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'Just magical': First same-sex marriage ceremonies held across Australia

Legislation passed parliament on December 7, around a month after a majority of Australians voted in favour of legalising it in a voluntary postal survey.

Diana and Deanna Ribeiro.

Diana and Deanna Ribeiro. Source: SBS

Same-sex marriage ceremonies are taking place across the country, as Australia celebrates the first official day of marriage equality.

At a minute past midnight, Diana and Deanne Ribeiro made their marriage official in the Melbourne suburb of Balaclava.

Around 60 guests counted down to midnight before the pair took their vows in the same place as their commitment ceremony five years earlier.

According to Diana it couldn't have gone any better.

"It was just magical," she told SBS News.

"To be able to come back here and redo our vows and actually make it legal and finally have equality in Australia is amazing."

Deanne said the couple was looking forward to their future together.

"We’re just so excited to be equal like everyone else in Australia."

Athletes Craig Burns and Luke Sullivan timed their wedding in Tweed Heads, New South Wales so their marriage would become official just minutes after midnight on Tuesday morning.

Also wanting to be part of history, Rebecca Hickson will marry her partner of nine years Sarah Turnbull, planning to be one of the first couples to tie the knot in a morning ceremony in Newcastle.

It’s the second time around for the pair, having already held a ceremony three years ago.

“Now we get to declare our love for each other again and have it recognised as a real union," Rebecca said.

 


2 min read

Published

Updated

By SBS News

Presented by Yang J. Joo

Source: SBS News



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