GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (July 1, 2014) – It’s a party that’s been 18 months in the making: the marriage of Maddy Yope and James Gomez.
The couple is set to wed on the Fourth of July at The B.O.B.
But there’s a hitch in the plans, thanks to the liquor license suspension at the venue.
However, the couple has no intention of moving the wedding or the reception.
Yope and Gomez met during their time at Adrian College. They’ve been engaged for 18 months and are set to be married on Independence Day, somewhat of a Yope family tradition.
“My parents got married in 1936, on July 4,” said Diana Yope, mother of the bride. “My brother and his wife got married in 1986 on July 4 and we were very pleased when our daughter and her fiancé decided to get married on July 4.”
But partygoers who are expecting to enjoy alcoholic beverages might be disappointed.
“There will be no alcohol allowed to be served, even for champagne toasts or any other way at the reception,” said Yope.
That’s because the Fourth of July is the day The B.O.B. will begin serving its liquor license suspension stemming from the night Kevin O’Brien fell to his death last year.
Unless something changes, the suspension will last for 10 days.
“They’ve been amazing anything we need or ask,” said Maddy Yope, the bride-to-be. “They feel so terrible and we know it’s not their fault. We’re not mad at them. This is out of their control. They’ve done everything they can for us.”
If it wasn’t for the wedding, no one would even be at the bar.
“That’s one of the few holidays that they’re closed,” said Diana Yope.
According to The B.O.B., it’s been that way for a couple of years.
But this isn’t even the first setback for the happy couple.
“The whole idea was we’ll have fireworks from the balcony of The B.O.B.,” said James Gomez, the groom. “Everyone will be there it will kinda be like a cool just all-in-one. And then the fireworks got moved.”
The fireworks will take place on July 5 to coincide with Celebration on the Grand.
Of course, the wedding isn’t about fireworks, or booze. It is – after all – about love, though the couple says it’s been hard to convince some of their guests.
“Like it’s the end of the world,” said Maddy Yope. “Like he left me. Or that the wedding’s off, just ‘cause there’s not alcohol. I don’t want it to be like that. That’s not what a wedding’s about. It’s about him and I spending the rest of our lives together.
FOX 17 attempted to reach the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, but our calls went unanswered.
