Lesbian wedding – Original photo: Sofia Hernandez via Unsplash
In a surprising act of compassion and goodwill, a lesbian couple in Kansas who was turned away from their desired wedding venue has been offered a new venue free of charge.
Ali Waggy, a preschool teacher, and her fiancée Jessica Robinson, who works in merchandising at Sam’s Club, had hoped to marry at the Barn at Grace Hill, in Newton, Kansas.
Waggy had always imagined holding her dream wedding at the picturesque venue. Following a tour they took earlier this month, she and Robinson were ready to put down a deposit to book the space.
Just hours after taking the tour, Waggy received an e-mail from Amanda Balzer, the venue’s co-owner, who said she wanted to let the couple “know who we are and where our heart is,” reports the Wichita Eagle. “[O]ur deeply held religious belief keeps us from celebrating anything but marriage between a man and woman.”
“I just started crying hysterically,” Waggy told the Eagle. “It was pretty awful and heart-crushing.”
She subsequently posted about the encounter on Facebook on January 8, including a screenshot of Balzer’s e-mail.
“Imagine going to your dream wedding venue with your fiancé (sic), kids, & parents. A venue you’ve been emailing back and forth with for months now & you finally get to see it in person. Seeing it, falling even more in love with it, deciding it’s it,” Waggy wrote. “Your parents coming over & making lists, coming up with plans & then when you email them one last question before asking for a contract; not the person you’ve been emailing, but the owner responds like this:
“Basically, ‘it’s illegal for me to tell you you can’t use it; so you can. We will take your money, but we’re not going to celebrate your marriage & want to make sure you know that,’ not to mention we were going to hire them as our wedding coordinator too,” she added. “I’ve cried all night… People suck.”
The post garnered attention online, receiving more than 800 reactions, more than 800 comments, and was shared more than 600 times. The controversy also garnered attention from local news outlets.
Waggy and Robinson received a flood of positive messages supporting them, including a number of venues that reached out to them hoping to host their wedding.
One of those places, Heritage Meadow Estate, which is currently under construction in Derby, Kansas, offered to host the wedding — at no charge, on the date already picked by Waggy and Robinson.
In a subsequent Facebook post, Waggy praised Heritage Meadow Estate and its owner, Joy Amore-Bishop, for the offer, expressing her gratitude.
“Jess & I have witnessed comments & remarks from some of the most cruel, judgmental, close-minded people,” she wrote, referring to some of the negative reactions to her post. “But for every one of those hateful things that have been said, there have been a flood of caring, compassionate, & supportive people reaching out, sharing our post, & reminding us that we belong just as much as everybody else does.”
Speaking with Wichita ABC affiliate KAKE, Amore-Bishop said she wanted her gesture to “overshadow any kind of negativity that they may have felt in the beginning.”
“Honestly, it was like my mama bear heart that just wanted to wrap her in a hug and make her know that not everybody feels that way,” Amore-Bishop said.
Waggy and Robinson are scheduled to be married in the summer of 2025.
“It feels even better that we get to get married somewhere where somebody, the owners like love us and support us and welcome us,” Waggy told KAKE. “And [Amore-Bishop]’s like going out of her way to make us feel like… good.”
Russian-born tennis star Daria Kasatkina says she "didn't have much choice" but to defect from her home country after coming out as a lesbian.
The No. 12-ranked female tennis player in the world recently had her application for permanent residency granted by the Australian government. Going forward, she will represent Australia in international competitions, including at this week's Credit One Charleston Open.
"It's emotional for me," the former French Open semifinalist said of the decision to leave her home country. "For me, being openly gay, if I want to be myself, I have to make this step, and I did it."
A former firefighter has been awarded $1.75 million in damages as part of a lawsuit alleging she was retaliated against -- after filing a separate lawsuit alleging she was discriminated against.
Lori Franchina, who identifies as a lesbian, first began working for the Providence, Rhode Island, fire department in 2002. She quickly rose through the ranks, ending up as lieutenant, but claims she was mistreated due to her gender and sexual orientation.
She claims to have been subjected to a host of abusive behaviors at the hands of fellow firefighters.
Examples included being called lewd nicknames, such as "Fran-gina," ignored in life-or-death situations, and even having a bloody glove snapped in her face, splashing another person's brain matter into her eyes, nose, and mouth.
A new study claims that people in non-monogamous relationships are just as happy as those with only one partner.
The analysis, published in The Journal of Sex Research on March 24, measured the difference in romantic satisfaction and sexual satisfaction between those practicing monogamy and those practicing non-monogamy.
Researchers analyzed 35 studies across the United States, Australia, and Europe that looked at 24,489 people involved in both types of relationships between 2007 and 2024. Respondents in those studies shared how they felt about their romantic lives and their sex lives.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.