BLISSFUL TIMING
WEDDING bells will ring in an extraordinary tale of good timing for one of the first same- sex couples to marry in Townsville tomorrow.
Keeley Welsh, 20, and Morgan Collinson, 22, had planned their commitment ceremony for months to be held this Saturday.
“We got engaged in July and we were planning to go to New Zealand on a holiday, so we decided that would be our honeymoon,” Ms Collinson said.
“Then ( same- sex marriage) and we jumped straight on to it.
“It just feels like good timing,” Ms Welsh said.
When the couple realised their luck with their choice of date, they rushed to meet with marriage celebrant and radio presenter Guy ‘ Cliffo’ Clifton, who will marry the pair at the Allure Hotel in South Townsville.
“They contacted me and said ‘ we want to get married’, and I said, ‘ well, you need to jump on this right now, because the paperwork has to be signed a month before’,” Mr Clifton said.
“They signed the paperwork the day before they needed to.
“There was only 24 hours to spare or it wouldn’t have been a legal marriage ... so that’s a bit of a success story.”
“Really, after all the hoo- ha about same- sex marriage, at the end of the day one thing changed and it was the words ‘ man and woman’ to ‘ two people’,” he said.
“That was it, so much fight and furore and talk about what has been such a minor change for celebrants and couples really.”
The couple said the voting process had been an ordeal, but their legal marriage vows would show progression away from the negativity.
“It was a bit devastating to have other people that we’ve never met vote on our rights,” Ms Welsh said.
“There’s still a bit of anger there that there had to be a vote, but we’re happy it went through. “We’re just a normal couple getting married. “It feels normal for us and now that it technically is normal, kids who might be gay will see it as normal and older people who may have their own prejudices can’t say it’s not normal.
“People say it’s just a piece of paper, but it feels like more than that.” got legalised,