New York Wedding Photographer Wins Right to Decline Same-Sex Ceremonies

Emilee Carpenter argued that New York's public-accommodations law would compel her to photograph and celebrate weddings that conflicted with her religious beliefs, in violation of her First Amendment rights against compelled speech. After the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, which held that the state could not force a website designer to create custom messages endorsing same-sex marriage, the Second Circuit revived Carpenter's suit and directed the district court to reconsider her request for relief.

On remand, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York entered a preliminary injunction in May 2025 barring the state from enforcing the law against her expressive wedding photography. The parties then settled in July 2025, with the state agreeing not to compel her speech and to pay a reported 225,000 dollars in attorney's fees.

The outcome illustrates how 303 Creative has become a template for vendors who create custom expressive work and object to same-sex weddings. Its reach remains contested: the ruling protects genuinely expressive, customized services, not the ordinary sale of goods, and does not license blanket refusals to serve LGBTQ+ customers.

Civil rights advocates warn that each such case chips at the enforcement of nondiscrimination laws, while supporters cast the settlement as vindication of artists' free-speech rights. Where the line falls between protected expression and prohibited discrimination will continue to be litigated vendor by vendor.