Photogs Shut Down Wedding Business After Turning Away Gay Couple

Owners of a Bay Area photography shop said they will discontinue their wedding photography business after coming under fire for not working with a same-sex couple who had wanted to hire the company to capture their big day.

Nang and Chris Mai, the owners of Urloved Photography, were reportedly hired to photograph the wedding of a gay couple, but the Mais said, "Photographing a gay wedding is not the best match for us," and then referred the couple to another photographer, according to Jezebel blog I Thee Dread.

In California, where the Mais' business is based, it is unlawful to refuse goods and services to people on the basis of their race, gender, sex, religion, sexual orientation, or certain other characteristics.

After their refusal sparked outrage, the Mais issued a public apology on their site, where they claim they don't have an issue with photographing a couple who has "different personal beliefs." Instead, they say they felt "referring this couple to a photographer who does share their personal beliefs would provide them with the best service for their special day. We wanted to connect them with someone who did share their personal beliefs so that they could give them the service quality they deserve."

The business owners said the flood of calls and outrage led to their decision not to stay in the wedding photography business.

"We are grateful for this experience as it has caused us to think about how our personal beliefs intersect with out business practices," the message says. "We would like to thank everyone for their love and support and want to apologize to our clients whose photos have been impacted by the recent activities."