Hundreds of people turn out to hear Yes same-sex marriage vote at Hindmarsh Square

THEY came in the hundreds, despite the rain and gloom, for one word — yes. And when they heard it, they erupted with cheers and relief.

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• WHAT’S NEXT: What happens now Australia voted Yes

MICHAEL Collins and Ian Brett had been waiting for today — so one day soon they can legally wed.

The Murray Bridge couple were among a few hundred people who turned out at Hindmarsh Square this morning to hear the live announcement of Australia’s marriage equality result and, not even the persistent rain could dampen their spirits.

At exactly 9.30am, it was announced the Yes vote had prevailed, a result met with elation and applause from the soggy crowd.

“We feel a combination of elation and relief — I hadn’t realised how much stress the campaign was,” Mr Collins, 46, said.

Ian Brett and Michael Collins celebrate the results. Picture: Kelly Barnes/The Australian

Jaye Hurley and Mandy Smith with their daughter Emily, celebrating the Yes result. Picture: Calum Robertson

“There was a thought in the back of my mind that this going to be a Brexit or Trump but this was a ‘yes’ and a resounding ‘yes’.”

Mr Collins, who has been dating his partner Mr Brett for three years, said he hoped the pair would now get married.

“Neither of us have popped the question yet,” he laughed.

Lisa Crompton, 40, of Montacute, and Belinda Heinrich, 38, of Norton Summit, turned out to support their brothers, both of whom are gay.

“It’s been very emotional,” Ms Crompton, a mother-of-two, said.

“We’ve both got children and we want them to grow up in a world where equality is normal.

“We hope they’re oblivious to it — it (gay marriage) is just completely normal.”

Riki Owens-Bennett, 35, and Melissa Krollig, 37, have been dating for more than 15 years and got engaged since 2008, with the hope that gay marriage in Australia would one day be legalised.

“We’re a mixture of relief, elated and ecstatic,” Ms Owens-Bennett said.

“When we got engaged, we didn’t really care about the law — we just wanted to confirm our relationship and the commitment we had for each other.”

Joyous scenes as Yes vote declared winner

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For the past few months, Mandy Smith, 38, and Jaye Hurley, 42, of Marion, have been campaigning for the Yes vote with their daughter, Emily, 2, attending rallies and letterbox-dropping.

“We wanted to get married in Adelaide and have refused to get married anywhere else — we want to get married in our own country,” Ms Hurley said.

“It (the Yes vote) directly affects out lives — we’ll get married.”

Following the announcement, Premier Jay Weatherill labelled the result “a victory for love”.

“It’s an extraordinary relief for many of us who have been supporting marriage equality for an extended period of time,” he said.

“But what a shocking waste of $100 million dollars — the parliament now should get on with the job.

“Sadly we had to go through this very expensive exercise (for) something that already had strong majority support for marriage equality.”