A Wedding Photographer Denied Service to a Lesbian Couple via Email

Although it can be stressful AF, wedding planning is probably one of the most memorable—and fun!—parts of any couple's marriage journey.

Unfortunately, though, one queer Canadian couple's experience wasn't quite as fun and memorable as it was supposed to be when they got an extremely homophobic response in an email from a would-be photographer. 

According to a report from the Toronto Star, when fiancés Kelly Roberts and Mallory Arthur were on the hunt for a photographer to capture moments from their upcoming nuptials (the two got engaged before the pandemic sent most of the world into lockdown mode and they are still hoping to have their wedding sometime in 2021), they contacted "Caramount Pictures," a Brantford, Ontario-based company run by the husband and wife team of Cara and Ian Hamstra. When Kelly and Mallory reached out about possibly hiring Caramount, they got an...interesting response in return.

"I say this with much care, because I know that your union is incredibly important to you, but we do not film homosexual weddings," Cara Hamstra's email (that Kelly share in a now-viral Facebook post) to Kelly and Mallory read.

"The fact that she didn’t even try to mask her homophobia...in writing—I think that was the shocking part," Kelly told the Star about her response to the blunt and shocking email in question.

"The fact that she didn’t even try to mask it just shows that it’s such a normal thought for her to have," Mallory added.

The worst part about all of this is that this wasn't the first time Kelly and Mallory got rejected during their wedding planning. The Star also reports that Kelly and Mallory were turned down by a potential officiant for their ceremony after he found out the two were a couple, saying it went against his religious beliefs to officiate a queer wedding. 

*sigh* This is why we can't have nice things!

Though what happened to Kelly and Mallory was extremely sad and upsetting, they have been met with support from the worldwide LGBTQ+ community. 

"Thank you so much to everyone who has reached out to us in the last 24 hours. The outpouring of support from everyone has been overwhelming in the most beautiful way," the two write in their Facebook post. "It has been amazing to see the recommendations from so many LGBTQ+ and allies owned businesses. Thanks to your recommendations, we were able to find a videographer to film our big day. I wish we could invite each and every one of you to celebrate with us."