when choosing a wheelchair-compatible dress (e.g., no tire entanglement)
• List of already gathered or inquired services

By including these details, you can smoothly gather information and request cooperation.

It also reduces the effort of those willing to help,