New York couples set for state's first gay marriages

New Yorkers like Tiffany and Meredith can now legally get married there

Tiffany Peckosh and Meredith Soffrin are shopping for wedding dresses in mid-town Manhattan.

They want to tie the knot on Sunday - the very first day gay and lesbian couples are legally allowed to marry in New York.

"We're so excited," said Meredith. "This is our home. This is where we met. This is where we fell in love."

A law passed last month makes New York the seventh - but by far the biggest - American place to allow gay marriage.

The vote passed very narrowly and only because of an apparent last minute change of heart by one of the politicians involved.

'An abomination'

The idea of gay marriage horrifies millions of Americans because it offends their traditional religious values.

It was legal in California for a while but was banned again last year.

One New Yorker, who wouldn't give her name, told us: "It's an abomination, according to the Bible."

Tiffany, who's 31, and Meredith, who's 30, expect to meet protesters when they arrive at City Hall to get married.

They've also heard of two people leaving council jobs because their religious beliefs won't let them support gay marriage.

"That's their choice if they want to leave their jobs," said Tiffany, "but love is love, plain and simple."

"Those people are going to miss out on a lot of happiness," adds Meredith.

Many people in New York's wedding industry are looking forward to a huge surge in new business.

Sean LaFleur runs a DJ business with his friend Dan Flugger.

"This is huge for us," said Sean.

"Firstly, we were happy for gay couples but then we were like, wait a minute, this could be great for our business.

"Gay couples are going to want to go all out now, whereas they couldn't before."

They say they've already taken a number of extra bookings.

"I'm excited," said Dan. "We're even getting enquiries for next year already. It's great!"

Tiffany and Meredith were one of 823 couples who entered a lottery for the chance to get married on Sunday.

Initially it was thought that numbers would be limited to 764 but a last minute decision announced on Thursday means that everyone who registered by the deadline will have the chance to marry.

"It hasn't hit me yet," said Tiffany. "I'm sure it'll set in - and I'll be in tears!"

Meredith added: "We're going to have to invest in some waterproof mascara."