Gay couples tired of waiting for law change and are getting hitched anyway
THIS couple — together for nine years — were tired of waiting for same sex marriage to be legalised in Australia and instead joined a growing number of people having commitment ceremonies.
- Gay couple ‘elope’ to Circular Quay to marry
- The woman who earns a living arranging marriage proposals
A GROWING number of gay couples on the northern beaches say they can’t wait for same sex marriage to be legalised and are having commitment weddings instead.
And celebrant Trish Johnson is even offering to make their unions legal, free of charge, when the law is eventually changed.
Ms Johnson, from Manly, admitted she felt quite emotional at her most recent gay commitment ceremony between Christie Blake and Carly Finch at Narrabeen Lagoon.
“I feel they ‘married’ against the odds. All weddings are special but this one really touched me,” Ms Johnson said.
She said she would offer a free second ceremony and process the paperwork on behalf of any of her gay clients when the law is eventually changed.
Ms Blake and Ms Finch from Narrabeen, held their wedding near their home last month, initially holding off in the hope gay marriage would be legalised.
“We had hoped to do it legally, but we couldn’t wait any longer,” said Ms Blake.
The couple, both aged 27, have been together for nine years and know other gay friends who have committed to each other.
“We have gay friends from the northern beaches who have married overseas and we know of others like us who have committed to one another in Australia,” she said.
“Going abroad was not an option because we wanted all our friends and family to celebrate with us.
“To us the commitment we made was just as meaningful as marriage vows.”
Another celebrant Claire Belford, from Avalon, said she had received increased interest recently from gay couples looking to commit.
“I think many gay couples never really considered weddings were a possibility for them,” said Ms Belford, who won celebrant of the year in 2014 and conducted 150 weddings last year. “But the recent publicity has generated more interest.”
Vaccine rollout: The number of people jabbed in your suburb
617k jabs issued this week: How many people are vaccinated; where you can get jabbed and how many cases are in your community. Here’s everything you need to know about Covid.
Suburb’s 500 weekly cases: NSW’s Covid numbers by postcode
Sharp weekly spikes in Sydney suburbs reveal the harsh truth of Covid in some areas, with one postcode reporting almost 500 cases in a week. See the full breakdown.