“I Now Pronounce You ‘Wife and Wife’â€Â
Australia made history this month when their House of Representatives passed its same-sex marriage bill in a massive landslide—and now, the first same-sex marriages have been performed ahead of schedule.Â
Following the historic news, couples were able to register for marriage, but had to wait 28 days prior to walking down the aisle. Marriages were to officially begin on January 9th, Australian outlet SBS News reported, but two couples were granted exemptions to tie the knot early, in Sydney and Melbourne, respectively.
Lauren Price and Amy Laker became the first same-sex couple to be married in Sydney just today, December 16th. As SBS reported:
They had already planned to marry at the British Consulate under UK law, but after the postal survey result they decided to marry under Australian law.
They asked for an exemption from the notice period due to the fact Lauren’s Welsh family had already booked tickets for the ceremony.
“We went to Births, Deaths and Marriages and made our case,” Lauren said. “It was the longest ten minutes of our lives and Amy cried when they said yes. It’s was so wonderful.”
The exemption was granted on financial grounds, citing the travel costs of the couple’s relatives.
Celebratory photos quickly hit Twitter:
Australia’s 7 News Melbourne shared the news of another marriage, that of Amy and Elise McDonald. The two, who proudly embrace in the video below after being pronounced “wife and wife,†received special permission for similar reasons. The outlet’s video report with the happy brides can be seen below:
Congratulations to the newly-married couples! Love wins.
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H/T: Joe.My.God.
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