Foreigners Travel to New Zealand For Same-Sex Marriages

Gay marriage legalized last month

WELLINGTON (AFP) –  More than 80 same-sex couples, including 24 from overseas, have said "I do" in New Zealand since a law legalising gay marriage took effect a month ago, figures showed Friday.

Officials expect the number to accelerate as New Zealand moves from the gloom of winter into the more desirable wedding months of spring and summer.

Since August 19, when New Zealand became only the 14th nation in the world, and the first in the Asia-Pacific, to legalise same-sex marriage, there have been 82 gay marriages, the registrar-general of births, deaths and marriages, Jeff Montgomery, said in a statement.