Like the fireworks they'll watch explode above Lake Burley Griffin on Saturday night, Jamie Gray and Josh Carr's wedding promises to be spectacular.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Their six-year relationship will culminate in a poignant civil ceremony surrounded by family and friends in one of Australia's foremost national institutions.
They will be serenaded by Australian songbird Katie Noonan and feast on award-winning catering as the sky ignites in bursts of colour.
But because they are both men, their special day threatens to be overshadowed by the political debate surrounding their union.
As politicians in that other national institution across the lake weigh up a plebiscite on same-sex marriage projected to cost the nation more than half a billion dollars, the Canberra couple wants the warring parties to remember the people at the centre of the debate.
"This is our private relationship and the people who matter least are the people who are having a fairly significant impact on the way we see it," Mr Gray said.
The couple became engaged two years ago and, after much deliberation, decided to marry here in Australia despite the unfavourable political climate.
"We really umm-ed and ahh-ed as we were approaching this stage as to whether we would register our relationship or getting a civil union," Mr Gray said.
"We considered potentially heading off to New Zealand but even if we did that the relationship would still not be recognised by some states and territories in Australia so until Australia legalises and upholds international relationships and marriages that wasn't an option."
But planning a wedding when you're not quite sure where you stand bureaucratically can be a little tenuous.
"One of the most difficult things about this process is throughout whatever stage of the planning, the invites, all of that normal kind of stuff you do to prepare for an event like this we had to kind of question what language we should be using or what is OK or how will people feel about this because it's not your heterosexual relationship or traditional kind of relationship," Mr Gray said.
Mr Carr, who is a nurse, said it can be exhausting having to justify why they should be able to tie the knot like any other couple.
"I worry about people who maybe aren't in the same position as us mental health wise and the messages young people receive about their relationship and their identity and the impact that has," he said.
Mr Gray said the politicalisation of people's relationships was dehumanising.
"What it's all about and that is love and family and friends. It's disappointing Australia is so behind in this. We like to think of ourselves as a contemporary and forward-thinking country but there's 28 other countries that have beat us to the cake," he said.
"It should be about our family and friends and us. We shouldn't have to think about any of that other stuff. It shouldn't be a political statement but it has to be."
