Same-sex couple shocked after restaurant withdraws from catering their wedding

CENTRALIA, Wash. (KING) – A restaurant in Washington state is facing a wave of criticism after deciding not to host a same-sex wedding due to the owner’s religious beliefs.

Rayah Calkins and her fiancé Lillian Glover are hurting after receiving unexpected news about the wedding they are planning in January. The restaurant JJ’s To Go, which was to cater a same-sex wedding, pulled out due to the owner’s religious beliefs.

“A shock to me,” Calkins said. “We have never had that blatant discrimination thrown in our faces.”

The decision came after a month of discussion via Instagram with the restaurant about catering for the big day.

The couple met in person with Jessica Britton, the restaurant owner, on Saturday to finalize the deal, but that was not to be. They say Britton canceled after she found out they were lesbians.

“Telling you after visually seeing the two of you together that this isn’t something they can move forward with was — it’s something you just can’t really understand at the moment,” Calkins said.

Britton says she doesn’t discriminate against anyone and says this decision follows her faith.

“We love them. Jesus loves them. They are human beings just like us,” she said. “The part of a wedding that is a religious ceremony and religious act between a man and a woman is against my beliefs and my faith, and I cannot participate in it.”

She says as the news spread, there have been continued threats against her family.

“Hundreds of people told me it would be better if I wasn’t alive,” Britton said.

Calkins says she and her fiancé don’t want anyone to make threats or do anything violent, but they encourage peaceful protest. The couple also plans to take legal action against the restaurant.

Until then, they are happy that another caterer, Crowded Kitchen in Toledo, has accepted them and their wedding.

“When we shook their hands, I thought, ‘You’re family to us now,’” Calkins said. ‘You got on in no time. It was probably one of the biggest and hardest moments we’ve ever experienced in our lives.”

In 2013, a Richland florist refused to provide flowers for a gay couple’s wedding. The Washington State Supreme Court ruled that the florist violated the state’s anti-discrimination law. Her attorney appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which later upheld the lower court’s ruling.

The flower shop owner agreed to pay a $5,000 settlement to the couple in 2021.