Wedding Venue Rejects Couple Because They're Gay And It Horribly Backfires On Them

Searching for a wedding venue is not an easy task. First, you have to narrow down the specific details of what you're looking for in a place and then actually find a venue among hundreds, if not thousands, of wedding venues.

After that, you have to visit the venues, talk with the owners, figure out how it will fit into logistics, and make a decision. It's actually one of the biggest factors of a wedding.

That's why it can be pretty heartbreaking to be rejected by the venue of your dreams, which is exactly what happened to the couple, Mike Gill and Coty Heaton.

After getting engaged on July 10, the Nashville couple spent the next few months planning their wedding. After a few weeks of looking for venues where they could celebrate their big day, they found one in August that they thought was perfect.

This was the Barn in the Bend, a rustic, cozy-looking place in Nashville.

“We were searching for a venue that had indoor/outdoor space for our wedding; it had to be in the Nashville area and within our budget,” Mike said. “After going through tons of venues, this one hit all the marks and was on our list of places to tour.”

Unfortunately, not everything went according to plan. When Mike got in touch with Jackie Daniel, the owner, things got pretty weird, fast.

The couple was rejected by a wedding venue just because of their sexual orientation

coty.heaton Mike Gill

Everything seemed fine at first; however, at some point, Jackie, the owner, realized that her venue was going to be used for a same-sex marriage. This led her to include a signature in her email to Mike.

For whatever reason, what came out in her first email was the opposite of what was in her head. It clearly read, "We offer same-sex marriage ceremonies only."

Jackie eventually figured out her mistake and set off to correct it an hour later with a different signature. This time, it read, "We do not offer same-sex marriage ceremonies."

In response to this, Mike told Jackie that he would do her the courtesy of letting everyone in the area know that the Barn in the Bend was bigoted, to which Jackie stood her ground, reasoning that it was because of her religious beliefs.

After the couple shared their conversation with the owner, the public was furious

TMZ “People’s reactions have been overwhelmingly positive and supportive,” Mike said. “Once things really blew up, we stopped reading the comments because there are trolls on the internet you can’t avoid. But so many people we know and don’t know reached out through social media, and it’s been incredible.”

Fortunately, the couple did find another venue that is even more wonderful. “It’s called The Grove at Williamson Family Farm.”

“Our focus now is to start planning a really great wedding and party for our friends and family to be a part of. This was an unfortunate start to the process, but it’s helped us find so many more options we didn’t know about!” they said. coty.heaton

Michelle Lew, the owner of Lavender Crown Events, a wedding planning company servicing San Jose, Silicon Valley, and surrounding areas, also thought the venue's decision was ridiculous.

“When people decide to get married, they usually have a vision of the type of backdrop they want for their ceremony and reception,” she said. “It may be in the forest, overlooking city lights, a luscious garden, a historic estate, or a golf club. Some couples choose venues that are special to their relationship, such as a brewery or winery they frequent or a restaurant where they had a significant date. Using these themes and ideas helps narrow down the options of which venues to tour. The next step is often how inclusive the venue is towards providing services for the couple’s needs, whether it may be including rentals and catering/bar service or if it is just the most budget-friendly.”

She also mentioned that venues can refuse to host a wedding, but usually for legitimate reasons.

“Commonly, it’s due to capacity or other restrictions. Many properties, for example, do not allow open flames,” she explained. “With many traditional Indian weddings, fire is necessary during the ceremony, so venue options are limited. Venues can also have strict catering and bar requirements due to food handling and liquor licenses, so some places may turn away couples that are adamant about outside catering. It is not often that a venue may refuse to host a wedding unless something central to the event violates the venue’s rules. However, even when an idea might violate the regulations, the venues (and myself as a planner) always have other suggestions to substitute!”

Personally, however, she thinks that it's just ridiculous for a venue to turn down a couple simply because of their sexual orientation.

“I have never experienced a venue or vendor that would turn away a client due to orientation, race, religion, etc. The only times these may occur are in churches that have very strict beliefs. However, the couple will most likely not be a part of that church in the beginning!” Lew said.

People who also saw the couple's post jumped to their defense

georgejackson georgejackson

"Jackie was awful."

georgejackson

"Inclusion and love as it was intended."

georgejackson KyleMoshier

Mike made it clear to everyone, though, that his purpose for his original post wasn't to gain press or likes.

“It was just to let the people in our friend circle and the Nashville area know about this venue and their unfortunate business practices,” he said. “It’s frustrating that just because we are a same-sex couple, we don’t have the same options as any other couple.”

The decision of the venue's owner may have seriously backfired on her, but people think it's well-deserved

WesB73

Next Stop: The Middle Ages

Salla Bengtsson

"A thought"

Brad Motl

"We all have our prejudices."

Betty Constable

"I don't get it."

Susan Williamson-Welker

"Who is going to deny you because you're LGBTQ?"

Ashlie Mildfelt

"Money is money." (Unless you're a bigot, apparently.)

Will Nye

"Just a thought."

Lori Kurz

Moo

Elizabeth Griffith

"A marriage is a declaration of love between two people."

Emma Nielsen

Love is love.

Melissa Cobb

"In this day and age..."

Jessica Brown

WHY, indeed?

Ermin Klimenta

Seriously, we're already in 2022, and what's weirder is that they're a business, so why would they care what their customers are into? Shouldn't it be kept professional?

Unless they're some kind of criminals or people who might be looking to burn down the venue, we don't think we'd bat an eye if it were us. Someone should really give this business owner a lesson in inclusion, if not business management, at least.