Officiant turns away same-sex Kitchener couple due to 'religious reasons'

A same sex couple from Kitchener said they hit a roadblock during their wedding planning after the first officiant they reached out to turned them down due to “religious reasons.”

Edward Pallfy and Tim Pagett got engaged in July 2021. They first contacted Kettle Creek Weddings, which is based out of London. The couple said they were shocked when the company replied to their request for more information.

“Their response was just more or less, ‘due to religious reasons we have chosen not to do that,’” said Pagett.

The couple sent a copy of the e-mail to CTV News. It states that the company does not perform same sex weddings.

An email from Kettle Creek Weddings (Supplied: Tim Pagett)

“It’s just the frustration of that it is not advertised on their website, so no one would know looking at their website that they don’t do that,” said Pallfy.

“(It) creates an embarrassment on our part as well. I would’ve never reached had I known,” Pagett said.

A local lawyer said normally sexual orientation is protected under the human rights code, prohibiting discrimination against people, but added that there is an exception when it comes to denying service if the person offering it is a religious officiant.

“That would permit a religious official to refuse to perform same-sex marriages without violating the code,” Laura Buck from Sorbara Law said.

Pagett said he posted about his experience on social media. He admitted to warning others not to use their services.

Pagett sent CTV News a copy of the response he received from the company, threatening legal action against the couple.

A screenshot of a Facebook post provided by Tim Pagett

“They then turned around and said I was the one who was spouting hate speech on Facebook,” said Pagett.

CTV News reached out to Kettle Creek Weddings several times, but they declined to comment.

KCW posted about the incident on their public social media page. The post reads in part:

“On January 24th, KCW was attacked on social media by a group of people who disagree with who we are and what we believe. Many of the comments were unkind as well as untrue. We were called names and accused of being hateful and ignorant. They have sought to ruin our reputation and defame us with the intent of destroying KCW. Although we are disappointed in such an attack, we pray that God will bring peace in chaos.”

The couple said following their original social media post, reviews were left online against Kettle Creek Weddings. They claimed some were from friends of theirs and others from strangers who heard about their story.

“They did end up disabling all their review sections so I don't think they're up anymore,” said Pagett.

Tim Pagett and Edward Pallfy (Supplied)

The couple said they are now looking to move forward to the next chapter.

“Pretty much just moving on and trying to find a better officiant to do our wedding,” said Pallfy.

The couple plans to tie the knot September 2023 at Concordia Club.