Love finds a home at Peka Peka
Two Australian women have married in Kapiti, in a ceremony illegal in their home country and boycotted by some family members.
Charity Turner and Phoebe Cox married at Sudbury in Peka Peka, north of Wellington, which marked the first same-sex marriage for the venue.
Turner, a singer-songwriter, and Cox, an environmentalist, sought an overseas wedding venue, as Australian law does not allow same-sex marriage.
Her parents, who are Pentecostal pastors, do not support same-sex marriage and did not attend. One of Turner’s four siblings also did not attend due to his beliefs.
The Cronulla-based couple visited Sudbury before the wedding, and Turner said they ‘‘felt at peace’’ instantly. ‘‘Sudbury was the perfect backdrop.’’ Venue owner Janine Sudbury said she had received ‘‘a handful of emails’’ from other Australian same-sex couples since the wedding, which was filmed for a television show, screened earlier this month.
She was delighted to host the pair. ‘‘It’s great to put Kapiti on the map for this particular group.’’
The event was filmed for Bride and Prejudice: the Forbidden Weddings, an Australian show which follows five couples whose families do not fully support their nuptials.
Turner said it was ‘‘frustrating’’ to have to leave their home country to be married.
‘‘It feels like we’re so far behind. We’re a much larger country and we don’t seem to be able to make these progressions.’’
The cameras followed the couple for six weeks before the wedding, she said.