GRAND RAPIDS, MI (WTVB) – A federal judge will not allow a Byron Center couple to have their 170 guest wedding at a Holland venue today as they had hoped.
David Van Solkema and Kiley Stuller had hoped to hold the wedding at the venue Baker Events. They filed a federal lawsuit against the governor, attorney general, and the head of the Ottawa County health department this week, claiming the state’s coronavirus event restrictions violate the couples’ religious rights because, as Christians, they consider weddings to be a religious service.
A federal judge yesterday shot down their request for an emergency order that would have allowed the wedding to happen, saying Governor Whitmer’s executive orders only restrict the size of the wedding, not the wedding itself.
The couple is still planning to have a smaller celebration. The suit is still moving forward in court.
(reporting from Molly Domenick/Mike Arney-TTWN Media Networks Inc.)
