An Australian man who proposed to his longtime boyfriend at a Kylie Minogue concert at Burswood last year has tied the knot. The self-proclaimed 'poster boys' for same-sex marriage, Scott Goodhill and Ben McHardy, exchanged vows in a wedding ceremony at Cable Beach, Broome over the weekend.
From The West Australian.
Last year, the Broome couple became poster boys for the push to legalise same-sex marriage in Australia after Mr McHardy asked Mr Goodhill to marry him in front of 13,000 people at the Kylie Minogue concert in Perth.
News of the proposal swept social media sites and made international headlines after Kylie and celebrities including Perez Hilton tweeted the happy news to millions of followers.
Their sunset ceremony was a more private celebration - and in many respects, a traditional wedding.
The grooms arrived in a vintage Daimler dressed in tails and each had three bridesmaids wearing flowing blue gowns and pearl headpieces.
But in flamboyant touches, the wedding cake was crafted in the shape of a mirror ball and the men walked down the aisle to a medley of Mr McHardy's favourite Kylie tunes.
Both men were emotional as they said touching vows before sealing the deal with a kiss. As they were declared "Mr and Mr McHardy", the crowd erupted in cheers.
Celebrant Robin Smart thanked guests for attending, saying it proved their courage was stronger than their fear: "Not all couples are blessed with such supportive and loving friends," she said.
As the men signed a "commitment certificate", Ben's proud mother, Peta McHardy, said it had been a legitimate wedding in her eyes.
"It's just two boys totally in love and totally committed," she said. "(Legalising) will happen one day - I don't think it should have anything to do with politics. In their eyes, it's real - and for us it is too."
His 81-year-old grandmother Betty Sumich said the ceremony was "absolutely beautiful": "We'll have a quiet little legal one whenever it happens," she said.
Efforts to legalise same-sex marriage have begun in the ACT and South Australia and a vote is expected on a bill before Federal Parliament by the end of the year.
Last week, Tasmania's lower house became the first in Australia to pass a bill to legalise same-sex marriage, with the upper house to consider it later this month.
Ben McHardy said he got goose bumps hearing about it: "There's so many thousands of people waiting to get married just like us," he said.
"(But this is) just the same as any other marriage … we're not here today to get the certificate, we're here to do it in front of everybody, all our family and friends."
Mr Goodhill-McHardy said if other gay couples wanted to get married, they should.
"The debate is pretty red hot … eventually, things are going to come around," he said.
