READY TO SAY ’I DO’

NORLANE SAMESAME-SEX COUPLE SET DATE

SAME-SEX couples in Geelong are wasting no time in booking their weddings in the wake of its legalisation in Australia.

Celebrants across the region are already fielding inquiries and taking reservations from couples keen to tie the knot once the new law comes into effect on January 9.

Norlane couple Ellex Crosling and Amy Robinson are among them, with the pair set to exchange vows in St Kilda Botanical Gardens on January 25.

The pair actually booked their wedding two months before Australians voted in favour of legalising samesex marriage through the postal plebiscite.

But it wasn’t because they were confident the law would pass.

“Honestly, I didn’t think it would be legalised. But it was, which was awesome,” Ms Crosling said. “We were going to have a commitment ceremony, whether it was legalised or not.”

The couple will sign their Notice of Intended Marriage forms today.

Anita Jenkins, who cofounded the Geelong Celebrants for Marriage Equality group, said several of its 68 celebrants had reported same-sex couples knocking on their doors in recent weeks.

“There’s certainly been some interest,” she said. “I actually received a booking for next May when Australia said yes in the postal survey last month.”

But Ms Jenkins said she was not expecting a sudden influx of bookings.

“I think as far as bookings go, you’ll have your trailblazers; the people who want to get married in the next four or five months and have been waiting for this moment,” she said.

“But I do also think it’s going to be a gradual process over time.

“A lot of couples I know want to take their time and plan their wedding like any couple would.”

MEANWHILE, couples who have their weddings in public open spaces around the Borough of Queenscliffe will have their permit fees waved in 2018.

The news comes as a surprise motion was put forward at the borough’s council meeting on Thursday night.

Mayor Cr Susan Salter hoped the move would showcase the diverse location offerings that were well suited to weddings within the borough.

Pictures: ALAN BARBER and GLENN FERGUSON Norlane’s Ellex Crosling and Amy Robinson will be one of the first local same-sex couples to legally marry. Celebrants, such as Anita Jenkins and Nicole Penning (inset), are ready for an influx of weddings.