Is the Hitching Post Wedding Chapel a real church or just a business?
The website is called http://hitchingpostweddings.com which would suggest it is not actually a church, there is no mention of regular worship services.
It has been there for a long time - I remember it when I was a kid in the 60s. Right across the street from the Kootenai County Courthouse. As far as I know, they have never done any church functions other than weddings.
Socially, Coeur d'Alene has changed a lot since my childhood. The quiet little town that I grew up in has become a popular tourist destination - great place to visit, lousy place to live. I moved away about 30 years ago and visit family every year but I don't have much desire to move back.
They are not a church. But that shouldn’t matter. He’s a real minister, who has the right to refuse performing a sacred rite to anyone outside his faith tradition.
The relevant question is whether the couple are really ordained in a recognized denomination or if they got mail-order ordination into a sham church-in-name-only. Since the highly regarded Alliance Defending Freedom took their case, I'm betting they are actually ordained from a reputable organization.