DC bride-to-be sues Mayor Muriel Bowser over ban on dancing at weddings

DC bride, wedding planner share how no dancing rule affected industry

Wedding planner Yodit Gebreyes Endale joins Good Day DC with a bride from the District to discuss Mayor Bowser's no dancing rule, how it affected the wedding industry in DC and how they feel about it being lifted this month.

WASHINGTON - A bride-to-be in D.C. is putting her foot down on Mayor Muriel Bowser's dancing ban at weddings, calling it a "disappointment" Wednesday on FOX News.

Margaret Appleby said she’s filing a lawsuit against Mayor Bowser for her latest coronavirus restrictions, as standing and dancing are forbidden during wedding season.

Despite the wedding industry reportedly booming again after experiencing a downfall during the coronavirus pandemic, Appleby said it’s been a "long road with COVID," as she and her fiancée are faced with more obstacles.

"We originally started with a guest list of about 175 people, that quickly changed," Appleby told "Fox & Friends" Wednesday. "We had to cut our guest list to about 70 people. There have been numerous iterations of three dance floors, one dance floor…enforcing distancing. It's been quite a journey that I hope ends soon."

Furthermore, Appleby’s lawyer compared the situation to the classic musical drama "Footloose," where actor Kevin Bacon attempted to reverse a minister’s dancing policy in his town.

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"Mayor Bowser needs to catch up to where science and society are at," senior attorney Daniel Suhr told co-host, Steve Doocy. "Gyms are open, restaurants, businesses, kids are back in school and people are getting vaccinated. Mayor Bowser is continuing, even expanding, these restrictions on people's freedoms. That's not justified by the science or the law."

Bowser announced Monday that the District will lift most of their COVID-19 restrictions -- including capacity limits at schools, gyms, offices and weddings -- on May 21 with additional restrictions to be lifted later in June.

As for the matter of no dancing allowed at wedding receptions, Bowser said that it is one of the restrictions that will be lifted on May 21.

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During a press conference also on Monday, Appleby’s lawyer mentioned Bowser "danced around the issue" of whether she was going to withdraw this ban.

"As long as this ban and order remain in place, we're going to continue to press forward with this lawsuit, so that Margaret and all these other couples have their rights respected by the mayor and the court," Suhr concluded.