Keep Her As Far From Your Happy Day As Possible

I’m engaged to my long-time partner, and we are currently looking at wedding venues. I’m a man in a wheelchair, and he’s also a man. We’ve already encountered one homophobic venue, but as they made it clear from the beginning that they would not rent to us, we brushed it off as a nutcase and looked at other places.

We’re at a new location that we both love. The woman giving us a tour is happily answering all of our questions, including accessibility concerns. We’re pretty much sold, and we tell them woman this.

Woman: “Lovely! Now, I’m assuming you’ll want to bring the bride-to-be with you to get the final okay. Or groom!”

Fiancé: “Oh, he’s right here.”

The woman frowns and looks at me.

Woman: “Are… you sure? You could lose your disability. And do you have the money for a place like this?”

Me: “I’m not on disability, and we have a savings account made just for the wedding.”

Woman: “Well, it’s just… most people who marry someone that’s… you know… are straight. Maybe you should think about this. I’d hate to see you two divorce so soon after a wedding.”

Fiancé: “What the h*** are you talking about? What do you mean, ‘Someone that’s… you know…’?”

Woman: “Well… someone in a wheelchair. Or special needs. You know, not normal.”

Me: “Considering it’s my income — from my ‘normal people’ job — that’s paying for most of the wedding, I think we’re done here.”

Fiancé: “Thank you, ma’am, but we’ll find someplace else.”

We left.

We ended up going for another venue that was just as nice but without the judgment.