An ACT of love as gay couple begin their 'great journey' in marriage "Ladies and gentlemen," announced wedding celebrant Roger Munson, "I have the great privilege of introducing to you Chris and Ivan, husband and husband." And with that, Chris Teoh and Ivan Hinton were wed ... for the second time. Partners for 11 years, they had married in Canada five years ago. But Saturday was the first opportunity they and many other same-sex couples had to celebrate their marriage in Australia. Ivan Hinton and Chris Teoh during their wedding at Old Parliament house. They walked separately, hand in hand with their parents, through the courtyard of Old Parliament House, Canberra, to exchange vows and rings together beneath a trellis of vines, a lone saxophone wailing a slow, soulful version of Over the Rainbow. When the courtyard of guests, some of whom had taken their own vows earlier in the day, was asked to support Chris and Ivan's "great journey together," the place echoed to a communal bellow of: "We do!" Rodney Croome, national director of Australian Marriage Equality, chose a pointed reading from the late Nelson Mandela: "I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken away from me." Tanya and Shar from Melbourne after their wedding ceremony. Canberra, bathed in early summer sunshine, was the setting for numerous same-sex marriages on Saturday. But the newfound freedom of brides and brides, husbands and husbands, may be short. The matrimonials, made possible under the ACT's Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Marriage Act 2013, are being held in the lee of a High Court challenge by the federal government to the validity of the ACT's legislation. The weddings were allowed in the absence of any application for an injunction while the justices ponder. Three rulings are possible: the High Court could decide the ACT's legislation is invalid, effectively nullifying the weekend's burst of marriage equality; it could rule that the ACT is within its rights to allow same-sex marriage, thus legally blessing the nuptials; or it could require further "tidying up" of the legislation to give the matter certainty. As many as 40 couples decided they could not wait for the High Court. The first weddings began within minutes of midnight on Saturday, continued across the city's gardens and parks through the morning, afternoon and evening and will continue today. Hayley Wilson and Samantha Hermes were married at 7.30am in the garden of celebrant Judy Aulich, the first women to be legally married in Australia. "It's a beautiful day, and I'm marrying my best friend," said Ms Hermes, shrugging away concerns about the pending court decision. Stephen Dawson, a West Australian state Labor MP, and his partner, Dennis Liddelow, had tied the knot hours earlier. They made sure of their place in history as the first men to take advantage of the new law by pledging their troth at 12.01am on the forecourt of Canberra's Parliament House. Away in the high distance, the city's Telstra tower, perched atop Black Mountain, pulsed the colours of the rainbow. Mr Croome declared it: "An extraordinary day, but more importantly, very, very ordinary, couples expressing their love, just as couples everywhere always have." Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said everyone should remember the moment, for it was an expression of the way communities evolved, and ought to be beyond politics. Same-sex couples marry in Australia's capital city Tanya and Shar McKinlay In a shady corner of the Old Parliament House Rose Garden, watched by their two-year-old daughter and family, the two Melburnians exchanged vows. The couple said they had rushed to pull the wedding together in three weeks, including buying their gowns. But they had been together for eight years and engaged for five. Erin Meulen and Gabriella Patyi They travelled from Burrumbeet near Ballarat for their Canberra wedding. The couple first met at work seven years ago and have been together ever since, adding two horses, a dog, and a cat bigger than the dog, to their household. Erin's sister Heidi Sawyer and husband Rodney travelled from Cranbourne to witness their nuptials. Haley Wilson and Samantha Hermes They met online about a year ago and at 7.30am on Saturday became the first female same-sex couple in Australia to tie the knot. Their son Bailey, 7, held the rings at the Giralang ceremony, attended by the couple's relatives, friends and a throng of reporters and camera crew. Michelle Stockwell and Annabel Scholes They met when they were working at the Sydney Theatre Company more than 20 years ago. The arts administrators were friends for 14 years before they became a couple seven years ago. Ms Stockwell said it had felt like a long wait for same-sex marriage to be legalised. "It feels like a long time, not just for us but for everyone, all of the queer people in the world, in history," she said. Darlene Cox and Liz Holcombe The couple describe their romance as a "whirlwind." They met 15 years ago working at the Australian War Memorial. Three lunch dates later Darlene moved in with Liz and her two children, Frazer and Anna. Ms Cox had a daughter Isobelle in 2000. Glenda and Jennifer Lloyd They met more than a decade ago, when Jennifer joined Glenda's singing group. Glenda was in the US when she found out same-sex marriage had been legalised in the ACT, and she bought herself and Jennifer glass pendants containing a tiny wedding ring, a glittery heart and a gold disc with the word "love" inscribed on it. Craig Berry and Ulises Garcia The pair have been a couple for eight years after meeting at a friend's birthday in Sydney, but it wasn't until Dr Garcia's 25th birthday that Mr Berry proposed. "We fell in love with each other pretty much straight away," Mr Berry said. Ivan Hinton and Chris Teoh Before a crowd of friends, family, politicians and press, the couple pledged their life-long commitment to each other in the Old Parliament House Courtyard. Mr Hinton, deputy director for lobby group Australian Marriage Equality, said while he and Mr Teoh had married in Canada five years ago, it was important to have a wedding in Canberra. "This is our family and friends and our community, they wanted to celebrate this moment with us and we haven't been able to do that until today," he said. By Ewa Kretowicx, Larissa Nicholson, Meredith Clisby.