Moments after midnight, Australian same-sex couples say 'I do'

As the clocks struck midnight on Tuesday, dozens of same-sex couples tied the knot in Australia, marking the first legal ceremonies of their kind in the country.

Although Australia passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage last month, Tuesday was the first day such couples could legally marry without applying for a special exception.

The law was passed in Australia's Parliament after a national postal survey found that a majority of people supported marriage equality in December.

Australia is the 26th country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage, according to Pew Research. The measure was widely lauded as a victory for worldwide LGBT+ groups -- a term that refers collectively to people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or intersex or other sexual minorities.

Related:
2 couples tie knot in Australia's 1st same-sex weddings
Victory in Australia
Australian politician proposes to partner during same-sex marriage debate
Australia voted yes, celebs went wild on Twitter in celebration
Australia votes 'yes' to same-sex marriage

In Sydney, local bakeries prepared commemorative cakes for the Sydney Festival's event in Hyde Park. In celebration of the historic event, festival organizers threw a public "rainbow wedding reception" in the park's Meriton Festival Village complete with music, cake, champagne and pink swimming pools.

Most countries that have opted for marriage equality are in Europe and the Americas. In 2001, the Netherlands was the first nation to legalize same-sex marriage.

Ireland was the first country to legalize the measure through popular vote in 2013, and in 2015 the United States Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples could marry nationwide.

Same-sex relations are still criminalized in many parts of the world. South Africa the only African country where marriage equality is the law. Across Asia, same-sex marriage is illegal, although change is in prospect in Taiwan. In May 2017, Taiwan's Constitutional Court ruled the current law unconstitutional and gave the country's legislature two years to change it or enact new laws.

The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

The Gayly 1/9/2018 @ 2:00 p.m. CST