Lesbian couple ‘shocked’ by venue’s ‘policy’ that it doesn’t host ‘homosexual weddings’
A lesbian couple has said they are “shocked” that they were not allowed to book a wedding venue because it has a “policy” that it only hosts straight ceremonies.
Alex Thorne and her girlfriend Alex Lu, from Capetown, said they were planning to get married in 2019.
They had approached the Beloftebos wedding venue, but were turned down after filling in an enquiry form.
Thorne told News24: “They have an inquiry form, which asks for information about the bride and groom which, in retrospect was a red flag.
“They also ask you to tell them a bit about yourself, so I did and mentioned that I was in a same-sex relationship.”
But after filling in the form, Thorne said she was told by email that Beloftebos was “unable to host the wedding”, but not given an explanation.
“I emailed back to ask if there was a problem with the dates, and they replied that it was not the dates. They have a ‘policy’ to only host heterosexual weddings,” she said.
The owner of the venue was the one who responded to Thorne’s email, according to News24.
Thorne said she did not push the inquiry any further after finding out about its “policy” but that she is “shocked and appalled” by the response she got.
“I’m pretty sure that they’re violating the Bill of Rights,” she said.
The venue has so far not responded to calls for comment.
The South African Constitution prohibits all unfair discrimination on the basis of sex, gender or sexual orientation by private parties.
