Maine & NH Wedding Photographer | It’s 2026. Why Are We Still Having This Conversation?

I recently photographed a wedding and was chatting with the hair and makeup artist (as one does because vendor bonding is real). In the middle of our conversation, she casually drops this bomb:

She had just worked at a venue that doesn’t allow same-sex couples.

Record scratch. Full stop.
I literally said out loud, “How is that even a thing?”

Like… how? How are we here? How is this venue still operating like it’s not wildly embarrassing to hold that stance in modern society?

Who someone loves has zero impact on your walls, your lawn, your house, or your life. As long as people are in a healthy, loving relationship, what is the problem? Truly. Explain it to me like I’m five.

The hair and makeup artist didn’t even know about the policy until after the wedding she worked. And once she found out? She was done. She told me straight up: I’ll never work there again.

Good. As she shouldn’t.

Because here’s the thing: vendors talk. A lot. Quietly at first. Then loudly. And when a business shows you who they are, people believe them and they adjust accordingly.

What blows my mind the most is that this is still something couples and vendors even have to think about. We should not be checking venues for basic human decency. That should be the bare minimum. Basement-level expectations.

This isn’t about politics.
This isn’t about beliefs.
This is about treating people like people.

Weddings are about love. Full stop. And if a venue is out here gatekeeping love, they are fundamentally missing the entire point of what they’re profiting from.

If you’re in the wedding industry, you don’t get to be neutral on this. Silence is still a choice. Exclusion is still loud. And “that’s just how they are” is not an excuse, it’s a cop-out.

So here’s my stance, loud and clear:
Just be a decent human.
Let people live the way they want.
Let people love who they love.

It’s not complicated. It’s not controversial. It’s basic respect.

And honestly? The fact that this still needs to be said is wild.