Cape Wedding Venue Dumps Lesbian Couple

An engaged lesbian couple have been left humiliated by a Western Cape wedding venue that told them to go somewhere else because they won’t host same-sex weddings.

Leanne Brown-Waterson and her partner Christelle approached the Kilcairn farm wedding venue in the Riebeek Valley, near Wellington, last month brimming with enthusiasm for their upcoming nuptials.

They were initially welcomed and on the 2nd of March met with Kilcairn manager Cara King at the venue. The couple fell in love with the beautiful location and were sent a contract by Kilcairn with a confirmed wedding date of 17 January 2015.

But Kilcairn’s promises of “beautiful scenery and serene atmosphere” are, it seems, only available to heterosexual people.

Ten days later, Brown-Waterson received an e-mail from an apologetic King that reads: “Unfortunately I have to share with you some bad news. The owners of the farm have asked me to let you know that they are not willing to host same-sex marriages here on the farm.”

She added that, “I hope that you will understand that this is not something I have control over.”

The news shattered the couple’s excitement. “It was very hard. It was belittling,” Brown-Waterson told Mambaonline.


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