The date for same-sex marriage implementation is finally given! Better late than never but too long a wait for me…

Reader, I married her!

You may remember in a previous blog post about equal marriage, I wrote that I was waiting for same-sex marriage to pass in the UK until I married my partner. Well, I did wait until it passed but we got frustrated with waiting for the government to implement the same-sex marriage bill so we got married in LA instead!

Getting married abroad is never an easy decision because there's always going to be friends and family who say they wanted to be there and people who don't agree but I can say without a doubt that I have no regrets. On the Monday we went to the County Clerk Office in Los Angeles, completed a form online, paid our marriage fee and booked a ceremony for the Wednesday. This gave us a couple of days to find perfect white dresses for us and a beautiful bridesmaid dress for our gorgeous niece who very kindly agreed to be our only guest/bridesmaid/photographer/videographer. There was no stress, no worry, just excitement and happiness that we were following our hearts to be legally married.

Same-sex marriage has now passed in a total of fifteen States, with Hawaii joining the equal marriage club on 13th November 2013. Unlike the UK, Hawaii’s first marriage took place on 2nd December, less than a month from when the same-sex marriage law was passed.

After a long campaign, the Same-sex Marriage Act in England and Wales finally received Royal Ascent and became law on 17th July 2013. The Act however, did not come into effect straight away, and gay and lesbian people have been waiting patiently for a date to be released by the Home Secretary.

That date was eventually announced on 10th December and same-sex marriages in England and Wales can now officially take place from Saturday 28th March 2014. This is fantastic news for gay couples who can now start planning their weddings for Spring onwards next year. Hooray! When all is said and done, equal marriage is worth the wait, it’s just a shame we had to wait so long.

I am very grateful that a date has given for when same-sex marriages can take place in England and Wales, but I don’t regret getting married abroad. The day was perfect for us; no fuss, beautiful brides, the cutest bridesmaid, plenty of sunshine, and a room full of love. The most important thing to me is that I get to wake up every day with my wife and spend the rest of my life with the person I love as the country gradually becomes more equal. I just hope that the rest of the world sees sense in the future and there can be equal marriage for all, no matter where you live.