Bay of Plenty celebrants are receiving an influx of inquiries from same-sex couples wanting to tie the knot as a new law legalising gay marriage in New Zealand takes effect today.

Natasha Vitali and Melissa Ray tie the knot in Auckland after winning an all expenses paid ceremony with ZM. Photo: ZM

Celebrant Michelle Muir is dealing with a number of inquiries from same-sex couples wanting to marry.

One Bay of Plenty celebrant has six same-sex couples booked in to get married this summer and another is set to perform one of the first legal gay marriages in the region.

Around the country today 31 couples are expected to wed with four couples racing to be the first.

ZM radio station is hosting what is believed to be the first gay marriage at 8am today where Auckland couple Tash Vitali and Melissa Ray will wed in Ponsonby. Fourteen other Auckland couples are getting married today, along with four in Rotorua, six from Christchurch and six from Wellington.

The Department of Internal Affairs reports almost 1000 marriage forms have been downloaded from the website in the last week.

In Tauranga celebrant Michelle Muir has a same-sex male couple booked in to get married in the Bay of Plenty on September 8 –just three weeks after the Marriage Amendment Act passes into law.

She believes more will jump the ditch to get hitched as gay marriage is not yet legal in Australia.

'I think more will come here to get married – and I am surprised I haven't had more interest from same-sex couples, but I haven't advertised well enough,” says Michelle.

'I never became registered for civil unions, and the reason I didn't is because it didn't give [same-sex] people the same rights as others being married, so I knew there wasn't a great demand for it. So I waited for the marriage law to change.”

One of the same-sex couple marrying in Tauranga later this year is returning to the Bay of Plenty as he has family living here.

'It's going to be a pretty small wedding, just their close family and friends. They just want it be about the fact that they can get married and share their love for each other with the ones that mean the most to them,” says Michelle.

'But I do expect demand for same-sex marriages to pick up [in the next few years] because there is no rush [to do it now]. They want to prepare just like any other couple.”

On April 17, Parliament passed the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, 77 votes to 44, after MPs held a conscience vote on the private member's bill sponsored by Labour MP Louisa Wall.

The law, which legalises gay marriage, comes 27 years after New Zealand decriminalised homosexuality and eight years after the country enacted legislation to permit civil unions.

Tauranga celebrant Deb Hunt has six same-sex couples booked in to get married this summer wedding season, which begins in October.

'I'm finding it quite busy with six [couples] confirmed and probably as many inquiries as well,” says Deb.

With New Zealand being the first country in Oceania – and the 15th overall to allow same-sex couples to marry ­– Deb is fielding inquiries from overseas as well.

'A couple of those confirmed are coming from Australia and a few of my inquiries are from there as well … so it's been going really well.”

But Deb says she is still busy doing civil unions as well – with three performed by her in the last month, 'so they didn't want to wait even with the law change to legalise same-sex marriage,” says Deb.

'A lot of it is they've already made the arrangements, and especially with weddings for so many services such as photographers and venues being booked out so far in advance, the chances of them being able to change it are pretty slim – and that plays a big part in it too.”

Deb says after the law change, couples with a civil union will be able to change it to a legal marriage by paying a fee at their local courthouse.

'Law change or no law change – they were going to make a commitment to each other anyway.”

Celebrant Wendy Barton has had a few Bay of Plenty same-sex couples approach her to get married, but says there is not much difference between the new event and a civil union.

'Tauranga is quite conservative and there may be more demand in centres such as Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch.

'If couples are coming from overseas to wed, they would probably come to Tauranga, Auckland, Taupo or Queenstown – and I think that might make a difference,” says Wendy.

'But once they go back overseas unless there are in the other 14 countries, which have legalised same-sex marriage, it will not be recognised – for example Australia will not recognise it.”

Wendy has been in touch with some of the couples that she has performed a civil union for, and says not one of them is going to change it to a legal marriage.

'They say ‘we got married on the day and had a fantastic day', and there is no advantage to them at all [by getting married legally] because none of them want to adopt a child which is not their own.”

Celebrant Jackie Brown has only received two inquiries from couples wanting a same-sex marriage after August 19.

For more information see: www.dia.govt.nz