A new wedding venue on Grand Rapids' northwest side is coming under fire over its policy against same-sex couples.
Nick and Hannah Natale, owners of The Broadway Avenue said in a series of social media posts they believe marriage is between “a man and a woman” and weddings held at their venue must reflect that, citing religious reasons:
We at The Broadway Avenue, are so excited to provide the best possible experience to our clients and their guests as they celebrate some of the biggest events in life. Our business is the result of a lot of hard work and dedication and is a reflection of who we are, and the values and beliefs we hold from our faith in Jesus Christ. As a result, we would like our business to remain true to our Christian faith and this includes marriage.
We have love and respect for all, but it is possible for good people to disagree about strong religious beliefs. If for any reason we are not able to meet your expectations at The Broadway Avenue, we would be happy to help you find a venue that can.
Our Christian values and beliefs have no effect on how we treat people, how we welcome event guests, who we hire, our vendor relationships or other events booked at our venue.
We look forward to all of celebrating to come!
With love, Nick and Hannah
LGBTQ+ advocates have quickly hit the pavement, hosting a protest during the venue’s opening and starting a petition, asking Grand Rapids’ leaders to uphold the city’s 2019 Human Rights ordinance, which prohibits discriminatory practices on the basis of sexual orientation and gender expression.
Liz Lyszyk, a wedding photographer and small business owner, who is now selling T-shirts to draw attention to the situation. The shirts, which say “all vibes. all aesthetics. all people” have raised more than $1,200 two days. Proceeds will be donated to the Grand Rapids Pride Center. Lyszyk said the design is a reference to one of The Broadway Avenue’s Instagram posts.
“People in the community that are queer-affirming wanted to sort of twist it and sort of see what we could do to make a positive out of this," Lyszyk said. "I’m really excited and hopeful that this kind of you now got some momentum and is hopefully going to move in the right direction, but of course you know there’s always going to be people that disagree with you.”
Lyszyk is also creating a directoryof queer-affirming wedding vendors in the Grand Rapids community.
On social media, the Natales said their beliefs don’t affect the way they treat people, welcome guests or who they hire. WGVU reached out to The Broadway Avenue for comment, but has not received a response yet.
