Same sex couples battle for vow votes

Four finalists have been announced for a radio competition that will see one of the first gay and lesbian marriages in the country in Rotorua.

Two couples will be named winners, one gay and one lesbian, and will be married simultaneously at the historic Rotorua Museum.

The radio station behind the competition, The Edge, announced yesterday the top four couples who will campaign over the next two weeks for votes.

Only one gay and one lesbian couple will be part of the historic same-sex marriage event on Monday, August 19.

The four couples are Richard Rawstorn and Richard Andrew (Christchurch), McColm Cowden and Keith Brown (Auckland), Jess Ives and Rachel Briscoe (Bay of Islands), and Bridget Casse and Michelle Smales (Auckland).

Ms Casse and Ms Smales have been campaigning since entering The Edge competition, gaining interest from their Facebook fan page and internet site Gay Express.

"We're incredibly excited to have this opportunity. We're parents to a baby girl and we would love to share our special day as a family," Ms Casse said.

"It means we can be considered equal in New Zealand and we can legally bind our commitment to each other."

The Edge Breakfast Show host Jay-Jay Feeney said she was excited to be part of the event. "We've organised seven successful weddings in the past. We've done stranger weddings, a nude wedding and even hitched people in Las Vegas," Ms Feeney said.

"We've always been very supportive of the law change and we can't wait to throw a double wedding for our same-sex couples who can now be married the same way as everyone else."

On August 19, New Zealand is set to become the 15th country in which same-sex couples can legally marry.