In case you didn’t hear, same sex couples can now legally marry in Australia, with the first same-sex couples registering their intent to marry this past weekend with same sex marriages starting from January 9th 2018.

In this episode of The Informer we find out what it was like the morning after Marriage Equal was legalised in Australia. Under the new marriage equality laws, previously gendered marriage forms have changed to be inclusive of all genders.

Since 2004 at all weddings the officiant has been legally bound to say that the wedding is a union of a man and a woman, to the exclusion of all others, but as of Saturday that has been dropped, with celebrants are now required instead to read, “Marriage, according to law in Australia, is the union of two people, to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.”

Dean speaks to celebrant and equal rights campaigner Jason Tuazon Mccheyne to find out what it was like to read out the new wording at a wedding he officiated on Saturday. But Saturday didn’t just mark the day that same sex couples could legally apply to marry.

At 12:01am Saturday 9th December 2017, same sex couples who had been married overseas were finally legally recognized as married under Australian law. I wondered what that felt like, exciting, confusing, bittersweet? Rachel Treverrow Dunham spoke to me eelier today about what it meant to finally wake up legally married.

The party planning has certainly begun, even here at JOY we have been getting phone calls asking for lesbian and gay DJs to play at upcoming weddings. JOYS own cub reporter from the Woods Robbie is one of those party planners. He and his husband Dave pledged vows to one another, cementing their union a few years ago, and now they get to celebrate in a different way when they legalise their union under Australian law.

This segment aired on The Informer on JOY 94.9 on 11th December 2017.