Political first and a wedding at Pride
Auckland’s Pride Parade celebrated two firsts this weekend – its inaugural wedding ceremony and a New Zealand prime minister joining the annual procession.
As Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern began marching down Ponsonby Rd on Saturday evening, a lesbian couple become the first in New Zealand to get married during a Pride event.
Tears flowed and applause rang out as Victoria Envy, 28, and Sinead O’Connell, 25, tied the knot on their very own parade float.
The momentous occasion made even more special when considering it was at the same parade years ago, that the pair first locked eyes.
‘‘We had some ‘meaningful eye contact’ but I realised very quickly that she was there with someone else,’’ said Envy.
The 28-year-old barber put it out of her mind until months later when the pair matched on dating app Tinder. ‘‘The first questions was: ‘do you remember me from the Pride Parade?’ and she did, so we hit it off.’’
The couple have been inseparable ever since, getting engaged after just six months and moving from Auckland to Feilding. When it came to planning their wedding, they had been dreading a hefty bill. So when they won a competition to marry on a parade float, they were over the moon.
‘‘It has just made our lives so much easier.’’
Married by Glitter Squad celebrant Laura Giddey, the pair were the 18th float in the annual LGBT celebration. The procession included a cast of thousands, but the prime minister was one of its most popular participants. Crowds erupted in cheers as Ardern marched alongside her colleagues and supporters.