Auckland wedding celebrant Sheryl Mungall, with a couple she married. Photo / Sheryl Mungall
Auckland wedding celebrant Sheryl Mungall, with a couple she married. Photo / Sheryl Mungall
New Zealand's same-sex marriage industry is set to take a hit after Australia voted in favour of legalising gay marriage, but one Auckland celebrant is not concerned.
More than 270 Australian same-sex couples flew to New Zealand last year and were wed in ceremonies across the country.
Sheryl Mungall, anAuckland wedding celebrant, says while her business will be affected, she is not concerned and she is delighted for same-sex couples across the ditch.
She has married 25 same-sex Australian couples since New Zealand legalised gay marriage in 2013.
"New Zealand's wedding industry and tourism will be affected, but it's a much wider picture, and I am pleased that at last Australia will move forward on this issue and make a lot of people happy.
"That's the bottom line, happy people who love each other and wish to lead their lives the same way as everyone else.
"They have had a hard road to get to this point," she told the Herald.
She says some of the Australian couples brought family and friends to New Zealand for the wedding celebrations, but most of them tied the knot without any guests.
"They have appreciated that they have been able to come here and get married."
While she expects the majority of same-sex couples to marry in Australia once the legislation is passed, she says some will still make the trip across the ditch to take advantage of some of our beautiful wedding destinations.
Australia's same-sex marriage decision comes after a controversial and expensive postal ballot.
Results show 61.6% of people who took part in the non-binding postal survey said Yes. The No campaign got 38.4%.
Despite the result, the change does not automatically take place.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said a private member's bill will be debated in Parliament, with the PM pushing for a vote before Christmas.
That means getting a bill through both the upper and lower house of the Australian Parliament. The ABC asked all MPs how they would vote if a bill for SSM came before the house and on their count, the bill would pass.
