C: I was quite new to Canberra at the time and I thought I'd try and build a network of friends from social tennis but consequently Ivan found me.

I: Oh no, I'm a pretty poor tennis player! Chris is really good, so when he plays he does so to hone his skill and the only skill he would be honing is patience if we played against each other.

I: It was two weeks after we started dating that I proposed to Chris for the very first time, because I was very certain early on that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him for better or for worse.

C: That was the first proposal in a series of eight in total, and the eighth one led us to get married again last year.

I: Hotel Hotel represents to me the progress Canberra has actually made as a community and as a divergent, interesting, forward-thinking community. This place is a unique entity in Canberra's architectural space and for us that's what we're trying to do as well, we are trying to create our own space in the Canberra community, and with the passage of the laws last year that the ACT government was able to put through we felt more than ever that Canberra had provided us with that space.

I: We love the new restaurants 86 and Shorty's; ironically their deep fried golden gay time is a favourite.

C: The Lanterne Rooms is something special but we're regulars at Morks now that it has re-opened in Kingston. We have all these precincts now that are building up within Canberra's suburban centres so they're kind of like our little secrets.

I: We're lucky to have the opportunity of travelling overseas for holidays quite a bit. We love that we can come home and enjoy the simplicity and ease of life we have here. We live amongst people who respect us for who we are and this is a fundamental importance, it's not just about marriage equality, it's about acceptance of us as individuals, as a couple, as part of a family and part of the community.

It's very difficult to see that broad acceptance and celebration of diversity in other communities outside of Canberra where it goes beyond an enclave or a single suburb. With Canberra, it's city wide and that's what our wedding experience really reinforced.

C: We didn't have the time to organise a really elaborate wedding, but the number of people who contacted us was unbelievable. The Canberra Convention Bureau actually coordinated our wedding, the people that have the licence to run events at Old Parliament House volunteered their services, materials, space and hospitality, and even more security to protect us just in case there was a protest. Telstra Tower provided a space for a private reception afterwards, our hire cars were given to us for free, and the cake toppers were donated and custom made to look just like us.

I: This was all done by the Canberra community, they were all so enthusiastic to be part of it, not for any commercial gain but for the fact that they wanted to be part of history and part of an inclusive community which just makes it more difficult for us to replicate that anywhere else in the world. I have found that this acceptance is emanating from Canberra and now it includes that small country town where I grew up in.

I: We love road trips and I was wondering, with how busy we are, how we'd fit in a honeymoon. Then it occurred to me, we should get a nice car and spend 2014 planning short weekends away. It's certainly one way in which we can celebrate this moment in our lives and also gives us the chance to take time out and smell the roses throughout the year.

J: We met at a university winter Olympics themed party and it just went from there. We've been together for four years now.

B: Jackson moved from Gerringong on the south coast and came to Canberra to study at UC. I came from a small town near Tamworth called Dungowan in NSW and moved here originally for work and then uni.

B: We like to take Patty our dog for walks around the city and to Glebe Park. That's our new thing we like to do together because we just got her a few months ago, she lives with us in our apartment in Braddon.

J: We also like to eat out on the weekends. We would go at least once or twice; we've been going to The Cupping Room a lot lately for breakfast, they have amazing food.

B: I love their eggs benedict and Jackson always gets the bacon and egg roll. We also like Digress, the Italian-Indian infusion place because they have a bar and live music and that's really good.

B: You get to be in a city without feeling like you're in a city. It's nice because for me, coming from a small town it's been a good stepping stone. Opportunities for work are great here and so are the universities. It's a great balance of not being overwhelming or daunting but still having everything you need.

B: It's gross but I clean Jackson's ears.

J: Why would you say that? I thought Beth's name was Bec for the first week we started dating.

B: He called me that for like a week and a half. He would text me and be like 'thanks Bec for a great day'.

J: No!

B: Well I was going to correct him in person and I was always like 'oh shit I need to tell Jackson today that my name is actually Beth' and then I would keep forgetting because when hung out in person he would never call me by name, and as soon as we weren't together he'd be like 'thanks Bec' again.

J: I tried to check on Facebook because that's what you do nowadays, but I couldn't find her because I was searching for Bec.

J: I went on exchange to the US in 2012 and when I got back Jackson came to pick me up from the airport and I hadn't seen him in eight months. As soon as I got off the plane, I don't know, I just felt like I had seen him the day before even though we had been apart for so long. I guess that's special because I feel that Jackson and I can always pick up where we left off. We don't always have to talk about everything but we just know.

J: That's lame but it's true, and moving into our first place together.

B: That has been a life-changing experience, just building everything up, buying the furniture and learning more about each other through living together, and also getting Pat-dog. Patty probably says 'they fight heaps and hate each other, get me outta here'.

A: Just over seven years ago at a mutual friend's birthday party in our home town, Newcastle.

Can you tell me about the proposal and how it went down?

B: We got engaged on our recent trip to the US. We had just road-tripped from Los Angeles to Las Vegas (seeing a tumbleweed on the way) and checked into our hotel. Adam proposed on the balcony overlooking the beautiful city lights.

A: We always like to try new places when in the city. However, a favourite place for afternoon drinks is ANU Bar. The cheap jugs bring back memories of our good old days at uni!

B: On weekends we like going out to different places for breakfast. We also enjoy checking out different events and exhibitions that are on. We plan on seeing the Mapping Our World exhibition at the National Library of Australia next.

We both work at the Department of Agriculture.

B: Having access to so many parks and outdoor areas.

A: We live in Belconnen so Australia's biggest skate park is just two minutes from home.

A: We recently got a puppy named Dwight. Since owning him we have both turned into over protective parents who spoil him rotten. He even goes to puppy preschool.

B: We are currently planning our wedding for December this year and also starting to think about a trip to Europe.